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Hatala KG, Gatesy SM, Manafzadeh AR, Lusardi EM, Falkingham PL. Technical note: A volumetric method for measuring the longitudinal arch of human tracks and feet. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2024; 183:e24897. [PMID: 38173148 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2023] [Revised: 11/07/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
Fossil footprints (i.e., tracks) were believed to document arch anatomical evolution, although our recent work has shown that track arches record foot kinematics instead. Analyses of track arches can thereby inform the evolution of human locomotion, although quantifying this 3-D aspect of track morphology is difficult. Here, we present a volumetric method for measuring the arches of 3-D models of human tracks and feet, using both Autodesk Maya and Blender software. The method involves generation of a 3-D object that represents the space beneath the longitudinal arch, and measurement of that arch object's geometry and spatial orientation. We provide relevant tools and guidance for users to apply this technique to their own data. We present three case studies to demonstrate potential applications. These include, (1) measuring the arches of static and dynamic human feet, (2) comparing the arches of human tracks with the arches of the feet that made them, and (3) direct comparisons of human track and foot arch morphology throughout simulated track formation. The volumetric measurement tool proved robust for measuring 3-D models of human tracks and feet, in static and dynamic contexts. This tool enables researchers to quantitatively compare arches of fossil hominin tracks, in order to derive biomechanical interpretations from them, and/or offers a different approach for quantifying foot morphology in living humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin G Hatala
- Department of Biology, Chatham University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Stephen M Gatesy
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
| | - Armita R Manafzadeh
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
- Institute for Biospheric Studies, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
- Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | | | - Peter L Falkingham
- School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
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2
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Ruff CB, Wood BA. The estimation and evolution of hominin body mass. Evol Anthropol 2023; 32:223-237. [PMID: 37335778 DOI: 10.1002/evan.21988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2022] [Revised: 03/15/2023] [Accepted: 05/29/2023] [Indexed: 06/21/2023]
Abstract
Body mass is a critical variable in many hominin evolutionary studies, with implications for reconstructing relative brain size, diet, locomotion, subsistence strategy, and social organization. We review methods that have been proposed for estimating body mass from true and trace fossils, consider their applicability in different contexts, and the appropriateness of different modern reference samples. Recently developed techniques based on a wider range of modern populations hold promise for providing more accurate estimates in earlier hominins, although uncertainties remain, particularly in non-Homo taxa. When these methods are applied to almost 300 Late Miocene through Late Pleistocene specimens, the resulting body mass estimates fall within a 25-60 kg range for early non-Homo taxa, increase in early Homo to about 50-90 kg, then remain constant until the Terminal Pleistocene, when they decline.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher B Ruff
- Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Bernard A Wood
- Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
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3
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Hatala KG, Roach NT, Behrensmeyer AK. Fossil footprints and what they mean for hominin paleobiology. Evol Anthropol 2023; 32:39-53. [PMID: 36223539 DOI: 10.1002/evan.21963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2021] [Revised: 05/10/2022] [Accepted: 09/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Hominin footprints have not traditionally played prominent roles in paleoanthropological studies, aside from the famous 3.66 Ma footprints discovered at Laetoli, Tanzania in the late 1970s. This contrasts with the importance of trace fossils (ichnology) in the broader field of paleontology. Lack of attention to hominin footprints can probably be explained by perceptions that these are exceptionally rare and "curiosities" rather than sources of data that yield insights on par with skeletal fossils or artifacts. In recent years, however, discoveries of hominin footprints have surged in frequency, shining important new light on anatomy, locomotion, behaviors, and environments from a wide variety of times and places. Here, we discuss why these data are often overlooked and consider whether they are as "rare" as previously assumed. We review new ways footprint data are being used to address questions about hominin paleobiology, and we outline key opportunities for future research in hominin ichnology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin G Hatala
- Department of Biology, Chatham University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Neil T Roach
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Anna K Behrensmeyer
- Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
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4
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Hatala KG, Gatesy SM, Falkingham PL. Arched footprints preserve the motions of fossil hominin feet. Nat Ecol Evol 2023; 7:32-41. [PMID: 36604550 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-022-01929-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2022] [Accepted: 10/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
