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Australopithecus

Early African hominins
A.afarensis, A.africanus, A.garhi

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Model of Australopithecus afarensis, an ape-like hominin who was the first to use stone tools
Model of a male Australopithecus afarensis in the Natural History Museum of Vienna, Austria. Image by Wolfgang Sauber. (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Early African Hominins

Australopithecus is a genus of early African hominins that lived during the Pliocene and Early Pleistocene era of the early Stone Age, between about 4.5 million and 2 million years ago.

They are believed to be closely associated with early humans, although precise evidence is lacking.

Australopithecines may also include the genera Paranthropus, and Kenyanthropus.

The main species of Australopiths include A. afarensis, A. africanus, A. anamensis, A. garhi, and A. sediba.

The name 'Australopithecus' comes from the Latin/Greek words for 'southern ape'.

Geographical Distribution

The geographical distribution of australopithecines, spans the eastern and southern parts of the African continent.

In East Africa, particularly the Great Rift Valley running through Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania, numerous australopithecine fossils have been unearthed.

Australopithecus afarensis, exemplified by the famous 'Lucy' specimen, was discovered in the Afar region of Ethiopia. Likewise, Australopithecus anamensis finds have been documented at Kanapoi and Allia Bay in Kenya.

South Africa is another significant locus of australopithecine discovery. The Sterkfontein, Swartkrans, Malapa and Makapansgat sites have revealed specimens of Australopithecus africanus and Australopithecus sediba, among others.

From the plains of East Africa to the caves of South Africa, Australopiths inhabited a variety of environmental biomes (from woodland to grassland), which shows they possessed a high degree of adaptability, and explains their longevity as a species.

Discovery

Fossils of Australopithecus were first discovered in 1924, when Australian anthropologist Raymon Dart (1893-1988) found a child’s skull in Taung, South Africa.

Named the "Taung Child", this specimen was the first to be attributed to the genus and was designated as A. africanus.

Subsequent years saw many more discoveries across eastern and southern Africa, particularly in sites such as Hadar (Ethiopia) and Sterkfontein (South Africa).

Anatomy

Not surprisingly, the anatomy of Australopithecus combines a blend of both ape-like and human-like characteristics.

Although the Australopithecus genus is a long way from the physiological profile of modern humans, it is not far from that of early humans, such as H. habilis.

In fact, it is widely believed that australopithecines evolved into one of the first human species sometime between 3.3 million and 2.8 million years ago.

However, the absence of fossil evidence remains a serious problem. We lack key details about how and when the evolutionary 'join' occurred.

Australopithecus Timeline

Here is a chronological list of the main Australopiths, plus the closely related hominins Paranthropus, and Kenyanthropus.

Famous Fossils

Several key specimens have deepened our understanding of Australopithecus:

Lucy

One of the most famous fossils in prehistoric archaeology, 'Lucy' - a young female adult, named after the song 'Lucy in the sky with diamonds' - was discovered in 1974 at Hadar by Donald Johanson and his team, Lucy remains one of the most complete A. afarensis skeletons, providing essential data on locomotion and stature.

Lucy's skeleton, which is about 40 percent complete, shows she stood about 1.1 meters tall and lived around 3.2 million years ago.

It confirmed our understanding that bipedalism preceded other human-like traits such as larger brain size.

First Family

This is a collection of 13 A. afarensis individuals of various ages, which were discovered in the Afar region, close to where Lucy was found.

Selam

Discovered in the Dikika region of Ethiopia in 2000, this fossil of A. afarensis is believed to be a three-year-old girl.

What makes her particularly invaluable is the presence of a nearly complete skull, giving researchers insights into the brain development and growth of this species.

Taung Child

Discovered in 1924, the Taung Child was the first specimen of A. africanus to be identified.

With its preserved face and partial braincase, this juvenile specimen provided the first evidence of early hominin presence in South Africa.

Most striking was the position of the foramen magnum (the hole in the skull where the spinal cord exits), indicating an upright, bipedal posture.

Mrs. Ples

Unearthed in Sterkfontein, South Africa, in 1947, by Robert Broom and John Robinson, 'Mrs. Ples' is the nickname for the most complete skull of an adult A. africanus.

Estimated to be around 2.5 million years old, this specimen, with its well-preserved facial features and braincase, offers a detailed look into the species' morphology. Now believed to be male.

Little Foot

Discovered in the 1990s in Sterkfontein, 'Little Foot' is a remarkably complete A. africanus skeleton, providing extensive details on the species' physical characteristics and capabilities.

BOU-VP-12/130

An important A. garhi fossil discovery from Ethiopia's Middle Awash region. It consists of a partial cranium, showing a modest brain size, akin to Australopithecus afarensis, yet with substantially larger postcanine teeth.

Alongside these cranial remains, archaeologists found long bones with similar proportions to those of modern humans. Plus, animal bones were found bearing cut marks, suggesting A. garhi might have used stone tools for butchery.

These remains may help to bridge the gap between earlier australopithecines and the first members of the human (homo) genus.

Kanapoi/Allia Bay

Found in Kenya's Lake Turkana region, the Kanapoiis fossil, consisted of a tibia which clearly confirmed bipedal locomotion in A. anamensis.

The Allia Bay fossil - a partial cranium and jaw - showed a mix of primitive and advanced dental characteristics.

The size and shape of the canines and molars highlight a transitional phase between more ancestral diets and the diversified feeding patterns of later hominins.

Malapa Fossils

Two exceptionally well-preserved A. sediba skeletons, MH1 (a juvenile male) and MH2 (an adult female).

The MH1 specimen provides a remarkably intact skull, revealing a small brain volume but with a modern frontal lobe morphology.

Its hand, with long and powerful fingers coupled with a derived thumb, suggests a blend of arboreal and manual dexterity.

MH2's pelvis is reminiscent of more ancient hominins, but the lower limbs indicate efficient bipedalism.

These skeletal remains exhibit traits found in both earlier australopithecines and later members of the genus Homo. Very confusing.

See also: Archaeology Glossary.

Stone Tools Art

The 2011 discovery of rudimentary stone tools dating back to 3.3 million years ago, at Lomekwi in northern Kenya, upset the conventional view that Homo habilis - the earliest known species of Homo - was the first to use stone tools.

The Lomekwi tools predated H. habilis by 500,000 years, and showed that Australopithecus afarensis or some other species already knew the technology, even if it was less sophisticated than the Oldowan tool industry. See History of Stone Tools.

See also: Prehistoric Art Timeline.

Due to the creativity and cognitive thinking involved, one might say that tool-making was the first type of prehistoric art known to Stone Age culture.

Early Human Species

References

(1) Asfaw, B; White, T; Lovejoy, O; Latimer, B; Simpson, S; Suwa, G (1999). "Australopithecus garhi: a new species of early hominid from Ethiopia". Science. 284 (5414): 629–35.
(2) Berger, L. R.; de Ruiter, D. J.; Churchill, S. E.; Schmid, P.; Carlson, K. J.; Dirks, P. H. G. M.; Kibii, J. M. (2010). "Australopithecus sediba: a new species of Homo-like australopith from South Africa". Science. 328 (5975): 195–204.
(3) Bower, Bruce (May 20, 2006). "Hybrid-Driven Evolution: Genomes show complexity of human-chimp split". Science News. 169 (20): 308–309.
(4) Gibbons, Ann (2006). The first human. New York: Doubleday. ISBN 978-0385512268.
(5) Leakey, Richard (1994). The Origins of Human Kind. New York: Basic Books. ISBN 978-0-465-03135-1.

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