Australopithecus Prometheus or Australopithecus africanus? While the question may seem simple, it is not so simple for scientists who have been stumped by the famous Little Foot fossil for nearly 30 years.
The fossil – a nearly complete skeleton formed several million years ago – was found in the Sterkfontein Caves in South Africa in the 1990s. It represents one of the most enigmatic and most complete examples of Australopithus in the hominid record. Since its discovery, it has been classified as two separate species. But the new analysis in American Journal of Biological Anthropology challenges these traditional classifications by hinting that the fossil may closely match another human relative.
“This fossil remains one of the most important discoveries in hominin history, and its true identity is key to understanding our evolutionary past,” said Jesse Martin, study author and adjunct associate professor at La Trobe University in Australia, in a statement. press release. “We think that this is clearly not the case when A. Prometheus or A. African. Most likely, this is a previously unidentified human relative.”
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Classification problem for Little Foot
Little Foot fossil, affectionately named after the small size of the feet Sterkfontein Caves It took nearly 20 years to excavate and analyze and is consistently classified as an Australopithite, a member of the lineage ancient hominins which flourished in South Africa from approximately 3 to 1.95 million years ago.
But the specific species classification of the ape-like fossil is still not entirely clear, and has been that way since the fossil was first discovered. In fact, although the scientists who discovered this specimen associated it with the species A. Prometheus in his first complete anatomical description of the skull of his find V Journal of Human Evolution in 2019 other teams classified it as a species A. Africanwhich operated from the same site in South Africa around the same time as Little Foot.
By going back to the specimen to figure out its identity, the authors of the new study determined that the anatomy of the Little Foot fossil is different from that of the Little Foot fossil. A. Prometheus And A. African.
“Our results challenge the current classification of Little Foot,” Martin said, according to the press release, “and highlight the need for further rigorous, evidence-based taxonomy.”
Read more: Introduction to the History of Human Evolution
Special little foot skull
To get their results, the study authors analyzed Little Foot's skull structure and identified several features that distinguished this specimen from both. A. Prometheus And A. African. Among these distinguishing characteristics were the small size or volume of the skull and its general shape, including the convexity at the back of the skull and the bony ridge at the top, which were more pronounced in Little Foot than in Little Foot. A. Prometheus in particular.
“It is clearly different from the standard specimen Australopithecus Prometheus.” said Andy Harris, another author of the study and a professor at La Trobe University, according to the report. “Its importance and difference from other modern fossils clearly shows the need to define it as a distinct, unique species.”
More analyzes are needed to develop a new classification for Little Foot, the study authors said. When this happens, it could change our understanding of the history of hominins as they spread across South Africa and Southern Africa. shared his areamillions of years ago.
Read more: Humans descended from a common ancestor that appeared 6 million years ago
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