The longitudinal arch of the human foot is viewed as a pivotal adaptation for bipedal walking and running. Fossil footprints from Laetoli, Tanzania, and Ileret, Kenya, are believed to provide direct evidence of longitudinally arched feet in hominins from the Pliocene and Pleistocene, respectively. We studied the dynamics of track formation using biplanar X-ray, three-dimensional animation and discrete element particle simulation. Here, we demonstrate that longitudinally arched footprints are false indicators of foot anatomy; instead they are generated through a specific pattern of foot kinematics that is characteristic of human walking. Analyses of fossil hominin tracks from Laetoli show only partial evidence of this walking style, with a similar heel strike but a different pattern of propulsion. The earliest known evidence for fully modern human-like bipedal kinematics comes from the early Pleistocene Ileret tracks, which were presumably made by members of the genus Homo. This result signals important differences in the foot kinematics recorded at Laetoli and Ileret and underscores an emerging picture of locomotor diversity within the hominin clade.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin G Hatala
- Department of Biology, Chatham University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
| | - Stephen M Gatesy
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Peter L Falkingham
- School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
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5
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Hatala KG, Gatesy SM, Falkingham PL. Integration of biplanar X-ray, three-dimensional animation and particle simulation reveals details of human 'track ontogeny'. Interface Focus 2021; 11:20200075. [PMID: 34938432 DOI: 10.1098/rsfs.2020.0075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The emergence of bipedalism had profound effects on human evolutionary history, but the evolution of locomotor patterns within the hominin clade remains poorly understood. Fossil tracks record in vivo behaviours of extinct hominins, and they offer great potential to reveal locomotor patterns at various times and places across the human fossil record. However, there is no consensus on how to interpret anatomical or biomechanical patterns from tracks due to limited knowledge of the complex foot-substrate interactions through which they are produced. Here, we implement engineering-based methods to understand human track formation with the ultimate goal of unlocking invaluable information on hominin locomotion from fossil tracks. We first developed biplanar X-ray and three-dimensional animation techniques that permit visualization of subsurface foot motion as tracks are produced, and that allow for direct comparisons of foot kinematics to final track morphology. We then applied the discrete element method to accurately simulate the process of human track formation, allowing for direct study of human track ontogeny. This window lets us observe how specific anatomical and/or kinematic variables shape human track morphology, and it offers a new avenue for robust hypothesis testing in order to infer patterns of foot anatomy and motion from fossil hominin tracks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin G Hatala
- Department of Biology, Chatham University, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
| | - Stephen M Gatesy
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
| | - Peter L Falkingham
- School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK
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6
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Ruff CB, Wunderlich RE, Hatala KG, Tuttle RH, Hilton CE, D'Août K, Webb DM, Hallgrímsson B, Musiba C, Baksh M. Body mass estimation from footprint size in hominins. J Hum Evol 2021; 156:102997. [PMID: 33993031 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.102997] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2020] [Revised: 03/23/2021] [Accepted: 03/28/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Although many studies relating stature to foot length have been carried out, the relationship between foot size and body mass remains poorly understood. Here we investigate this relationship in 193 adult and 50 juvenile habitually unshod/minimally shod individuals from five different populations-Machiguenga, Daasanach, Pumé, Hadzabe, and Samoans-varying greatly in body size and shape. Body mass is highly correlated with foot size, and can be predicted from foot area (maximum length × breadth) in the combined sample with an average error of about 10%. However, comparisons among populations indicate that body shape, as represented by the body mass index (BMI), has a significant effect on foot size proportions, with higher BMI samples exhibiting relatively smaller feet. Thus, we also derive equations for estimating body mass from both foot size and BMI, with BMI in footprint samples taken as an average value for a taxon or population, estimated independently from skeletal remains. Techniques are also developed for estimating body mass in juveniles, who have relatively larger feet than adults, and for converting between foot and footprint size. Sample applications are given for five Pliocene through Holocene hominin footprint samples from Laetoli (Australopithecus afarensis), Ileret (probable Homo erectus), Happisburgh (possible Homo antecessor), Le Rozel (archaic Homo sapiens), and Barcin Höyük (H. sapiens). Body mass estimates for Homo footprint samples appear reasonable when compared to skeletal estimates for related samples. However, estimates for the Laetoli footprint sample using the new formulae appear to be too high when compared to skeletal estimates for A. afarensis. Based on the proportions of A.L. 288-1, this is apparently a result of relatively large feet in this taxon. A different method using a ratio between body mass and foot area in A.L. 288-1 provides estimates more concordant with skeletal estimates and should be used for A. afarensis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher B Ruff
- Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 1800 E. Monument St., Baltimore, MD, 21111, USA.
