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There has been a long debate about the possibility of multiple contemporaneous species of Australopithecus in both eastern and southern Africa, potentially exhibiting different forms of bipedal locomotion. Here, we describe the previously unreported morphology of the os coxae in the 3.67 Ma Australopithecus prometheus StW 573 from Sterkfontein Member 2, comparing it with variation in ossa coxae in living humans and apes as well as other Plio-Pleistocene hominins. Statistical comparisons indicate that StW 573 and 431 resemble humans in their anteroposteriorly great iliac crest breadth compared with many other early australopiths, whereas Homo ergaster KNM WT 15000 surprisingly also has a relatively anterioposteriorly short iliac crest. StW 573 and StW 431 appear to resemble humans in having a long ischium compared with Sts 14 and KNM WT 15000. A Quadratic Discriminant Function Analysis of morphology compared with other Plio-Pleistocene hominins and a dataset of modern humans and hominoids shows that, while Lovejoy's heuristic model of the Ardipithecus ramidus os coxae falls with Pongo or in an indeterminate group, StW 573 and StW 431 from Sterkfontein Member 4 are consistently classified together with modern humans. Although clearly exhibiting the classic "basin shaped" bipedal pelvis, Sts 14 (also from Sterkfontein), AL 288-1 Australopithecus afarensis, MH2 Australopithecus sediba and KNM-WT 15000 occupy a position more peripheral to modern humans, and in some analyses are assigned to an indeterminate outlying group. Our findings strongly support the existence of two species of Australopithecus at Sterkfontein and the variation we observe in os coxae morphology in early hominins is also likely to reflect multiple forms of bipedality.
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Biomechanics is the set of tools that explain organismal movement and mechanical behavior and links the organism to the physicality of the world. As such, biomechanics can relate behaviors and culture to the physicality of the organism. Scale is critical to biomechanical analyses, as the constitutive equations that matter differ depending on the scale of the question. Within anthropology, biomechanics has had a wide range of applications, from understanding how we and other primates evolved to understanding the effects of technologies, such as the atlatl, and the relationship between identity, society, culture, and medical interventions, such as prosthetics. Like any other model, there is great utility in biomechanical models, but models should be used primarily for hypothesis testing and not data generation except in the rare case where models can be robustly validated. The application of biomechanics within anthropology has been extensive, and holds great potential for the future.
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Antropologia , Primatas , Animais , Fenômenos BiomecânicosRESUMO
The Ontario Food Terminal is a central node in the North American food system, the third largest wholesale produce market on the continent. During the first 20 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, qualitative research was conducted with food system actors to understand the impact of the public health crisis on produce supply chains. This paper contributes to the study of nonhumans in agri-food networks and rural spaces, specifically human-plant relations. Employing a posthumanist lens to investigate why produce supply chains continued to flow during the pandemic, it is argued that plants helped to keep supply chains moving at the Terminal in the face of crisis. Plant agency in this case is found to be the product of relationships with humans as well as nonhuman systems. This agency is collective in nature and is rooted in the plants' relationships with humans as perishable foods and commodities as well as ecosystem relationships. Further, the paper demonstrates how plant agency, that had political effects during the pandemic, is normalizing. This underlines the importance of considering the nature of the relationship in the context of relational agency, and highlights that it cannot be assumed that plants are allies in food system change.
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This paper presents insights from the work of the Canadian Community of Practice in Ecosystem Approaches to Health (CoPEH-Canada) and 15 years (2008-2022) of land-based, transdisciplinary, learner-centred, transformative learning and training. We have oriented our learning approaches to Head, Hands, and Heart, which symbolise cognitive, psychomotor, and affective learning, respectively. Psychomotor and affective learning are necessary to grapple with and enact far-reaching structural changes (eg, decolonisation) needed to rekindle healthier, reciprocal relationships with nature and each other. We acknowledge that these approaches have been long understood by Indigenous colleagues and communities. We have developed a suite of teaching techniques and resources through an iterative and evolving pedagogy based on participatory approaches and operating reciprocal, research-pedagogical cycles; integrated different approaches and ways of knowing into our pedagogy; and built a networked Community of Practice for continued learning. Planetary health has become a dominant framing for health-ecosystem interactions. This Viewpoint underscores the depth of existing scholarship, collaboration, and pedagogical expertise in ecohealth teaching and learning that can inform planetary health education approaches.
