Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

J Hum Evol 2021 Apr 9;153:102956. Epub 2021 Mar 9.

Department of Physical Anthropology, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland, OH, USA; Departments of Anthropology and Biology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.

Fossiliferous deposits at Woranso-Mille span the period when Australopithecus anamensis gave rise to Australopithecus afarensis (3.8-3.6 Ma) and encompass the core of the A. Read More

Sci Rep 2021 Feb 18;11(1):4102. Epub 2021 Feb 18.

Centro Nacional para el Estudio de la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002, Burgos, Spain.

Two well-preserved, subadult 800 ky scapulae from Gran Dolina belonging to Homo antecessor, provide a unique opportunity to investigate the ontogeny of shoulder morphology in Lower Pleistocene humans. We compared the H. antecessor scapulae with a sample of 98 P. Read More

Am J Phys Anthropol 2021 02 8;174(2):299-314. Epub 2020 Dec 8.

Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, New York, USA.

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to help elucidate the taxonomic relationship between Homo naledi and other hominins.

Materials And Methods: Homo naledi deciduous maxillary and mandibular molars from the Dinaledi Chamber, South Africa were compared to those of Australopithecus africanus, Australopithecus afarensis, Paranthropus robustus, Paranthropus boisei, early Homo sp., Homo erectus, early Homo sapiens, Upper Paleolithic H. Read More

J Hum Evol 2021 Jan 9;150:102872. Epub 2020 Sep 9.

Department of Computer Science, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 68, 00014 Finland. Electronic address:

J Hum Evol 2020 10 28;147:102856. Epub 2020 Aug 28.

Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, MRC 121, Washington, DC, 20013, USA.

Abundance distributions of large mammals are underused in exploring how ecological pressures vary across contemporaneous sites in the fossil record. To investigate variation in relative abundance across contemporaneous Pliocene mammal communities, we examine the time interval between ∼3.6 and 3. Read More

J Hum Evol 2020 09 24;146:102848. Epub 2020 Jul 24.

Institute of Human Origins and School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA.

J Hum Evol 2020 08 25;145:102820. Epub 2020 Jun 25.

Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, 04103, Germany; Centre for Human Evolution Research, Department of Earth Sciences, The Natural History Museum, London, SW7 5BD, UK; Department of Anthropology, University College London, WC1E 6BT, UK. Electronic address:

Increasing evidence for both taxonomic diversity and early stone manufacture during the Pliocene highlights the importance of the hominin fossil record from this epoch in eastern Africa. Here, we describe dental remains from Lomekwi (West Turkana, Kenya), which date from between 3.2 and 3. Read More

J Hum Evol 2020 07 5;144:102776. Epub 2020 Jun 5.

Research Centre in Evolutionary Anthropology and Paleoecology, Liverpool John Moores University, UK; Department of Archaeology, Section Prehistory of Western Europe, Ghent University, Belgium.

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. Read More

Nat Commun 2020 05 19;11(1):2480. Epub 2020 May 19.

Climate Change Institute, University of Maine, Orono, ME, 04469-5790, USA.

Several hypotheses posit a link between the origin of Homo and climatic and environmental shifts between 3 and 2.5 Ma. Here we report on new results that shed light on the interplay between tectonics, basin migration and faunal change on the one hand and the fate of Australopithecus afarensis and the evolution of Homo on the other. Read More

Nat Ecol Evol 2020 07 18;4(7):911-918. Epub 2020 May 18.

Skeletal Biology Research Centre, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.

The human lineage is marked by a transition in hand use, from locomotion towards increasingly dexterous manipulation, concomitant with bipedalism. The forceful precision grips used by modern humans probably evolved in the context of tool manufacture and use, but when and how many times hominin hands became principally manipulative remains unresolved. We analyse metacarpal trabecular and cortical bone, which provide insight into behaviour during an individual's life, to demonstrate previously unrecognized diversity in hominin hand use. Read More

Sci Adv 2020 04 1;6(14):eaaz4729. Epub 2020 Apr 1.

Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.

Human brains are three times larger, are organized differently, and mature for a longer period of time than those of our closest living relatives, the chimpanzees. Together, these characteristics are important for human cognition and social behavior, but their evolutionary origins remain unclear. To study brain growth and organization in the hominin species more than 3 million years ago, we scanned eight fossil crania using conventional and synchrotron computed tomography. Read More

J Hum Evol 2020 05 31;142:102747. Epub 2020 Mar 31.

Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna 48121, Italy; Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103, Germany.