| | - Roshna E Wunderlich
- Department of Biology, James Madison University, MSC 7801, Harrisonburg, VA, 22807, USA
| | - Kevin G Hatala
- Department of Biology, Chatham University, Buhl Hall, Woodland Rd., Pittsburgh, PA, 15232, USA
| | - Russell H Tuttle
- Department of Anthropology, University of Chicago, 1126 East 59th Street, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA
| | - Charles E Hilton
- Department of Anthropology, University of North Carolina, 301 Alumni Bldg., Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-3115, USA
| | - Kristiaan D'Août
- Department of Musculoskeletal and Ageing Science, Institute of Life Course and Medical Sciences, University of Liverpool, 6 West Derby Street, Liverpool, L7 8TX, UK
| | - David M Webb
- Department of Anthropology and Sociology, Kutztown University, Kutztown, PA, 19530, USA
| | - Benedikt Hallgrímsson
- Department of Cell Biology & Anatomy, Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Dr. NW, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Charles Musiba
- Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado Denver, NC Building, Suite 4002, 1200 Larimer Street, Denver, CO, 80217, USA
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Stewart M, Clark-Wilson R, Breeze PS, Janulis K, Candy I, Armitage SJ, Ryves DB, Louys J, Duval M, Price GJ, Cuthbertson P, Bernal MA, Drake NA, Alsharekh AM, Zahrani B, Al-Omari A, Roberts P, Groucutt HS, Petraglia MD. Human footprints provide snapshot of last interglacial ecology in the Arabian interior. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2020; 6:6/38/eaba8940. [PMID: 32948582 PMCID: PMC7500939 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aba8940] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2020] [Accepted: 07/31/2020] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
The nature of human dispersals out of Africa has remained elusive because of the poor resolution of paleoecological data in direct association with remains of the earliest non-African people. Here, we report hominin and non-hominin mammalian tracks from an ancient lake deposit in the Arabian Peninsula, dated within the last interglacial. The findings, it is argued, likely represent the oldest securely dated evidence for Homo sapiens in Arabia. The paleoecological evidence indicates a well-watered semi-arid grassland setting during human movements into the Nefud Desert of Saudi Arabia. We conclude that visitation to the lake was transient, likely serving as a place to drink and to forage, and that late Pleistocene human and mammalian migrations and landscape use patterns in Arabia were inexorably linked.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathew Stewart
- Extreme Events Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans-Knöll-Strasse 8, 07745 Jena, Germany.