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Ecossistema , Aprendizagem , Canadá , Nível de Saúde , Educação em SaúdeRESUMO
Afro-Eurasian monkeys originated in the Miocene and are the most species-rich modern primate family. Molecular and fossil data have provided considerable insight into their evolutionary divergence, but we know considerably less about the evolutionary processes that underlie these differences. Here, we apply tests developed from quantitative genetics theory to a large (n > 3000) cranio-mandibular morphometric dataset, investigating the relative importance of adaptation (natural selection) and neutral processes (genetic drift) in shaping diversity at different taxonomic levels, an approach applied previously to monkeys of the Americas, apes, hominins, and other vertebrate taxa. Results indicate that natural selection, particularly for differences in size, plays a significant role in diversifying Afro-Eurasian monkeys as a whole. However, drift appears to better explain skull divergence within the subfamily Colobinae, and in particular the African colobine clade, likely due to habitat fragmentation. Small and declining population sizes make it likely that drift will continue in this taxon, with potentially dire implications for genetic diversity and future resilience in the face of environmental change. For the other taxa, many of whom also have decreasing populations and are threatened, understanding adaptive pressures similarly helps identify relative vulnerability and may assist with prioritising scarce conservation resources.
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Colobinae , Hominidae , Animais , Evolução Biológica , Deriva Genética , Variação Genética , Seleção Genética , CrânioRESUMO
The ecological determinants of health make explicit the ways in which human health and well-being depend on the biosphere and its systems. Water, oxygen, and food are listed along with soil systems, water systems, material for shelter, energy, the ozone layer and a stable climate. Research in the sciences is uncovering the critical role that the earth microbiome, including the human microbiome, plays in human health. The relationship between commensal microbiota and the systems of the human body, as well as the ways in which these systems are interdependent with other ecosystems such as food systems, invites revisiting the ecological determinants of health. In this commentary, I argue that microbiota, including the human microbiome, should be considered ecological determinants of health. Such a characterization would recognize the importance of the microbiome to human health. It would also frame this as a public health issue and raise questions about health equity, including who benefits from the knowledge produced through biomedical research.
RéSUMé: Les déterminants écologiques de la santé rendent explicites comment la santé et le bien-être humains dépendent de la biosphère et de ses systèmes. L'eau, l'oxygène et la nourriture figurent parmi ces déterminants comme également l'écologie du sol, le réseau hydrographique, les matériaux d'hébergement, l'énergie, la couche d'ozone, et un climat stable. La recherche dans le domaine des sciences révèle le rôle critique que joue le microbiote humain dans la santé humaine. Les rapports entre les microbiotes commensales et les systèmes du corps humain, y compris les interdépendances entre d'autres écosystèmes tels les systèmes alimentaires, invitent une réexamination des déterminants écologiques de la santé. Je soutiens, dans ce commentaire, qu'on devrait considérer les microbiotes, y compris le microbiote humain, des déterminants écologiques de la santé. Un tel caractérisation reconnaîtrait l'importance du microbiote vis-à-vis la santé humaine et le situerait dans le cadre d'un problème de santé publique. En plus, il soulèverait des questions sur l'équité en santé y compris la question de qui va bénéficier du savoir qui découlerait de la recherche biomédicale.
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Equidade em Saúde , Microbiota , Ecossistema , HumanosRESUMO
The StW 573 skeleton of Australopithecus prometheus from Sterkfontein Member 2 is some 93% complete and thus by far the most complete member of that genus yet found. Firmly dated at 3.67 Ma, it is one of the earliest specimens of its genus. A crucial aspect of interpretation of locomotor behaviour from fossil remains is an understanding of the palaeoenvironment in which the individual lived and the manner in which it would have used it. While the value of this ecomorphological approach is largely accepted, it has not been widely used as a stable framework on which to build evolutionary biomechanical interpretations. Here, we collate the available evidence on StW 573's anatomy in order, as far as currently possible, to reconstruct what might have been this individual's realized and potential niche. We explore the concept of a common Australopithecus "bauplan" by comparing the morphology and ecological context of StW 573 to that of paenocontemporaneous australopiths including Australopithecus anamensis and KSD-VP-1/1 Australopithecus afarensis. Each was probably substantially arboreal and woodland-dwelling, relying substantially on arboreal resources. We use a hypothesis-driven approach, tested by: virtual experiments, in the case of extinct species; biomechanical analyses of the locomotor behaviour of living great ape species; and analogical experiments with human subjects. From these, we conclude that the habitual locomotor mode of all australopiths was upright bipedalism, whether on the ground or on branches. Some later australopiths such as Australopithecus sediba undoubtedly became more terrestrial, allowing sacrifice of arboreal stability in favour of manual dexterity. Indeed, modern humans retain arboreal climbing skills but have further sacrificed arboreal effectiveness for enhanced ability to sustain striding terrestrial bipedalism over much greater distances. We compare StW 573's locomotor adaptations to those of living great apes and protohominins, and agree with those earlier observers who suggest that the common panin-hominin last common ancestor was postcranially more like Gorilla than Pan.
