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At least 649 records · Page 36Linked to original sources
PubMed1977

A fossil skull probably of the genus Homo from Sterkfontein, Transvaal.

A skull with numerous Homo features was discovered at Sterkfontein, near Krugersdorp, Transvaal, in August 1976. It stems from member 5 of the Sterkfontein Formation, with stone tools and with fauna pointing to an age of 2.0-1.5 Myr. The underlying member 4 contains Australopithecus africanus, no stone tools, and fauna dated 3.0-2.5 Myr. The new find supports the view that the Sterkfontein toolmaker was not the earlier A. africanus, but a later hominid related to Homo habilis. By a remarkable double coincidence, the first pieces of the new skull, Stw 53, were found on August 9, 1976, 40 years to the day after Robert Broom's first visit to Sterkfontein, while the last part came to light on August 17, the 40th anniversary of Broom's first discovery of a hominid cranium at Sterkfontein. Although most of the fragments were found in a decalcified pocket of cave earth, one large part of the calvaria was still present in the calcified wall of the pocket, thus establishing indisputably the provenance of the specimen.

Craniology↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The gait of Hipparion sp. from fossil footprints in Laetoli, Tanzania.

Three Hipparion trails, two from adults and one from a juvenile dating from about 3.5 Myr ago, have now been found in Laetoli. Comparison of the Hipparion footprints with a variety of imprints made by domestic horses showed that the animals moved with a running walk over the soft and slippery soil of Laetoli: in the alternative hind-fore-hind-fore footfall sequence one foot is always close to the ground and can take over the body weight if the supporting foot slides. The smaller juvenile was taking relatively longer strides than the adult. Body support was provided mainly by the third main toe. The evidence indicates that volcanic ash was falling at the time the footprints were made, suggesting that the animals were passing through the area at about the same time. The criss-cross pattern in the trails of the juvenile and adult Hipparion can be seen in the travelling behaviour of mares and foals of living horses. Evidence that the Hipparion were moving with a running walk supports the view that this gait is not 'man-taught' for rider-comfort, but a natural ability in modern horses.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Distinct dental development patterns in early fossil hominids.

New studies on the jaws of hominids, based on incremental growth markings in teeth, can now provide an absolute timescale with which to calibrate dental developmental events such as tooth emergence. These new estimates of crown-formation times and the observed sequences of dental development are different in the hominids Australopithecus and Paranthropus. Early hominids evidently had shorter periods of dental development than modern humans and therefore a less prolonged infancy.

Animals↗