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, D-07743 Jena, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans-Knöll-Strasse 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Richard Clark-Wilson
- Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London, London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK.
| | - Paul S Breeze
- Department of Geography, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Klint Janulis
- School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, 36 Beaumont Street, Oxford OX1 2PG, UK
| | - Ian Candy
- Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London, London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK
| | - Simon J Armitage
- Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London, London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK
- SFF Centre for Early Sapiens Behaviour (SapiensCE), University of Bergen, Post Box 7805, 5020 Bergen, Norway
| | - David B Ryves
- Geography and Environment, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leics LE11 3TU, UK
| | - Julien Louys
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution (ARCHE), Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD, Australia
| | - Mathieu Duval
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution (ARCHE), Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD, Australia
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Burgos09002, Spain
| | - Gilbert J Price
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Queensland, St. Lucia QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Patrick Cuthbertson
- Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Marco A Bernal
- Fundación Instituto de Investigación de Prehistoria y Evolución Humama. PALEOMÁGINA, Centro de Investigaciones Prehistóricas de Sierra Mágina Calle Nueva s/n; 23537 Bedmar (Jaén), Spain
| | - Nick A Drake
- Department of Geography, King's College London, London, UK
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, D-07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Abdullah M Alsharekh
- Department of Archaeology, College of Tourism and Archaeology, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Badr Zahrani
- Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Abdulaziz Al-Omari
- Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Patrick Roberts
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, D-07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Huw S Groucutt
- Extreme Events Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans-Knöll-Strasse 8, 07745 Jena, Germany
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, D-07743 Jena, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans-Knöll-Strasse 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Michael D Petraglia
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, D-07743 Jena, Germany.
- Human Origins Program, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013, USA
- School of Social Science, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
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8
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The morphological affinity of the Early Pleistocene footprints from Happisburgh, England, with other footprints of Pliocene, Pleistocene, and Holocene age. J Hum Evol 2020; 144:102776. [PMID: 32505032 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102776] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2019] [Revised: 03/12/2020] [Accepted: 03/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Fossil hominin footprints provide a direct source of evidence of locomotor behavior and allow inference of other biological data such as anthropometrics. Many recent comparative analyses of hominin footprints have used 3D analytical methods to assess their morphological affinities, comparing tracks from different locations and/or time periods. However, environmental conditions can sometimes preclude 3D digital capture, as was the case at Happisburgh (England) in 2013. Consequently, we use here a 2D geometric morphometric approach to investigate the evolutionary context of the Happisburgh tracks. The comparative sample of hominin tracks comes from eight localities that span a broad temporal range from the Pliocene to Late Holocene. The results show disparity in the shapes of tracks ascribed to hominins from the Pliocene (presumably Australopithecus afarensis), Pleistocene (presumably Homo erectus and Homo antecessor), and Holocene (Homo sapiens). Three distinct morphological differences are apparent between time samples: changes in adduction of the hallux, changes in the shape and position of the medial longitudinal arch impression, and apparent changes in foot proportions. Linear dimensions classified the potential H. antecessor tracks from Happisburgh as being most similar to the presumed H. erectus prints from Ileret. We demonstrate using 2D geometric morphometric methods and linear dimensions that the Happisburgh tracks are morphologically similar to other presumed Homo tracks and differ from the Laetoli footprints. The probable functional implications of these results fit well with previous comparative analyses of hominin tracks at other sites.
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9
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Bobe R, Braun DR, Behrensmeyer AK, Harris JWK. Introduction: Hominin paleobiology in the early Pleistocene Okote Member, Koobi Fora Formation, Kenya. J Hum Evol 2020; 145:102811. [PMID: 32464366 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- René Bobe
- Gorongosa National Park, Sofala, Mozambique; Primate Models for Behavioural Evolution Lab, School of Anthropology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK; Interdisciplinary Centre for Archaeology and Evolution of Human Behaviour (ICArEHB), Universidade do Algarve, Faro, Portugal.
