| Title: |
A Female Homo erectus Pelvis from Gona, Ethiopia. |
| Authors: |
Simpson, Scott W.; Quade, Jay; Levin, Naomi E.; Butler, Robert; Dupont-Nivet, Guillaume; Everett, Melanie; Semaw, Sileshi |
| Source: |
Science (pre-March 2025); 11/14/2008, Vol. 322 Issue 5904, p1089-1092, 4p |
| Subject Terms: |
Homo erectus; Fossil hominids; Pelvic physiology; Childbirth; Morphology; Animal adaptation |
| Geographic Terms: |
Ethiopia |
| Abstract: |
Analyses of the KNM-WT 15000 Homo erectus juvenile male patrial skeleton from Kenya concluded that this species had a tall thin body shape due to specialized locomotor and climatic adaptations. Moreover, it was concluded that H. erectus pelves were obstetrically restricted to birthing a small-brained altricial neonate. Here we describe a nearly complete early Pleistocene adult female H. erectus pelvis from the Busidima Formation of Gona, Afar, Ethiopia. This obstetrically capacious pelvis demonstrates that pelvic shape in H. erectus was evolving in response to increasing fetal brain size. This pevis indicates that neither adaptations to tropical environments nor endurance running were primary selective factors in determining pelvis morphology in H. erectus during the early Pleistocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| : |
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| Database: |
Complementary Index |