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Imaging of the Microstructural Failure Mechanism in the Human Hip
Published on: September 29, 2023
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Human-like hip joint loading in Australopithecus africanus and Paranthropus robustus
Timothy M Ryan1, Kristian J Carlson2, Adam D Gordon3
1Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA; Center for Quantitative Imaging, Energy and Environmental Sustainability Laboratories, Institutes for Energy and the Environment, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.
Journal of Human Evolution
|May 1, 2018
Summary
Fossil hominin hip joints reveal human-like bipedalism. Australopiths, like early Homo, show bone structures indicating human-like hip movement, despite some ape-like traits.
Area of Science:
- Paleoanthropology
- Biomechanics
- Skeletal Biology
Background:
- Early hominin bipedalism remains debated, particularly regarding gait, species variation, and arboreal activity.
- Understanding locomotor behavior requires analyzing skeletal adaptations in fossil species.
Purpose of the Study:
- To reconstruct hip joint loading conditions in fossil hominins using femoral head trabecular bone structure.
- To compare locomotor behaviors of Australopithecus africanus, Paranthropus robustus, and early Homo with modern humans and apes.
Main Methods:
- Microcomputed tomography (microCT) data analyzed trabecular bone fabric anisotropy, material orientation, and bone volume fraction.
- Trabecular bone structure of the femoral head compared across modern humans, extant non-human hominoids, baboons, and fossil hominins.
Main Results:
- Australopith femoral head trabecular bone structure closely resembles that of modern humans and Pleistocene Homo, not extant apes.
- This similarity suggests human-like hip kinematics and a more extended hip posture during bipedalism in australopiths.
- Australopiths exhibit robust femoral head trabecular bone, indicating musculoskeletal loading comparable to extant apes.
Conclusions:
- Fossil hominin femoral head structure provides evidence for human-like bipedal locomotion in Pliocene hominins.
- While exhibiting human-like hip kinematics, australopiths retained some ape-like musculoskeletal characteristics.
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