| | - David R Braun
- Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Anna K Behrensmeyer
- Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA
| | - John W K Harris
- National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya; Department of History and Archaeology, University of Nairobi, Kenya
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10
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Snapshots of human anatomy, locomotion, and behavior from Late Pleistocene footprints at Engare Sero, Tanzania. Sci Rep 2020; 10:7740. [PMID: 32409726 PMCID: PMC7224389 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-64095-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2020] [Accepted: 04/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Fossil hominin footprints preserve data on a remarkably short time scale compared to most other fossil evidence, offering snapshots of organisms in their immediate ecological and behavioral contexts. Here, we report on our excavations and analyses of more than 400 Late Pleistocene human footprints from Engare Sero, Tanzania. The site represents the largest assemblage of footprints currently known from the human fossil record in Africa. Speed estimates show that the trackways reflect both walking and running behaviors. Estimates of group composition suggest that these footprints were made by a mixed-sex and mixed-age group, but one that consisted of mostly adult females. One group of similarly-oriented trackways was attributed to 14 adult females who walked together at the same pace, with only two adult males and one juvenile accompanying them. In the context of modern ethnographic data, we suggest that these trackways may capture a unique snapshot of cooperative and sexually divided foraging behavior in Late Pleistocene humans.
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11
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Richmond B, Green D, Lague M, Chirchir H, Behrensmeyer A, Bobe R, Bamford M, Griffin N, Gunz P, Mbua E, Merritt S, Pobiner B, Kiura P, Kibunjia M, Harris J, Braun D. The upper limb of Paranthropus boisei from Ileret, Kenya. J Hum Evol 2020; 141:102727. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.102727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2017] [Revised: 12/16/2019] [Accepted: 12/17/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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12
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3-D radar imaging unlocks the untapped behavioral and biomechanical archive of Pleistocene ghost tracks. Sci Rep 2019; 9:16470. [PMID: 31712670 PMCID: PMC6848204 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-52996-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2019] [Accepted: 10/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Footprint evidence of human-megafauna interactions remains extremely rare in the archaeological and palaeontological records. Recent work suggests ancient playa environments may hold such evidence, though the prints may not be visible. These so-called “ghost tracks” comprise a rich archive of biomechanical and behavioral data that remains mostly unexplored. Here we present evidence for the successful detection and 3-D imaging of such footprints via ground-penetrating radar (GPR), including co-associated mammoth and human prints. Using GPR we have found that track density and faunal diversity may be much greater than realized by the unaided human eye. Our data further suggests that detectable subsurface consolidation below mammoth tracks correlates with typical plantar pressure patterns from extant elephants. This opens future potential for more sophisticated biomechanical studies on the footprints of other extinct land vertebrates. Our approach allows rapid detection and documentation of footprints while enhancing the data available from these fossil archives.
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13
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Swedell L, Plummer T. Social evolution in Plio-Pleistocene hominins: Insights from hamadryas baboons and paleoecology. J Hum Evol 2019; 137:102667. [PMID: 31629289 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.102667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2019] [Revised: 08/21/2019] [Accepted: 08/23/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Reconstructions of hominin evolution have long benefited from comparisons with nonhuman primates, especially baboons and chimpanzees. The hamadryas baboon (Papio hamadryas) is arguably one of the best such models, as it exhibits both the male kin bonding and the cross-sex pair bonding thought to have been important in hominin evolution. Here we link processes of behavioral evolution in hamadryas baboons with those in a Plio-Pleistocene hominin, provisionally identified as Homo erectus (sensu lato) - a pivotal species in that its larger body and brain size and wider ranging patterns increased female costs of reproduction, increasing the importance of sociality. The combination of these higher costs of reproduction and shifts in diet and food acquisition have previously been argued to have been alleviated either via strengthening of male-female bonds (involving male provisioning and the evolution of monogamy) or via the assistance of older, post-reproductive females (leading to post-reproductive longevity in females, i.e., the grandmother hypothesis). We suggest that both arrangements could have been present in Plio-Pleistocene hominins if they lived in multilevel societies. Here we expand on our earlier scenario with two sets of recent data in support of it, (1) archaeological data from the 2 million year old Oldowan site of Kanjera South, Kenya and other sites that are suggestive of tool dependent foraging on nutrient dense resources (animal carcasses and plant underground storage organs), cooperation, and food sharing; and (2) a pattern of genetic variation in hamadryas baboons that suggests the operation of kin selection among both males and females at multiple levels of society. Taken together, these two sets of data strengthen our model and support the idea of a complex society linked by male-male, male-female, and female-female bonds at multiple levels of social organization in Plio-Pleistocene hominins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Larissa Swedell
- Dept of Anthropology, Queens College, City University of New York, Flushing, NY 11367-1597, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, USA; Anthropology Program, CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA; Biology and Psychology Programs, CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA; Dept of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, Cape Town, South Africa.
