Associated cranial and forelimb remains attributed to Australopithecus afarensis from Hadar, Ethiopia.

A partial skeleton from Hadar, Ethiopia (A.L. 438-1) attributed to Australopithecus afarensis is comprised of part of the mandible, a frontal bone fragment, a complete left ulna, two second metacarpals, one third metacarpal, plus parts of the clavicle, humerus, radius, and right ulna. It is one of only a few early hominin specimens to preserve both cranial and postcranial elements. It also includes the first complete ulna from a large A. afarensis individual, and the first associated metacarpal and forelimb remains. This specimen, dated to approximately 3Ma, is among the geologically youngest A. afarensis fossils and is also one of the largest individuals known. Its ulnar to mandibular proportions are similar to those of the geologically older and much smaller A.L. 288-1, suggesting that body size increased without disproportional enlargement of the mandible. Overall, however, analysis of this large specimen and of the diminutive A.L. 288-1 demonstrates that the functional morphology of the A. afarensis upper limb was similar at all body sizes; there is no evidence to support the hypothesis that more than one hominin species is present at Hadar. Morphologically, all apparent apomorphic traits of the elbow, forearm, wrist, and hand of A.L. 438-1 are shared uniquely with humans. Compared to humans, A.L. 438-1 does have a more curved ulna, although A.L. 288-1 does not, and it appears to have had slightly less well-developed manipulatory capabilities of its hands, although still more derived than in apes. We conclude that selection for effective arboreality in the upper limb of Australopithecus afarensis was weaker than in non-hominins, and that manipulative ability was of greater selective advantage than in extant great apes.

Temporal trends and metric variation in the mandibles and dentition of Australopithecus afarensis.

The Pliocene hominin samples from Hadar and Laetoli are thought to represent one species, Australopithecus afarensis, that exhibits stasis throughout its temporal range and has high levels of skeletal sexual dimorphism. In this paper, we test the hypothesis of stasis in dental and mandibular dimensions using nonparametric rank correlation methods to detect temporal trends and randomization tests to evaluate their statistical significance. We then use two methods (CV resampling; Fligner-Killeen test) to compare overall levels of variation in the fossil sample to those of extant hominoid species. Together, these analyses allow us to gauge the effects of changes through time on variation in mandibles and teeth of A. afarensis.P(3)mesiodistal length, M(3)size, and canine shape change through time but do not appear unusually variable in the sample as a whole. These temporal trends possibly reflect differences between the Laetoli and Hadar site-samples. For mandibles, a pronounced trend towards greater corpus size occurs late in the temporal sequence and contributes to high levels of variation compared to African apes. These results show that significant directional changes do occur in the A. afarensis mandibles and teeth, and in these elements, at least, the species is not static. Temporal variation is clearly an important component of overall variation in the A. afarensis lineage, even though other factors, such as sexual dimorphism, may also play a part.

Systematic assessment of a maxilla of Homo from Hadar, Ethiopia.

The Hadar site in Ethiopia is a prolific source of hominid fossils attributed to the species Australopithecus afarensis, which spans the period 3.4-3.0 million years (myr) in the Sidi Hakoma, Denen Dora and lower Kada Hadar Members of the Hadar Formation. Since 1992 a major focus of field work conducted at Hadar has centered on sediments younger than 3.0 myr, comprising the bulk of the Kada Hadar Member. Witnessing the rise of the "robust" Australopithecus clade(s), the origin of Homo, and the first record of lithic artifacts, the period between 3.0 and 2.0 myr is strategically vital for paleoanthropology. However, in eastern Africa it is a particularly poorly sampled temporal interval. This paper provides a detailed comparative description of a hominid maxilla with partial dentition found at Hadar in 1994. The specimen, A.L. 666-1, derives from a lithic artifact-bearing horizon high in the Kada Hadar Member, 0.8 m below the BKT-3 tephra, dated by the 40Ar/39Ar method to 2.33 +/- 0.07 myr. Our preliminary investigation of the hominid specimen showed unambiguous affinities with early representatives of the Homo clade (Kimbel et al. [1996] J. Hum. Evol. 31:549-561). Further studies on maxillary and dental morphology lead us to attribute A.L. 666-1 to Homo aff. H. habilis. The new Hadar jaw is the first paleontological evidence for the projection of the H. habilis maxillofacial morphotype well back into the Pliocene. It may represent a male of this species, whose maxillary hypodigm consists chiefly of females. A subsidiary finding of our study is that of the three earliest recorded species of Homo (H. habilis, H. rudolfensis, H. erectus), it is H. habilis that exhibits facial morphology closest to that expected in their last common ancestor.

The crescent of foramina in Australopithecus afarensis and other early hominids.

The crescent of foramina of the cerebral surface of the sphenoid bone (superior orbital fissure, foramen rotundum, foramen ovale, foramen spinosum) differs morphologically in the African great apes and modern humans. New discoveries of Australopithecus afarensis at Hadar, Ethiopia, draw attention to the similarity of the crescent, particularly the "foramen" shape of the superior orbital fissure and its close proximity to the foramen rotundum, in this species, the African apes, and many other primates. Australopithecus africanus also shows this primitive pattern, whereas "robust" australopiths and humans share a configuration in which a true, laterally extended superior orbital fissure intervenes between the greater and lesser wings of the sphenoid and a broad bridge of bone separates the fissure from the foramen rotundum. This shared morphology may be added to the list of putative "robust" australopith-Homo synapomorphies.

