Natural selection, genetic drift, and trait correlation shaped hominin midfoot evolution [PDF]
Nature CommunicationsThe foot has undergone significant morphological change throughout the hominin lineage as our extinct relatives evolved to walk upright. The midfoot displays key adaptations for terrestrial bipedal locomotion, and is therefore considered a target of ...
Klara Komza +2 more
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Bipedalism and brain expansion explain human handedness. [PDF]
PLoS BiologyHumans exhibit a striking and near-universal population-level right-hand preference, an evolutionary singularity unmatched among primates. Despite its pervasiveness, the origins of this lateralization remain poorly understood.
Thomas A Püschel +2 more
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The past, present and future of uterine fibroids [PDF]
Facts, Views & Vision in ObGynHuman evolution –specifically the development of bipedalism– altered the shape of the pelvis so that legs alone provided locomotion across the ground. As a result, the forelimbs were freed from locomotion.
Fred Burbank +2 more
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Ardipithecus ramidus ankle provides evidence for African ape-like vertical climbing in the earliest hominins [PDF]
Communications BiologyThe origin of the human lineage was catalyzed by bipedalism, but how this locomotor mode evolved is debated. We investigated the evolutionary context of human bipedalism by analyzing the morphology of the 4.4 million-year-old hominin talus attributed to ...
Thomas C. Prang +4 more
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Muscle synergy in several locomotor modes in chimpanzees and Japanese macaques, and its implications for the evolutionary origin of bipedalism through shared muscle synergies [PDF]
Scientific ReportsRecent evidence indicates that human ancestors utilized a combination of quadrupedal walking, climbing, and bipedal walking. Therefore, the origin of bipedalism may be linked to underlying mechanisms supporting diverse locomotor modes.
Ryosuke Goto +4 more
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Revue de Primatologie, 2022 In recent decades, the way paleoanthropologists conceive of bipedalism has changed considerably. If bipedalism was once thought to be a unique characteristic, specific to the hominin lineage and marking its origin, the hypothesis of its anatomical and ...
Mathilde Lequin, François Marchal
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Homoplasy in the evolution of modern human-like joint proportions in Australopithecus afarensis
eLife, 2021 The evolution of bipedalism and reduced reliance on arboreality in hominins resulted in larger lower limb joints relative to the joints of the upper limb. The pattern and timing of this transition, however, remains unresolved.
Anjali M Prabhat +5 more
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Becoming adults: exploring the late ontogeny of the human talus
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 2023 IntroductionThe talus plays an important role in receiving and dissipating the forces and linking the leg and the foot. As such, it is of paramount importance to analyze how its morphology, internal and external, changes during late ontogeny and through ...
Carla Figus +18 more
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Decoupling body shape and mass distribution in birds and their dinosaurian ancestors
Nature Communications, 2023 It is accepted that non-avian theropod dinosaurs, with their long muscular tails and small forelimbs, had a centre-of-mass close to the hip, while extant birds, with their reduced tails and enlarged wings have their mass centred more cranially ...
Sophie Macaulay +7 more
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Human, almost human: how many human species are there?
Bulletins et Mémoires de la Société d’Anthropologie de Paris, 2022 The debate on the question "How many human species are there?" may never be resolved. Leaving aside the theological and political aspects of the question, this paper analyses three dimensions of the problem – metaphysical, biological and technical ...
Thierry Hoquet
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