Sophisticated scanning technologies is revealing intriguing secrets about Little Foot, the outstanding fossil of an early human forerunner that inhabited South Africa 3.67 million years ago for the duration of a crucial juncture in our evolutionary history.
Scientists mentioned on Tuesday they examined crucial components of the almost full and nicely-preserved fossil at Britain’s national synchrotron facility, Diamond Light Source. The scanning focused upon Little Foot’s cranial vault – the upper portion of her braincase – and her reduce jaw, or mandible.
The researchers gained insight not only into the biology of Little Foot’s species but also into the hardships that this person, an adult female, encountered for the duration of her life.
Little Foot’s species blended ape-like and human-like traits and is regarded as a probable direct ancestor of humans. University of the Witwatersrand paleoanthropologist Ron Clarke, who unearthed the fossil in the 1990s in the Sterkfontein Caves northwest of Johannesburg and is a co-author of the new study, has identified the species as Australopithecus prometheus.
“In the cranial vault, we could identify the vascular canals in the spongious bone that are probably involved in brain thermoregulation – how the brain cools down,” mentioned University of Cambridge paleoanthropologist Amelie Beaudet, who led the study published in the journal e-Life.
“This is very interesting as we did not have much information about that system,” Beaudet added, noting that it probably played a crucial function in the threefold brain size raise from Australopithecus to contemporary humans.
Little Foot’s teeth also have been revealing.
“The dental tissues are really well preserved. She was relatively old since her teeth are quite worn,” Beaudet mentioned, even though Little Foot’s precise age has not however been determined.
The researchers spotted defects in the tooth enamel indicative of two childhood bouts of physiological strain such as illness or malnutrition.
“There is still a lot to learn about early hominin biology,” mentioned study co-author Thomas Connolley, principal beamline scientist at Diamond, making use of a term encompassing contemporary humans and particular extinct members of the human evolutionary lineage. “Synchrotron X-ray imaging enables examination of fossil specimens in a similar way to a hospital X-ray CT-scan of a patient, but in much greater detail.”
Little Foot, whose moniker reflects the little foot bones that have been amongst the initial components of the skeleton discovered, stood roughly 4-foot-3-inches (130 cm) tall. Little Foot has been compared in value to the fossil known as Lucy that is about 3.2 million years old and significantly less full.
Both are species of the genus Australopithecus but possessed diverse biological traits, just as contemporary humans and Neanderthals are species of the similar genus – Homo – but had diverse traits. Lucy’s species is known as Australopithecus afarensis.
“Australopithecus could be the direct ancestor of Homo – humans – and we really need to learn more about the different species of Australopithecus to be able to decide which one would be the best candidate to be our direct ancestor,” Beaudet mentioned.
Our personal species, Homo sapiens, initial appeared roughly 300,000 years ago.
The synchrotron findings create on prior study on Little Foot.
The species was capable to stroll completely upright, but had traits suggesting it also nevertheless climbed trees, possibly sleeping there to stay clear of huge predators. It had gorilla-like facial characteristics and effective hands for climbing. Its legs have been longer than its arms, as in contemporary humans, generating this the most-ancient hominin definitively identified to have that trait.
“All previous Australopithecus skeletal remains have been partial and fragmentary,” Clarke mentioned.
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