Journal of Human Evolution最新文献

{"title":"Deciphering the correlated evolutionary responses of the hands and feet in modern humans","authors":"Mikel Arlegi ,&nbsp;Adrián Pablos ,&nbsp;Carlos Lorenzo","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103745","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103745","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The coevolution of the hands and feet in modern humans has been a subject of significant interest due to their unique morphological features that differentiate humans from other primates and their implications in human evolution. This study aims to investigate the degree of correlated responses to selection between hands and feet and to determine whether one of the autopods has exerted a greater influence on this coevolution, focusing on their homologous elements and morphological traits. We analyzed the 38 long bones of the hands and feet from 96 modern human specimens, employing a comprehensive methodological framework that includes morphological analysis, assessments of modularity, integration, and covariation patterns under random selection. Additionally, Bayesian analyses were conducted to test whether foot morphology drives hand morphology or <em>vice versa</em>. Our findings indicate a high degree of morphological integration between the hands and feet, revealing a trend of increasing correlation from the first to the fifth ray. Consistent with previous studies, our Bayesian model provides robust evidence that the feet drive the morphological coevolution of human autopods, likely in response to functional selection pressures associated with bipedalism. However, our results also highlight that the intertwined evolutionary trajectories of the hands and feet are not a simple unidirectional model, underscoring the complexity of morphological integration and the diverse coevolutionary patterns among different rays, reflecting their specialized functions and evolutionary adaptations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"207 ","pages":"Article 103745"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145076157","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"First record of a Late Miocene hominid from North Macedonia","authors":"Predrag Radović ,&nbsp;Matthew M. Skinner ,&nbsp;Sanja Alaburić ,&nbsp;Zoran Marković ,&nbsp;Joshua Lindal ,&nbsp;Mirjana Roksandic ,&nbsp;Serdar Mayda","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103734","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103734","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Known for over a century, the Late Miocene mammalian faunas of Veles, North Macedonia, have long been recognized for their scientific importance. However, hominid remains had not been previously reported from this fossil-rich area. Here, we report the discovery of an isolated upper molar from the vicinity of Veles—most likely from the Belushka locality—which constitutes the first known record of a Late Miocene hominid from the Republic of North Macedonia, and provide a review of the associated mammalian assemblages. The molar—probably an M³—exhibits a relatively large crown, broad and low cusps, inferred thick enamel, low dentine horns, and short, thick roots that are not markedly divergent. These characteristics, along with its inferred middle Turolian (MN12) age and Balkan provenance, suggest that the Veles molar belongs to an indeterminate member of the hominid tribe Graecopithecini. Together with the <em>Graecopithecus freybergi</em> mandible from Pyrgos Vassilissis, Greece, and an isolated graecopithecin upper premolar from Azmaka, Bulgaria, the Veles specimen provides rare additional evidence for the survival of apes well into the Turolian of the Balkan Peninsula. Furthermore, the Veles fossil faunas now document the co-occurrence of apes (Graecopithecini indet.) and monkeys (<em>Mesopithecus</em>), a pattern rarely observed in the Eurasian Miocene fossil record.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"207 ","pages":"Article 103734"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144893694","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Enhancing the reconstruction of the Gabasa Neandertal's diet using Ca and Sr stable isotopes","authors":"Pierre-Jean Dodat ,&nbsp;Danaé Guiserix ,&nbsp;Klervia Jaouen ,&nbsp;Lourdes Montes ,&nbsp;Pilar Utrilla ,&nbsp;Vanessa Villalba-Mouco ,&nbsp;Bruno Maureille ,&nbsp;Vincent Balter","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103747","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103747","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Neandertals are known to have occupied Eurasia for over 250,000 years and were well adapted to the environmental conditions of the last ice ages. However, the dietary habits of these ancient humans remain debated, with conflicting evidence suggesting that they may have been primarily carnivorous, omnivorous, or even herbivorous. Traditional isotope analyses have provided some insights into Neandertal diets, but their limitations (preservation and baseline effect) have sparked the need for new approaches. These limitations are well known on the Iberian Peninsula, and while recent results of carbon, oxygen, radiogenic strontium, and zinc isotopes and trace element ratios allow the reconstruction of the Gabasa (Spain) Neandertal diet, some questions still remain unanswered. Our study explores the potential of using calcium and stable strontium isotopes (δ⁴⁴Ca and δ⁸⁸Sr, respectively) to supplement previous analyses performed on the Gabasa Neandertal. Based on the low δ⁴⁴Ca and δ⁸⁸Sr values observed for the Neandertal specimen, our results suggest a hypercarnivorous diet that included low but non-negligible quantities of bone, although it is not possible to rule out the possible impact of milk consumption. Overall, our work argues that Ca, Sr, and Zn stable isotopes can supplement conventional isotope studies and offer a more comprehensive picture of human diets, including that of Neandertals.