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Hominidae , Animais , Evolução Biológica , Fósseis , Gorilla gorillaRESUMO
'Plant blindness' stops people from recognizing the important role that plants play in society, and is acute when it comes to seeing how plants support health. The social sciences are beginning to explore how plants are imbricated in sociopolitical processes, including ones that produce health. This paper theorizes people-plant relations and the agency of plants in the production of health, drawing on data from a multispecies ethnography conducted in Toronto's largest social housing community during the 2018 growing season. The paper applies a posthumanist lens to find that food-producing plants in the area exert their agency and are health-supporting actors when collaborating with residents to advocate for community gardens and influence neighbourhood design. By arguing that plants are actual agents of change in sociopolitical processes, the article deepens an understanding of the health-supporting role of plants and provides empirical evidence for a view of health as a process, as opposed to a status, that is produced through relationships. The paper suggests that the term 'relational health' be used to describe a conception of health that recognizes that health is produced through interconnections and interdependencies, including between people and plants. The article contributes to discourses exploring the human health relationship to nature, including One Health.
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Jardinagem , Características de Residência , Antropologia Cultural , Humanos , Plantas , Ciências SociaisRESUMO
OBJECTIVES: Many primates change their locomotor behavior as they mature from infancy to adulthood. Here we investigate how long bone cross-sectional geometry in Pan, Gorilla, Pongo, Hylobatidae, and Macaca varies in shape and form over ontogeny, including whether specific diaphyseal cross sections exhibit signals of periosteal adaptation or canalization. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Diaphyseal cross sections were analyzed in an ontogenetic series across infant, juvenile, and adult subgroups. Three-dimensional laser-scanned long bone models were sectioned at midshaft (50% of biomechanical length) and distally (20%) along the humerus and femur. Traditional axis ratios acted as indices of cross-sectional circularity, while geometric morphometric techniques were used to study cross-sectional allometry and ontogenetic trajectory. RESULTS: The humeral midshaft is a strong indicator of posture and locomotor profile in the sample across development, while the mid-femur appears more reflective of shifts in size. By comparison, the distal diaphyses of both limb elements are more ontogenetically constrained, where periosteal shape is largely static across development relative to size, irrespective of a given taxon's behavior or ecology. DISCUSSION: Primate limb shape is not only highly variable between taxa over development, but at discrete humeral and femoral diaphyseal locations. Overall, periosteal shape of the humeral and femoral midshaft cross sections closely reflects ontogenetic transitions in behavior and size, respectively, while distal shape in both bones appears more genetically constrained across intraspecific development, regardless of posture or size. These findings support prior research on tradeoffs between function and safety along the limbs.
