The Missing Metatarsal
The February 28th issue of Time magazine reports that scientists "...found a crucial clue: a fourth metatarsal, one of the long bones connecting the toes to the ankle...The bone shows signs of an arch, both from front to back and from side to side...".
Palaeontologists believe the newly discovered bone belonged to Australopithecus afarensis, a hominid that lived 3.2 million years ago. The bone is arched like the metatarsal of a human and differs from bones in the foot of an arboreal ape, thus proving conclusively that Australopithecus afarensis did in fact walk upright like modern man. This could not be confirmed until now, but had long been suspected as evidenced by the skeleton's hip and knee structure, and the way the backbone is attached to the skull.
Some websites still claim that "...extensive research done on various Australopithecus specimens by two world-renowned anatomists from England and the USA, Lord Solly Zuckerman and Prof. Charles Oxnard, showed that these creatures did not walk upright in human manner". However, this was 1950's/60's research that did not relate specifically to Australopithecus afarensis. And the conclusions drawn are considered dubious anyhow.
Australopithecus afarensis, or "Lucy", was discovered in 1974 near Hadar in Ethiopia by Tom Gray and Donald Johanson. In 1975 Donald Johanson's team discovered another site in Hadar which included over 200 fossil specimens from at least 13 individuals. It was at the latter site that the metatarsal was found. You can read more about Australopithecus afarensis on Wikipedia.
It's very interesting that Australopithecus afarensis had a brain size only one third that of modern man, not much bigger than apes today. Contrary to what was originally hypothesised, this suggests that upright bipedalism came before a larger brain. So was it upright bipedalism that led to increased brain size further down the track?
Australopithecus afarensis is thought to be an ancestor of Homo sapiens. Physical evidence will continue to be uncovered and eventually this will be confirmed. There are many things not yet understood about the evolution of life on Earth and there will always be issues that are hotly debated. But one thing is certain: The so-called "Theory of Evolution" is not really a theory at all. It is a demonstrated and accepted scientific fact.
Palaeontologists believe the newly discovered bone belonged to Australopithecus afarensis, a hominid that lived 3.2 million years ago. The bone is arched like the metatarsal of a human and differs from bones in the foot of an arboreal ape, thus proving conclusively that Australopithecus afarensis did in fact walk upright like modern man. This could not be confirmed until now, but had long been suspected as evidenced by the skeleton's hip and knee structure, and the way the backbone is attached to the skull.
Some websites still claim that "...extensive research done on various Australopithecus specimens by two world-renowned anatomists from England and the USA, Lord Solly Zuckerman and Prof. Charles Oxnard, showed that these creatures did not walk upright in human manner". However, this was 1950's/60's research that did not relate specifically to Australopithecus afarensis. And the conclusions drawn are considered dubious anyhow.
Australopithecus afarensis, or "Lucy", was discovered in 1974 near Hadar in Ethiopia by Tom Gray and Donald Johanson. In 1975 Donald Johanson's team discovered another site in Hadar which included over 200 fossil specimens from at least 13 individuals. It was at the latter site that the metatarsal was found. You can read more about Australopithecus afarensis on Wikipedia.
It's very interesting that Australopithecus afarensis had a brain size only one third that of modern man, not much bigger than apes today. Contrary to what was originally hypothesised, this suggests that upright bipedalism came before a larger brain. So was it upright bipedalism that led to increased brain size further down the track?
Australopithecus afarensis is thought to be an ancestor of Homo sapiens. Physical evidence will continue to be uncovered and eventually this will be confirmed. There are many things not yet understood about the evolution of life on Earth and there will always be issues that are hotly debated. But one thing is certain: The so-called "Theory of Evolution" is not really a theory at all. It is a demonstrated and accepted scientific fact.
posted by Robert Charroux at
6:44 PM
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