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"207 ","pages":"Article 103747"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145046189","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"New U-series dates on the Petralona cranium, a key fossil in European human evolution","authors":"Christophe Falguères ,&nbsp;Qingfeng Shao ,&nbsp;Christian Perrenoud ,&nbsp;Chris Stringer ,&nbsp;Olivier Tombret ,&nbsp;Lisa Garbé ,&nbsp;Andreas Darlas","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103732","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103732","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Assigning an age to the nearly complete cranium found in the Petralona Cave in Greece is of outstanding importance because this fossil has a key position in European human evolution. This topic has been debated since its discovery more than 60 years ago, highlighting the difficulties in applying physical dating methods to prehistoric samples. Previous results obtained on various types of samples yielded a large age range between about 170 and 700 ka, precluding any consensus on the age of the human fossil. On the other hand, the original stratigraphic position of the cranium also remains enigmatic, in spite of all the efforts provided by various researchers. Here, we present new U-series dates performed on the calcite that grew directly on the cranium, which is the only sample able to provide crucial information on the age of the fossil. The results yield a finite age suggesting that the Petralona cranium has a minimum age of 286 ± 9 ka. Other speleothems and calcitic coatings were sampled in three main locations in the cave; among them, samples came from the ‘Mausoleum’ where the cranium was supposedly found cemented to a wall. The data show that the calcite covering the cranium is not contemporaneous with that of the Mausoleum wall, despite what was previously thought. The different possibilities, depending on whether or not the cranium was attached to the wall, are discussed in the paper. From a morphological point of view, the Petralona hominin forms part of a distinct and more primitive group than <em>Homo sapiens</em> and Neanderthals, and the new age estimate provides further support for the coexistence of this population alongside the evolving Neanderthal lineage in the later Middle Pleistocene of Europe.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"206 ","pages":"Article 103732"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144841649","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"New insights into the diversity of strepsirrhine primates from the late early–early middle Eocene of North Africa (Algeria and Tunisia)","authors":"Laurent Marivaux ,&nbsp;Anne-Lise Charruault ,&nbsp;Mohammed Adaci ,&nbsp;Mustapha Bensalah ,&nbsp;Mahammed Mahboubi ,&nbsp;Fateh Mebrouk ,&nbsp;Hayet Khayati Ammar ,&nbsp;El Mabrouk Essid ,&nbsp;Wissem Marzougui ,&nbsp;Rim Temani ,&nbsp;Rodolphe Tabuce","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103729","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103729","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Gour Lazib Complex in Algeria and Djebel Chambi in Tunisia are the only African regions with abundant fossil records of diverse mammals dating from the late early to early middle Eocene. Among these mammals, primates, documented by few dental remains, have long attracted much attention for their possible role in the African origin of the group to which we belong, the anthropoids. Continuing fieldwork at these localities has uncovered new dental, cranial, and postcranial remains of these primates, shedding new light on their phylogenetic status. These primates, Azibiidae and Djebelemuridae, are now recognized as ‘advanced’ stem strepsirrhines, i.e., more closely related to crown Strepsirrhini (tooth-combed primates) than to any Adapiformes (other stem strepsirrhines, lacking a tooth-comb). Here, we illustrate and describe new fossil specimens (dental only) recently recovered from these two former sites. From the Gour Lazib Complex (including Glib Zegdou), in addition to the previously known azibiid taxa, <em>Azibius trerki</em> and <em>Algeripithecus minutus</em>, we describe a new, larger azibiid, <em>Azibius magnus</em> sp. nov., and a tiny new taxon, <em>Lazibadapis anchomomyinopsis</em> gen. et sp. nov., which could be a basal djebelemurid. New deciduous teeth and illustrations of earlier fossil taxa are also provided. From Chambi, in addition to <em>Djebelemur martinezi</em>, we identify a small azibiid, previously recognized among <em>Djebelemur</em> paratypes, and describe a new species, <em>Algeripithecus minimissimus</em> sp. nov., based on additional dental material. These new fossils extend our knowledge of the paleodiversity of these two extinct strepsirrhine families and reveal their wider paleogeographic distribution across North Africa at the onset of the Eocene. Azibiidae were highly specialized, likely feeding on a mixed diet of exudates and fruit. This specialization allowed for remarkable diversity but ultimately led to their extinction, possibly due to ecological constraints, although the factors remain unclear due to gaps in the fossil record. The less specialized Djebelemuridae, which had an insectivorous diet, lasted longer but also went extinct by the early Oligocene. These findings have significant implications for the macroevolutionary, paleobiological, and paleogeographical history of early primates in Africa during the Eocene.