Wits Evolutionary Studies Institute (ESI)

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    On the importance of using standardized anatomical terminology in palaeoanthropology: The missing StW 431 pubic body
    (The Evolutionary Studies Institute, 2024-09) VanSickle, Caroline; Zipfel, Bernhard
    In 1987, a partial right pubic bone, StW 431ef, was unearthed with hominin skeletal remains at Sterkfontein Cave, South Africa. It preserved the lateral portion of the superior pubic ramus, yet has been described in the literature as a “pubic body”. We confirmed that no medial pubic fragments were discovered with this fossil and sought to explain why it has been described this way. We found that international anatomical terminology guidelines for humans define the pubic body with medial elements, while veterinary guidelines associate it with the portion near the acetabulum We suggest that as a hominin, the StW 431ef pubis should be described based on the human standards, and is thus the lateral portion of a superior pubic ramus. This case illustrates the importance of palaeoanthropologists agreeing on which international standard to follow to ensure clarity and accuracy across disciplines and over time.
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    Notes on the systematics of micromammals from Sterkfontein, Gauteng, South Africa
    (Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, 2000) Avery, D M
    The micromammalian fauna from Sterkfontein Members 4 , 5E and 6 comprises 34 species. These include six insectivores, three bats, three elephant shrews and 22 rodents. Most of these taxa, or their equivalents, have been previously recorded. Four or five new additions were recovered from deposits probably belonging to Late Pleistocene Member 6, which have previously received little or no attention. Some previously recorded taxa were not found, but this was probably due to differences in identification rather than to the absence of these forms from the sample.
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    Sterkfontein at 75: review of palaeoenvironments, fauna and archaeology from the hominin site of Sterkfontein (Gauteng Province, South Africa)
    (Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, University of the Witwatersrand, 2011-12) Reynolds, Sally Christine; Kibii, Job Munuhe
    Seventy-five years after Robert Broom’s discovery of the first adult Australopithecus in 1936, the Sterkfontein Caves (Gauteng Province, South Africa) remains one of the richest and most informative fossil hominin sites in the world. The deposits record hominin and African mammal evolution from roughly 2.6 million years (Ma) until the Upper Pleistocene. Earlier excavation efforts focused on the Member 4 australopithecine-bearing breccia and the Member 5 stone tool-bearing breccias of Oldowan and Early Acheulean age. Ronald J. Clarke’s 1997 programme of understanding the cave deposits as a whole led to the discovery of the near-complete StW 573 Australopithecus skeleton in the Member 2 deposit of the Silberberg Grotto, and the exploration of lesser known deposits such as the Jacovec Cavern, Name Chamber and the Lincoln Cave. Our aim is to produce a cogent synthesis of the environments, palaeodietary information, fauna and stone artefacts as recorded in the Sterkfontein sequence. We begin with an overview of the site and early accounts of the interpretations of the site-formation processes, after which we discuss each Member in turn and summarize the various types of evidence published so far. Finally, we review the most pertinent debates about the site, including the ages of Sterkfontein Member 2 and 4, and the types of habitats represented at the site through time.
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    Partial hominin tibia (StW 396) from Sterkfontein, South Africa
    (Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, University of the Witwatersrand, 2009-12) Zipfel, Bernhard; Berger, Lee R.
    Comparison of a proximal hominin tibial fragment, StW 396 from Sterkfontein Member 4, South Africa, with the StW 514a tibia, also from Member 4 and attributed to Australopithecus africanus, indicates a degree of morphological variability that may represent the extremes of intraspecific variability or even exceed what one would expect from intraspecific variation alone. The morphology of StW 396 is human-like which suggests adaptations towards stability at the knee, whilst that of StW 514a is interpreted as being more mobile and ape-like (Berger & Tobias 1996). Four features separate the two morphological patterns. In StW 514a the attachment area of m. semimembranosus is strongly localized, whereas in StW 396 the posteromedial border is notched near the base of the lateral intercondylar tubercle; thirdly, the lateral tibial condyle of StW 514a is supero-inferiorly thin, whereas in StW 396 the lateral condyle is supero-inferiorly thickened and the contrast between the condyle and the shaft is less pronounced; lastly the articular surface of the medial condyle of StW 396 is anteroposteriorly broad and highly concave as opposed to the narrower, flatter surface of StW 514a. The degree of variability of the two specimens possibly suggests differing functional adaptations and may thus support an hypothesis suggesting that two hominin species may be represented within Sterkfontein Member 4.