The Australopithecines

Australopithecus anamensis

More chimp-like
Not as exciting as the others
Probably not a tool user
Australopithecus afarensis

Most well known hominid fossil

Primitive characters:
Small braincase (420 cc)
Relatively large, pointed canines
Bipedal, but with ape tendencies
Long arms, curved fingers, toes

A recent find at the site of Lomekwi in Kenya has seen the addition of a new genus and species,
Kenyanthropus platyops.

Kenyanthropus platyops
3.5 Ma Kenya Bipedal

Early Hominids

A. afarensis
Late Miocene Early Pliocene hominins show transitional features
Relatively small brains
Relatively primitive dentition intermediate
Bipedal - probable arboreal behaviours

Hominids as Erect Bipeds

The postcranial skeletons of Australopithecus and Paranthropus are those of erect bipeds.
Evidence includes the shape of the pelvis, the position of the foramen magnum, the presence
of a lumbar curve, the way the femurs are angled in, the anatomy of the foot, and the Laetoli
footprints.
Many hypothesis have been proposed to explain the advantages of erect bipedalism. These
benefits include raising the line of sight, freeing the hands, and assisting the body in
maintaining a proper body temperature.
Gracile vs. Robust Body Types
Robust = full of strength, powerfully built, like Neanderthals
Gracile = graceful, slender, like Modern Humans

Gracile Australopithecines
Cranial Capacity - 450-530 cc
Fully Bipedal
Arises around 4 million years ago and lasts till around 1 million years ago
Two types Gracile and Robust
Begin making tools around 2.5 million years ago
Later Australopithecines

At 3-2 myr hominins are increasingly diverse

Paranthropus robusts
heavier build, larger toothed
A side branch, extinct by 1 myr
Australopithecus gracile
lighter build, smaller toothed
thought to be ancestral to Homo
The Early Hominids of South Africa
An early fossil find was a juvenile skull found at the Taung quarry and placed in the species
Australopithecus africanus.
Fossils found in the Sterkfontein Valley belong to both Australopithecus africanus and Paranthropus
robustus.

Australopithecus africanus
A clear biped foramen magnum
Teeth & mandible are human-like
Small canines Large, flat molars

The Early Hominids of East Africa

Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, associated with the Leakey family, has been the site of finds of
Paranthropus boisei and early members of the genus Homo.
West Lake Turkana was where Paranthropus aethiopicus was discovered.
Australopithecus anamensis was found at the site of Kanapoi in Kenya.
Hadar in northern Ethiopia was the site of the discovery of Lucy, who belongs to the species
Australopithecus afarensis.
Fossilized footprints dating between 3.8 and 3.6 million B.P. have been found at the site of Laetoli.

Robust Australopithicines (Paranthropus)

Huge teeth and jaws
Huge muscles for these jaws with special crests to attach these muscles to.
Survived until around 1 million years ago
Slightly larger cranial capacity
The Paranthropus Skull
Paranthropus is characterized by specialized chewing apparatus that includes large premolars and
molars associated with a thick, deep mandible.
Many features of the skull are related to the development of powerful chewing muscles.
The zygomatic arch is long and powerfully built, flaring away from the skull.
A small sagittal crest appears on the top of most specimens for attachment of the powerful temporalis
muscle.
Paranthropus
Lived from 2.5 to 1.2 myr
Differentiated from Australopithecus
Our close relatives But not our direct
ancestors
Went extinct by 1 myr!

Australopithecus aethiopicus

Paranthropus
Anatomy reflects heavy muscular forces
Characterised as megadontic
Large molars
Heavy, buttressed mandibles
Small anterior teeth

Australopithecus boisei

Johanson & Edgar, 1996.

Paranthropus boisei
OH5

Robust Hominids of East Africa

Tim White
Australopithecus afarensis
Top and side views of the mandible LH 4 from Laetoli, Tanzania
boisei OH 5, from Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania
1985 David L. Brill

Paranthropus

Alan Walker/National Museums of Kenya

Paranthropus aethiopicusWT 17000, the Black
skull, from Lomekwi, West Lake Turkana,
Kenya

Australopithecus robustus

Other Hominids
A recent find at the site of Lomekwi in Kenya has seen the addition of a new genus and species,
Kenyanthropus platyops.
A find discovered in Chad, located in north central Africa, has been placed in the species
Australopithecus bahrelghazalia.

Kenyanthropus platyops
Range in Brain Size
Brain size is a critical criterion for assignment into Homo
Australopithecines(400 to 545 cc)
Homo (509 to 1,880 cc)
Slight overlapbetween genera

Homo vs Australopithecus
Hominin Brain Size
Australopithecines show a slight change through time
Homo shows substantial brain size increase over 2 myr
Homo shows a rapid increase

Early Hominid Dentition

In general, the dentition of Australopithecus and Paranthropus resembles that of Homo. Yet early
species of Australopithecus show many nonhominid features, and Paranthropus evolved rather

specialized dentition.
For example, many features of the dentition of A. afarensis are intermediate between that of modern
humans and apes.
The dentition of Paranthropus is highly specialized for heavy grinding with the back teeth.
Tools and Dentition
Reduction in dentition
Lower chewing and grinding forces
Coincides with increasing evidence for tool
use
Increasing dependence on culture

Early Hominid Tool Use

The earliest hominid tools were probably made of perishable tools such as wood, bark, leaves, and
fiber. However, the evidence for tool use in the archaeological record consists primarily of stone
objects.
The first concrete evidence of stone tool manufacture comes from a site in Ethiopia dated at 2.6
million B.P.
Further evidence for early hominid tool use stems from the anatomy of the hand. The hand anatomy
of Paranthropus robustus introduced the possibility that members of this species were capable of a
precision grip and complex toolmaking.
Brains and Tools
Chimpanzees are regular tool users with brain sizes avg. 370 cc
By 2 myr hominin brain sizes exceed the Great Apes
Hominins were sufficiently intelligent to use tools

The Early Hominid Brain and Skull

The cranial capacities of Australopithecus and Paranthropus vary from 400 to 530 cc, compared to
an average of 1350 for modern humans.
The structure of the skull reflects a small cranium associated with large dentition and powerful
chewing muscles.
The Australopithecus skull shows prognathism and the bones are pneumatized. The expansion of
the temporalis muscle is reflected in the presence of a temporal-nuchal crest. The top views shows
postorbital constriction.
The forehead, behind brow ridges, is low and flat.
Chimp Comparisons
Chimps show tool use(but do not equate with the Oldowan)

 Chimps create sites (but the density and nature of Oldowan sites is far different)
Emergence of Tool Use
Earliest known tools are 2.5 myr old
Most occur from 2-1.5 myr
Contemporary with early Homo
Oldowan Technology

Lokalalei, Kenya
2.34 myr
Reassembly of stone tools
Shows a sequence of flaking actions
Refit Stone Tools
Lokalalei, Kenya
Selected materials
knowledge of raw materials
Applied controlled flaking
required dextrous motor skills
Shows some forethought and knowledge of
rock mechanics

Visibility of Tool Use

Behaviours become visible at 2.5 myr
Witnessing an intensification of tool use
Oldowan Sites
Oldowan sites show diversity of types

Stone tool scatters Dense concentrations of

stone tools Stone tools with associated fossils
Site types imply different activities over the
landscape
The Oldowan represents new adaptations
and a dietary shift