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Tamanho Corporal/fisiologia , Diáfises/anatomia & histologia , Fêmur/anatomia & histologia , Hominidae , Locomoção/fisiologia , Fatores Etários , Anatomia Transversal , Animais , Antropologia Física , Antropometria , Hominidae/anatomia & histologia , Hominidae/fisiologia , Úmero/anatomia & histologiaRESUMO
Papio originated in the early Pleistocene and diverged into multiple species, six of which are extant. Among parapatric Papio species, there are obvious phenotypic differences that arose during the radiation of the genus. We use data from modern baboon ecology and morphology, as well as fossils and paleoecology, to examine baboon biogeography, divergence, and evolution, focusing on skull form and body mass. To provide context, techniques of historical biogeography, combining data from modern distributions in statistical models alongside qualitative assessments of the fossil record, were used to estimate ancestral ranges in papionins. The ancestral range of Papio was estimated to be in South Tropical Africa rather than in the far south of the continent, followed by multiple movements south and west. Progress to the north and east may have been slowed because of high-density blocking of niches by other monkeys. Geometric morphometric data were used in partial least squares analysis with dietary, environmental, and other variables to investigate skull differentiation. Environment was significantly correlated with skull form, but diet emerged as more significant. Exploitation of subterranean foods was found to be an important influence on skull morphology. Bayesian modeling of cercopithecid body mass data allowed reconstruction of ancestral body mass and showed a pattern of accelerating body mass evolution in a number of lineages. This appears to be related to exploitation of terrestrial niches in the Pliocene, with terrestriality also implicated in the large geographic distributions of many fossil and modern papionins, including Papio. Given the greater heterogeneity of body masses in males, size differentiation within Papio seems most likely to be linked to sexual selection rather than environmental factors, although further work is required to examine the relative importance of plasticity versus local adaptation in shaping baboon phenotypic variation.
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Evolução Biológica , Fósseis/anatomia & histologia , Papio/anatomia & histologia , Migração Animal , Animais , Tamanho Corporal/fisiologia , Feminino , Masculino , Filogeografia , Crânio/anatomia & histologia , África do SulRESUMO
Baboons, members of the genus Papio, comprise six closely related species distributed throughout sub-Saharan Africa and southwest Arabia. The species exhibit more ecological flexibility and a wider range of social systems than many other primates. This article summarizes our current knowledge of the natural history of baboons and highlights directions for future research. We suggest that baboons can serve as a valuable model for complex evolutionary processes, such as speciation and hybridization. The evolution of baboons has been heavily shaped by climatic changes and population expansion and fragmentation in the African savanna environment, similar to the processes that acted during human evolution. With accumulating long-term data, and new data from previously understudied species, baboons are ideally suited for investigating the links between sociality, health, longevity and reproductive success. To achieve these aims, we propose a closer integration of studies at the proximate level, including functional genomics, with behavioral and ecological studies.
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Comportamento Animal , Evolução Biológica , Papio/fisiologia , Comportamento Social , Envelhecimento , Animais , Ecologia , Feminino , Genômica , Masculino , Modelos Animais , Papio/genética , FilogeografiaRESUMO
American Association of Physical Anthropologists (AAPA) membership surveys from 1996 and 1998 revealed significant gender disparities in academic status. A 2014 follow-up survey showed that gender equality had improved, particularly with respect to the number of women in tenure-stream positions. However, although women comprised 70% of AAPA membership at that time, the percentage of women full professors remained low. Here, we continue to consider the status of women in biological anthropology by examining the representation of women through a quantitative analysis of their participation in annual meetings of the AAPA during the past 20 years. We also review the programmatic goals of the AAPA Committee on Diversity Women's Initiative (COD-WIN) and provide survey results of women who participated in COD-WIN professional development workshops. Finally, we examine the diversity of women's career paths through the personal narratives of 14 women biological anthropologists spanning all ranks from graduate student to Professor Emeritus. We find that over the past 20 years, the percentage of women first authors of invited symposia talks has increased, particularly in the sub-disciplines of bioarchaeology, genetics, and paleoanthropology. The percentage of women first authors on contributed talks and posters has also increased. However, these observed increases are still lower than expected given the percentage of graduate student women and women at the rank of assistant and associate professor. The personal narratives highlight first-hand the impact of mentoring on career trajectory, the challenges of achieving work-life satisfaction, and resilience in the face of the unexpected. We end with some suggestions for how to continue to improve equality and equity for women in biological anthropology.
