Human Evolution and PREHISTORY

Human Evolution
and PREHISTORY

Chapter
 Six:
THE FIRST BIPEDS
Link to the Canadian Association for Physical Anthropology
COPYRIGHT © 2008 Nelson Education Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Chapter Preview

 What is the Anatomy of Bipedalism and How is it

Preserved in the Fossil Record?

 Who Were the Australopithecines and What Were

They Like?

 Why Had Australopithecus Become A Bipedal

Walker?

THE ANATOMY OF
BIPEDALISM
Shared derived characteristics distinguishing hominins

from the other African apes


§Position of foramen magnum is more forward

§S-shaped spinal column
§Wide and foreshortened pelvis
§“kneeing-in” of thigh bones (femora)
§Stable arched foot and absent opposable big toe
§Shorter toes

THE ANATOMY OF
BIPEDALISM

THE ANATOMY OF
BIPEDALISM

Australopithecus
a well-known hominin
that lived between 4.2
and 1 mya in East and
South Africa
Bipedal when on the
ground
Apelike brain


Australopithecus

Early hominins

Gracile Australopithecines
Ø 3.9 to 2 mya in East Africa

Ø 3.5 to 2.3 mya in South Africa
Ø Erect bipeds, about 1-1.5 m. in stature
Ø Apelike skull morphology
Ø Teeth for chewing food in a hominin fashion


Ø Earlier fossils show dental features similar to some
late Miocene apes; later South African fossils do
not
Ø Sexually dimorphic, in body size and canine tooth
size


Ø Foramen magnum is forward and downward-

looking, as in genus Homo
Ø Brain is about a third of a modern human brain in
size, and three times larger than Miocene apes
Ø Endocasts suggest that the human cerebral
reorganization has not yet occurred
Ø Blood drainage system for the brain is significantly
different from genus Homo


Australopithecines
 Two indisputable facts:

1. Retention of some form of

adaptation to arboreal life

 2. Evolution of erect bipedal

position long before
acquiring highly enlarged
brain


Robust Australopithecines
South Africa
Ø 1.8 to 1 million years ago
Ø Thick bones for their size,
with prominent muscle
markings
Ø Sagittal crest, for huge
temporal muscles (more
evident in males) – an
example of convergent
evolution in gorillas and
hominins


Robust Australopithecines
East Africa
Ø 2.5 to 1.3 million years ago

Ø More massive skull and larger body size than
South African relatives
Ø Enormous molars, premolars, mandible and
palate


Gracile-Robust Relationship
East African robust forms likely evolved from earlier gracile
forms in east Africa

In South Africa the robusts were either an offshoot of the

East African lineage, or convergent evolution from a
South African ancestor

Robust-Homo Relationship
Robust australopithecines had evolved into highly

efficient and specialized consumers of plant food

Many anthropologists believe this allowed early Homo

and robust australopithecines to co-exist for 1.5
million years because they avoided competition for
the same ecological niche

 ** law of competitive exclusion



AUSTRALOPITHECINE
PREDECESSORS
 Sahelanthropus tchadensis (Chad)

§ 7-6 mya
§ Small canines and humanlike face
§ Probably bipedal
§ Recent 3D reconstruction confirms it is more
closely related to hominins
§ Likely close to common ancestor
§

AUSTRALOPITHECINE
PREDECESSORS
 Orrorin tugenensis (east Africa)

§ 6 mya
§ 13 fragments of lower jaw, teeth, thigh bones
§ Molars are thickly enameled like
Australopithecines, but smaller
§ Suggestion of bipedalism
§ Uncertain evolutionary relationship

AUSTRALOPITHECINE
PREDECESSORS
 Ardipithecus (east Africa)

§ 5.8 to 4.4 mya

§ Sp. kadabba and ramidus
§ Likely bipedal when on the ground
§ Mixture of ape and hominin dental features
§ Forested environment
§


AUSTRALOPITHECINE
PREDECESSORS
 Kenyanthropus platyops (east Africa)

§ Contemporary with early east African

australopithecines

§ Maeve Leakey sees her fossil as ancestral to the

genus Homo


AUSTRALOPITHECINE
PREDECESSORS
 Relationship to Hominins

Current evidence indicates that hominins evolved from late

Miocene apes, becoming distinct about 5 mya

More than one bipedal model emerged from this new primate
niche; one of them was Australopithecus

Are any of these predecessors ancestral to the australopithecines

or to chimpanzees, or did they become extinct?

Pattern in early hominin evolution has been short periods of

change, marked by prolonged periods of stasis

ENVIRONMENT, DIET, AND
AUSTRALOPITHECINE ORIGINS
 Major climatic changes in the late Miocene:

Ø Drying up of the Mediterranean Sea


Ø Breaking up of forests

Ø Creation of a mosaic environment with more

open areas, interspersed with forest patches


Effect of Climatic Change
1. Change in diet
 - less “tree” food
 - more open ground foraging, e.g. seeds,
grasses, roots
2. Change in dentition
 - smaller canine teeth
 - male canines became as small as those of
females


Australopithecines and Tools
No evidence of toolmaking clearly associated with

Australopithecines, although hands of later
Australopithecines were suitable

Could Australopithecus have been a tool-user and

maker of simple tools such as bonobos and
chimpanzees today?