The first skull and other new discoveries of Australopithecus afarensis at Hadar, Ethiopia.

The Hadar Formation in Ethiopia is a prolific source of Pliocene Hominidae attributed to the species Australopithecus afarensis. Since 1990, three seasons of field work have contributed 53 new specimens to the hominid inventory from Hadar, including the first fairly complete adult skull. Ranging from 3.0 to 3.4 million years in age (Fig. 1), the new specimens bear on key debates in hominid palaeontology, including the taxonomic implications of sample variation and the reconstruction of locomotor behaviour. They confirm the taxonomic unity of A. afarensis and constitute the largest body of evidence for about 0.9 million years of stasis in the earliest known hominid species.

A new look at the loss of consciousness experience within the U.S. Naval forces.

Two surveys on the incidence of G-induced loss of consciousness (G-LOC) in U.S. Navy aircraft have been completed. Questionnaires returned (981) indicated an incidence rate of 12.2% in the first survey. A slightly higher incidence rate was found in the second survey based on the 2,459 questionnaires returned. Results indicated that G-LOC is a significant problem in naval aviation in older as well as newer generation aircraft. Age, height, and weight of respondents did not appear to be related to incidence of G-LOC. Results indicated a need for improvement in the anti-G protective system and its use. Different forms of physical fitness training may differentially influence G-tolerance.

New partial skeleton of Homo habilis from Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania.

A new partial skeleton of an adult hominid from lower Bed I (about 1.8 Myr ago), Olduvai Gorge, is described. This specimen's craniodental anatomy indicates attribution to Homo habilis, but its postcranial anatomy, including small body size and relatively long arms, is strikingly similar to that of some early Australopithecus individuals.

Doppler bubble detection and decompression sickness: a prospective clinical trial.

Decompression sickness in human beings exposed to high ambient pressure is thought to follow from gas bubble formation and growth in the body during return to low pressure. Detection of Doppler-shifted ultrasonic reflections in major blood vessels has been promoted as a noninvasive and sensitive indicator of the imminence of decompression sickness. We have conducted a double-blind, prospective clinical trial of Doppler ultrasonic bubble detection in simulated diving using 83 men, of whom 8 were stricken and treated for the clinical disease. Diagnosis based only on the Doppler signals had no correlation with clinical diagnosis. Bubble scores were only slightly higher in the stricken group. The Doppler technique does not appear to be of diagnostic value in the absence of other clinical information.

Cranial morphology of Australopithecus afarensis: a comparative study based on a composite reconstruction of the adult skull.

The Pliocene hominid species Australopithecus afarensis is represented by cranial, dental, and mandibular remains from Hadar, Ethiopia, and Laetoli, Tanzania. These fossils provide important information about the cranial anatomy of the earliest known hominids. Because complete crania or skulls are not known, we produced a composite reconstruction of an adult male skull based on 13 specimens from the Hadar Formation. The reconstruction serves as a testable hypothesis regarding functional relationships in the A. afarensis skull and is the basis for the comparative study presented here. We examine six major aspects of cranial and mandibular anatomy. We combine our results with those of White et al. (1981) in a discussion of alternate hypotheses of early hominid phylogeny. In the cranium, jaws, and teeth A. afarensis exhibits a morphological pattern that we interpret as primitive for the Hominidae. Homo habilis retains a number of these primitive features for which A. africanus, A. robustus, and A. boisei share derived character states, particularly in the masticatory apparatus. Homo and "robust" species of Australopithecus share a suite of derived cranial base features. These shared traits may relate to upper facial orthognathium which is also common to these taxa and are probably indicative of parallelism rather than a close phylogenetic relationship. The cranial base characteristics of A.L. 333-45 do not, contrary to Olson's (1981) claims, provide evidence for an A. afarensis--"robust" Australopithecus sister group. When the range of mastoid variation in extant African pongids and A. afarensis is examined thoroughly, the Pliocene hominid appears to retain a primitive, rather than derived, morphology.

Vertebral pathology in the afar australopithecines.

Ten vertebral elements from the AL-288 partial hominid skeleton and 11 elements from the AL-333 collection are described. The AL-288 column presents a marked kyphosis at the level of thoracic vertebrae 6 through 10, with pronounced new bone formation on the ventral surfaces of these vertebrae. These features, associated with narrowed disc space and minor osteophytosis, resemble Scheuermann disease in the human. Even though this diagnosis is consistent with a basically human, bipedal locomotor repertoire, the presence of Scheuermann disease suggests that lifting, climbing, or acrobatic activities may have been important in early hominids.

A systematic assessment of early African hominids.

A large sample of Pliocene fossil hominid remains has been recovered from the African sites of Hadar in Ethiopia and Laetolil in Tanzania. These collections, dating approximately between 2.9 and 3.8 million years ago, constitute the earliest substantial record of the family Hominidae. This article assesses the phylogenetic relationships of the newly discovered fossil hominids and provides a taxonomy consistent with that assessment. A new taxon, Australopithecus afarensis, has been created to accommodate these Pliocene hominid fossils.