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Antropologia , Docentes , Mulheres/psicologia , Antropologia/organização & administração , Antropologia/estatística & dados numéricos , Biologia/organização & administração , Biologia/estatística & dados numéricos , Escolha da Profissão , Docentes/psicologia , Docentes/estatística & dados numéricos , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Mães/psicologia , Sociedades Científicas/organização & administração , Sociedades Científicas/estatística & dados numéricosRESUMO
Pitheciids, one of the major radiations of New World monkeys endemic to South and Central America, are distributed in the Amazon and Orinoco basins, and include Callicebus, Cacajao, Chiropotes, and Pithecia. Molecular phylogenetics strongly support pitheciid monophyly, whereas morphological analyses infer a range of phylogenies including a sister relationship between Aotus and Callicebus. We collected geometric morphometric cranial data from pitheciids and Aotus, and used cranial data for distance-based phylogenetic analysis and tests of phylogenetic signal. Phylogenetic analyses of pitheciids were repeated with Lagothrix, Callimico, and Saimiri outgroups for Procrustes shape with and without Aotus based on the whole cranium and six anatomical regions. All phylogenetic signal tests were significant, and tree lengths were shortest and had the least morphological change over the phylogeny for Procrustes residuals from the cranial base and palate. The majority of phylogenetic analyses of Procrustes shape for pitheciids without Aotus supported the molecular phylogeny, and with Aotus included the majority inferred an Aotus-Callicebus clade, although three analyses with Callimico as outgroup supported the molecular phylogeny. The morphological similarity of Aotus and Callicebus is likely a mix of plesiomorphy, allometry, and homoplasy, and future phylogenetic inference of living and extinct platyrrhine taxa should consider the impact of these factors alongside outgroup selection and cranial region.
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Cebidae , Filogenia , Crânio/anatomia & histologia , Animais , América Central , Pitheciidae , PlatirrinosRESUMO
Nearly all primates are ecologically dependent on trees, but they are nonetheless found in an enormous range of habitats, from highly xeric environments to dense rainforest. Most primates have a relatively 'generalised' skeleton, enabling locomotor flexibility and facilitating other crucial functions, such as manual foraging and grooming. This paper explores the associations between habitat, locomotion and morphology in the forelimbs of cercopithecids (Old World monkeys), contextualising their skeletal ecomorphological patterns with those of other mammals, and complementing functional morphological analyses with phylogenetic comparative techniques. The ecomorphological signals present in the generalised primate postcranium, and how an ancestral arboreal 'bauplan' might be modified to incorporate terrestriality or exploit distinct arboreal substrates, are investigated. Analysis of ecomorphological variation in guenons indicates that terrestrial Chlorocebus species retain core elements of a general guenon form, with modifications for terrestriality that vary by species. Adaptation to different modes of arboreality has also occurred in Cercopithecus. The considerable morphological similarity in the guenons sampled emphasises the importance of generality in the primate postcranium - much forelimb variation appears to have emerged stochastically, with a smaller number of traits having a strong functional signal. Analysis of a broader sample of cercopithecids and comparison with felids, suids and bovids indicates that although the cercopithecid humerus has functional morphological signals that enable specimens to be assigned with a reasonable degree of certainty to habitat groups, there is considerable overlap in the specimens assigned to each habitat group. This probably reflects ecological dependence on trees, even in predominantly terrestrial species, as well as the multiple functions of the forelimb and, in some cases, wide geographic distributions that promote intraspecific variation. The use of phylogenetic correction reduced the discriminatory power of the models, indicating that, like allometry, phylogeny contains important ecomorphological information, and should not necessarily be factored out of analyses.
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Adaptação Biológica , Evolução Biológica , Cercopithecidae/anatomia & histologia , Ecossistema , Membro Anterior/anatomia & histologia , Animais , Comportamento Animal , Locomoção , FilogeniaRESUMO
We test the performance of two models that use mammalian communities to reconstruct multivariate palaeoenvironments. While both models exploit the correlation between mammal communities (defined in terms of functional groups) and arboreal heterogeneity, the first uses a multiple multivariate regression of community structure and arboreal heterogeneity, while the second uses a linear regression of the principal components of each ecospace. The success of these methods means the palaeoenvironment of a particular locality can be reconstructed in terms of the proportions of heavy, moderate, light, and absent tree canopy cover. The linear regression is less biased, and more precisely and accurately reconstructs heavy tree canopy cover than the multiple multivariate model. However, the multiple multivariate model performs better than the linear regression for all other canopy cover categories. Both models consistently perform better than randomly generated reconstructions. We apply both models to the palaeocommunity of the Upper Laetolil Beds, Tanzania. Our reconstructions indicate that there was very little heavy tree cover at this site (likely less than 10%), with the palaeo-landscape instead comprising a mixture of light and absent tree cover. These reconstructions help resolve the previous conflicting palaeoecological reconstructions made for this site.