The adoption of bipedalism is a key benchmark in human evolution that has impacted talar morphology. Here, we investigate talar morphological variability in extinct and extant hominins using a 3D geometric morphometric approach. The evolutionary timing and appearance of modern human-like features and their contributions to bipedal locomotion were evaluated on the talus as a whole, each articular facet separately, and multiple combinations of facets. Read More

J Hum Evol 2020 03 6;140:102717. Epub 2020 Jan 6.

Primate Models for Behavioural Evolution Lab, Institute of Cognitive & Evolutionary Anthropology, School of Anthropology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK; Gorongosa National Park, Sofala, Mozambique; Interdisciplinary Centre for Archaeology and Evolution of Human Behaviour (ICArEHB), Universidade Do Algarve, Faro, Portugal; Centre for Functional Ecology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.

Australopithecus anamensis is a pivotal species in human evolution. It is likely to be the direct ancestor of Australopithecus afarensis and the species that may have given rise to the Homo and Paranthropus lineages. It had a suite of adaptations for habitual bipedalism and a diet that differed from that of earlier hominin species. Read More

J Hum Evol 2020 02 2;139:102689. Epub 2020 Jan 2.

Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Paseo de la Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002 Burgos, Spain; Anthropology Department, University College London, 14 Taviton Street, London WC1 H 0BW, UK. Electronic address:

Here we present the descriptive and comparative study of two immature scapulae recovered from the TD6.2 level of the Gran Dolina cave site (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain) and assigned to Homo antecessor. This is the first time that data on the morphology and dimensions of the scapulae of a European late Early Pleistocene hominin population are provided. Read More

Sci Data 2019 12 3;6(1):304. Epub 2019 Dec 3.

National Museum of Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

The Eyasi Plateau Paleontological Expedition (EPPE) Laetoli specimen database contains 13716 records of plant and animal fossils (ca. 28248 specimens) collected by EPPE field teams working at Laetoli, Tanzania between 1998 and 2005. This dataset is a digital version of the original hard-copy specimen catalog, and it documents the discovery, stratigraphic provenience and taxonomic diversity of Plio-Pleistocene fauna and flora in northern Tanzania between 4. Read More

J Hum Evol 2020 01 20;138:102688. Epub 2019 Nov 20.

Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.

Reliable estimates of when hominin taxa originated and went extinct are central to addressing many paleoanthropological questions, including those relating to macroevolutionary patterns. The timing of hominin temporal ranges can be used to test chronological predictions generated from phylogenetic hypotheses. For example, hypotheses of phyletic ancestor-descendant relationships, based on morphological data, predict no temporal range overlap between the two taxa. Read More

J Hum Evol 2019 11 1;136:102670. Epub 2019 Oct 1.

School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, CT2 7NZ, UK; Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany; Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Braamfontein, 2000, Johannesburg, South Africa.

The mandibular third premolar (P) exhibits substantial differences in size and shape among hominoid taxa, and displays a number of discrete traits that have proven to be useful in studies of hominin taxonomy and phylogeny. Discrete traits at the enamel-dentine junction (EDJ) can be accurately assessed on moderately worn specimens, and often appear sharper than at the outer-enamel surface (OES). Here we use microtomography to image the P EDJ of a broad sample of extant apes, extinct hominins and modern humans (n = 100). Read More

J Hum Evol 2019 11 20;136:102655. Epub 2019 Sep 20.

Department of Anthropology, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA.

In 2013, 2014 new hominin remains were uncovered in the Dinaledi chamber of the Rising Star cave system in South Africa. In 2015 Berger and colleagues identified these remains as belonging to a new species Homo naledi (Berger et al., 2015). Read More

Nature 2019 09 28;573(7773):214-219. Epub 2019 Aug 28.

Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.

The cranial morphology of the earliest known hominins in the genus Australopithecus remains unclear. The oldest species in this genus (Australopithecus anamensis, specimens of which have been dated to 4.2-3. Read More

J Hum Evol 2019 09 2;134:102634. Epub 2019 Aug 2.

School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS 2050, South Africa.

Here we present the first full anatomical description of the 3.67 million-year-old Australopithecus skull StW 573 that was recovered with its skeleton from the Sterkfontein Member 2 breccia in the Silberberg Grotto. Analysis demonstrates that it is most similar in multiple key morphological characters to a group of fossils from Sterkfontein Member 4 and Makapansgat that are here distinguished taxonomically as Australopithecus prometheus. Read More

J Hum Evol 2019 08 4;133:167-197. Epub 2019 Jul 4.

Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, WITS 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Due to its completeness, the A.L. 288-1 ('Lucy') skeleton has long served as the archetypal bipedal Australopithecus. Read More

Med Leg J 2019 Sep 24;87(3):121-126. Epub 2019 Jun 24.

Department of Anthropology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.

The Pliocene hominin fossil 'Lucy' (A.L. 288-1, ) was discovered in the Afar region of Ethiopia in 1974 and dates to 3. Read More

J Hum Evol 2019 07 18;132:80-100. Epub 2019 May 18.

The Leon Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies and Departments of Maritime Civilizations and Archaeology, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel; Institute of Human Origins and School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85282, USA. Electronic address:

Stable carbon isotope studies suggest that early hominins may have diversified their diet as early as 3.76 Ma. Early Pliocene hominins, including Australopithecus anamensis, had diets that were dominated by C resources while Late Pliocene hominins, including Australopithecus afarensis-a putative descendant of A. Read More

J Hum Evol 2019 07 30;132:189-214. Epub 2019 May 30.

Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, 25 Waverly Place, New York, NY, 10003, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, 10024, USA.

Australopitheus anamensis fossils demonstrate that craniodentally and postcranially the taxon was more primitive than its evolutionary successor Australopithecus afarensis. Postcranial evidence suggests habitual bipedality combined with primitive upper limbs and an inferred significant arboreal adaptation. Here we report on A. Read More

J Hum Evol 2019 07 3;132:15-31. Epub 2019 May 3.

Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.

Mandibular morphology of Australopithecus afarensis is well known based on abundant fossil mandibles of adult individuals from multiple sites in Ethiopia (Hadar, Woranso-Mille, and Middle Awash) and Tanzania (Laetoli). However, there are only a few juvenile mandibles of the species known from these sites. Here, we describe two recently discovered Pliocene hominin juvenile mandibles from Woranso-Mille (KSD-VP-1/29 and MKM-VP-1/626), that have been radioisotopically dated to 3. Read More

J Hum Evol 2019 07 22;132:119-136. Epub 2019 May 22.

Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Via Derna 1, Pisa, 56126, Italy; Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits, 2050, South Africa. Electronic address:

Understanding the manual abilities of fossil hominins has been a focus of palaeoanthropological research for decades. Of interest are the morphological characteristics of the thumb due to its fundamental role in manipulation, particularly that of the trapeziometacarpal joint. Considerably less attention has been given to the thumb metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint, which plays a role in stabilizing the thumb during forceful grasps and precision pinching. Read More

Sci Adv 2019 05 8;5(5):eaav9038. Epub 2019 May 8.

Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.

Understanding the emergence of the genus is a pressing problem in the study of human origins. has recently been proposed as the ancestral species of , although it postdates earliest by 800,000 years. Here, we use probability models to demonstrate that observing an ancestor's fossil horizon that is at least 800,000 years younger than the descendant's fossil horizon is unlikely (about 0. Read More

Am J Phys Anthropol 2019 07 3;169(3):403-421. Epub 2019 May 3.

Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work, Seton Hall University, South Orange, New Jersey.

Objectives: Australopithecus anamensis has comparable δ C values to Ardipithecus ramidus, and both have been characterized as C feeders in open woodland habitats similar to "savanna" chimps. Unlike Ar. ramidus and "savanna" chimps, A. Read More

J Hum Evol 2019 05 20;130:72-82. Epub 2019 Mar 20.

Anthropology Department, Vassar College, 124 Raymond Avenue, Box 42, Poughkeepsie, NY 12603, USA. Electronic address:

Postnatal growth is one of the proximate means by which humans attain massive adult brain size. Humans are characterized by the maintenance of prenatal brain growth rates into the first postnatal year, as well as an overall extended period of growth. The evolution of this pattern is difficult to assess due to its relatively brief duration and the underrepresentation of well-preserved fossil individuals who died during this short period. Read More

J Hum Evol 2019 01 12;126:51-70. Epub 2018 Dec 12.

Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Germany; Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, USA.

A ∼1.52 Ma adult upper limb skeleton of Paranthropus boisei (KNM-ER 47000) recovered from the Koobi Fora Formation, Kenya (FwJj14E, Area 1A) includes most of the distal half of a right humerus (designated KNM-ER 47000B). Natural transverse fractures through the diaphysis of KNM-ER 470000B provide unobstructed views of cortical bone at two sections typically used for analyzing cross-sectional properties of hominids (i. Read More