| | - Thomas Plummer
- Dept of Anthropology, Queens College, City University of New York, Flushing, NY 11367-1597, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, USA; Anthropology Program, CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA.
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14
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Villmoare B, Hatala KG, Jungers W. Sexual dimorphism in Homo erectus inferred from 1.5 Ma footprints near Ileret, Kenya. Sci Rep 2019; 9:7687. [PMID: 31118467 PMCID: PMC6531427 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-44060-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2018] [Accepted: 04/26/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Sexual dimorphism can be one of the most important indicators of social behavior in fossil species, but the effects of time averaging, geographic variation, and differential preservation can complicate attempts to determine this measure from preserved skeletal anatomy. Here we present an alternative, using footprints from near Ileret, Kenya, to assess the sexual dimorphism of presumptive African Homo erectus at 1.5 Ma. Footprint sites have several unique advantages not typically available to fossils: a single surface can sample a population over a very brief time (in this case likely not more than a single day), and the data are geographically constrained. Further, in many cases, the samples can be much larger than those from skeletal fossil assemblages. Our results indicate that East African Homo erectus was more dimorphic than modern Homo sapiens, although less so than highly dimorphic apes, suggesting that the Ileret footprints offer a unique window into an important transitional period in hominin social behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian Villmoare
- Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada Las Vegas, 89154-5003, Las Vegas, NV, USA.
| | - Kevin G Hatala
- Department of Biology, Chatham University, 15232, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - William Jungers
- Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, 11794-8081, New York, USA
- Association Vahatra, BP 3972, 101, Antananarivo, Madagascar
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15
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Humeral anatomy of the KNM-ER 47000 upper limb skeleton from Ileret, Kenya: Implications for taxonomic identification. J Hum Evol 2019; 126:24-38. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.06.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2016] [Revised: 06/01/2018] [Accepted: 06/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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16
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Roach NT, Du A, Hatala KG, Ostrofsky KR, Reeves JS, Braun DR, Harris JW, Behrensmeyer AK, Richmond BG. Pleistocene animal communities of a 1.5 million-year-old lake margin grassland and their relationship to Homo erectus paleoecology. J Hum Evol 2018; 122:70-83. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.04.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2016] [Revised: 04/03/2018] [Accepted: 04/24/2018] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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17
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Hatala KG, Perry DA, Gatesy SM. A biplanar X-ray approach for studying the 3D dynamics of human track formation. J Hum Evol 2018; 121:104-118. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.03.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2017] [Revised: 03/17/2018] [Accepted: 03/19/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
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18
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Terminal Pleistocene epoch human footprints from the Pacific coast of Canada. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0193522. [PMID: 29590165 PMCID: PMC5873988 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0193522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2017] [Accepted: 02/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Little is known about the ice age human occupation of the Pacific Coast of Canada. Here we present the results of a targeted investigation of a late Pleistocene shoreline on Calvert Island, British Columbia. Drawing upon existing geomorphic information that sea level in the area was 2-3 m lower than present between 14,000 and 11,000 years ago, we began a systematic search for archaeological remains dating to this time period beneath intertidal beach sediments. During subsurface testing, we uncovered human footprints impressed into a 13,000-year-old paleosol beneath beach sands at archaeological site EjTa-4. To date, our investigations at this site have revealed a total of 29 footprints of at least three different sizes. The results presented here add to the growing body of information pertaining to the early deglaciation and associated human presence on the west coast of Canada at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum.
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