They could have used wooden tools, convenient

stones, animal bones

 COPYRIGHT © 2008 Nelson Education Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

HUMAN BIPEDALISM
 Disadvantages
§ More visible to predators
§ Exposes soft underbelly
§ Interferes with ability to change direction instantly while
running
§ Not a fast locomotion method
§ Frequent lower back problems and circulatory problems
§ Serious impediment if one leg is injured
§
** all of these disadvantages placed our early hominin ancestors


at risk

 COPYRIGHT © 2008 Nelson Education Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

HUMAN BIPEDALISM
 How did bipedalism become a viable adaptation?

 Possible selective pressures:


 1. Males gather and transport food to females, who were

restricted by dependency of offspring

 2. Nonterritorial, far-ranging scavenging, because a biped is

able to travel long distances without tiring

 3. To cope with heat stress out in the open



ORIGINAL
STUDY
 The Naked and the Bipedal

Ø Upright stance greatly reduces the amount of the body’s

surface area that is directly exposed to the sun and
increases the amount exposed to the cooler breezes a few
feet above the ground
Ø
Ø Hair loss helps to lose more body heat

Ø
Ø The “naked biped” becomes an adaptation to the heat of the

savanna by keeping the brain cool and allowing for its
expansion
•
HUMAN BIPEDALISM

4. Bipedalism is far more economical than quadrupedal

locomotion at walking speed
5.

 The causes of bipedalism are likely to be multiple

 e.g. food transport AND carrying infants AND
reaching for food AND seeing predators AND
using hands as protection


NEXT TIME:
Homo habilis and Cultural

Origins


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Human Evolution

Link to the Canadian Association for Physical Anthropology

COPYRIGHT © 2008 Nelson Education Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

 What is the Anatomy of Bipedalism and How is it

 Who Were the Australopithecines and What Were

 Why Had Australopithecus Become A Bipedal

COPYRIGHT © 2008 Nelson Education Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

from the other African apes

§Position of foramen magnum is more forward

COPYRIGHT © 2008 Nelson Education Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

COPYRIGHT © 2008 Nelson Education Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

COPYRIGHT © 2008 Nelson Education Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

COPYRIGHT © 2008 Nelson Education Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

COPYRIGHT © 2008 Nelson Education Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

COPYRIGHT © 2008 Nelson Education Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Ø 3.9 to 2 mya in East Africa

COPYRIGHT © 2008 Nelson Education Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

COPYRIGHT © 2008 Nelson Education Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Ø Foramen magnum is forward and downward-

COPYRIGHT © 2008 Nelson Education Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

1. Retention of some form of

 2. Evolution of erect bipedal

COPYRIGHT © 2008 Nelson Education Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

COPYRIGHT © 2008 Nelson Education Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Ø 2.5 to 1.3 million years ago

COPYRIGHT © 2008 Nelson Education Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

In South Africa the robusts were either an offshoot of the

COPYRIGHT © 2008 Nelson Education Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Robust australopithecines had evolved into highly

Many anthropologists believe this allowed early Homo

 ** law of competitive exclusion

COPYRIGHT © 2008 Nelson Education Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

COPYRIGHT © 2008 Nelson Education Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

§ 5.8 to 4.4 mya

COPYRIGHT © 2008 Nelson Education Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

§ Contemporary with early east African

§ Maeve Leakey sees her fossil as ancestral to the

COPYRIGHT © 2008 Nelson Education Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Current evidence indicates that hominins evolved from late

Are any of these predecessors ancestral to the australopithecines

Pattern in early hominin evolution has been short periods of

Ø Drying up of the Mediterranean Sea

Ø Creation of a mosaic environment with more

COPYRIGHT © 2008 Nelson Education Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

COPYRIGHT © 2008 Nelson Education Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

No evidence of toolmaking clearly associated with

Could Australopithecus have been a tool-user and

They could have used wooden tools, convenient

 COPYRIGHT © 2008 Nelson Education Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

** all of these disadvantages placed our early hominin ancestors

 COPYRIGHT © 2008 Nelson Education Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

 Possible selective pressures:

 1. Males gather and transport food to females, who were

 2. Nonterritorial, far-ranging scavenging, because a biped is

 3. To cope with heat stress out in the open

COPYRIGHT © 2008 Nelson Education Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Ø Upright stance greatly reduces the amount of the body’s

Ø Hair loss helps to lose more body heat

Ø The “naked biped” becomes an adaptation to the heat of the

4. Bipedalism is far more economical than quadrupedal

 The causes of bipedalism are likely to be multiple

COPYRIGHT © 2008 Nelson Education Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Homo habilis and Cultural