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Cited by 41Pleistocene-Era Hominins and ArchaeologyPrimate Behavior and EcologyEvolution and Paleontology Studies

Australopithecus sediba and the emergence of Homo: Questionable evidence from the cranium of the juvenile holotype MH 1

Kimbel, William H., Rak, Yoel·2017·Journal of Human Evolution
DOI 10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.03.011
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Abstract

Malapa Hominin (MH) 1, an immature individual whose second permanent molars had recently reached occlusion at the time of death, is the holotype of Australopithecus sediba, a 2-myr-old South African taxon that has been hypothesized to link phylogenetically australopith-grade hominins to the Homo clade. Given the existence of 2.8 myr-old fossils of Homo in eastern Africa, this hypothesis implies a ghost lineage spanning at least 800 kyr. An alternative hypothesis posits a unique relationship between A. sediba and Australopithecus africanus, which predates the Malapa hominins in southern Africa and whose phylogenetic relationships remain ambiguous. The craniofacial morphology of MH 1 looms large in the framing of the two hypotheses. We evaluated these alternatives in two ways. First, we investigated whether the craniofacial morphology of MH 1 was ontogenetically stable at death. Based on data from a late-growth series of chimpanzee, gorilla, and modern human crania, we found that key aspects of MH 1's resemblance to Homo can be accounted for by its immaturity. Second, we studied MH 1 with an eye to identifying craniofacial synapomorphies shared with A. africanus. In this case, MH 1 shows unambiguous affinities in its zygomaticomaxillary and supraorbital morphology to crania from Sterkfontein Member 4, which we found to exhibit unusual derived morphology compared to Homo and other australopiths. We argue that MH 1 provides clear evidence that A. sediba was uniquely related to A. africanus and that the hypothesis of an extensive ghost lineage connecting A. sediba to the root of the Homo clade is unwarranted.

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  • The earliest hominins have supraorbital structures that are weakly differentiated topographically from the braincase, even when a distinct supraorbital torus is present.

    “the earliest hominins have supraorbital structures that are weakly differentiated topographically from the braincase, even when there is a distinct supraorbital torus, as is common in some species of Homo 9,10”

    From The evolutionary history of the human face (2019) · cites this paper as [10]

  • Au. sediba shares derived facial features with Au. africanus, but its facial remodeling differs from all other Australopithecus facial skeletons.

    “The younger species Au. sediba (~2.0 Ma) from South Africa 23 shares derived facial features with Au. africanus 10 , but its facial remodeling differs from all other Australopithecus facial skeletons (see Box 2, Fig. 2) 15”

    From The evolutionary history of the human face (2019) · cites this paper as [10]

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Authors
Kimbel, W. H., & Rak, Y.
Affiliations
  • Arizona State University (US)
  • Tel Aviv University (IL)
Corresponding author
Kimbel, William H.
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Human Evolution
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2017-06
Volume
107
Pages
94-106
ISSN
0047-2484 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.03.011
OpenAlex
W2611929126
Cited by
41
References
37
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 1
FWCI
16.51
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Journal of Human Evolution (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
Institute of Human Origins
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Anthropology › Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Primate Behavior and Ecology
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Evolution and Paleontology Studies
Keywords
Australopithecus sediba, craniofacial morphology, Australopithecus africanus, ghost lineages, synapomorphies, hominin phylogeny
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Africa, Eastern, Africa, Southern, Animals, Dental Occlusion, Biological Evolution, Fossils, Humans, Molar, Phylogeny, Skull, Hominidae

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