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"206 ","pages":"Article 103729"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144654926","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A new look at Laccopithecus robustus from the Late Miocene of China: Anatomy, systematics, and paleobiology","authors":"Terry Harrison","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103728","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103728","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>Laccopithecus robustus</em>, from the Late Miocene of Shihuiba in Yunnan Province of southwestern China, is one of the best known pliopithecoids. Dating to ∼7–6 Ma, it is the last-known surviving pliopithecoid in Eurasia. Preliminary reports of the craniodental material of <em>Laccopithecus</em> have been published, but no detailed accounts of the morphology are available. The current study presents a fuller description of the cranium, mandible, and dentition of <em>Laccopithecus</em>; provides comparisons with other pliopithecoids; and highlights the distinguishing features of the genus. <em>Laccopithecus</em> is a relatively large pliopithecoid, with an estimated body mass of 10–11 kg, similar in size to the extant siamang, <em>Symphalangus syndactylus</em>. A suite of dental synapomorphies links <em>Laccopithecus</em> with other crouzeliid pliopithecoids, and among these, <em>Laccopithecus</em> is inferred to be most closely related to the specialized anapithecine crouzeliids (i.e., <em>Egarapithecus</em> and <em>Anapithecus</em>). Comparisons of the <em>Laccopithecus</em> cranium highlight the remarkable similarity in the cranial bauplan among pliopithecoids, even though <em>Laccopithecus</em> combines these general features with several unique specializations (i.e., relatively small orbits, weakly developed supraorbital rims, deep lower face, a single infraorbital foramen, and marked temporal lines that probably converged relatively anteriorly). Sexual dimorphism of canine size in <em>Laccopithecus</em> is moderately high compared with that in extant catarrhines, and this occurs in conjunction with relatively low levels of estimated body mass dimorphism. A similar pattern is seen in some extant colobines, and possibly also in <em>Anapithecus</em>. In terms of dietary behavior, based on relative shearing crest development, <em>Laccopithecus</em>, like the majority of pliopithecoids, appears to have been predominantly frugivorous. An isolated partial manual phalanx, previously attributed to <em>Laccopithecus</em>, may possibly belong instead to the contemporary sivaladapid, <em>Sinoadapis carnosus</em>.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"206 ","pages":"Article 103728"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144654925","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"New fossil hominins from the Upper Laetolil Beds, Laetoli, Tanzania","authors":"Terry Harrison ,&nbsp;Thomas R. Rein ,&nbsp;Amandus Kwekason","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103733","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103733","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>New finds of fossil hominins from the Upper Laetolil Beds at Laetoli in northern Tanzania include associated right and left mandibular fragments and three isolated teeth. The specimens are described and compared with those previously collected from Laetoli, as well as with <em>Australopithecus afarensis</em> specimens from other localities in eastern Africa. The additional specimens contribute to a better understanding of the morphological and metrical variation among the hominins from Laetoli and provide the basis for critically reassessing the taxonomic status of <em>A. afarensis</em>. The Laetoli hominins are remarkably similar morphologically and metrically to those from Hadar, especially when considering their temporal and geographic separation, and together, they are justifiably included in a single species, <em>A. afarensis</em>. Consistent with their greater age, the Laetoli hominins retain several features that might be inferred to be more primitive than those from Hadar hominins, but there is insufficient justification to consider them chronomorphs within an anagenetically evolving lineage. The long-standing debate about whether <em>Australopithecus anamensis</em> and <em>A. afarensis</em> are conspecifics or time-successive members of a single anagenetically evolving lineage remains unresolved, but the current evidence is most consistent with a cladogenetic speciation event and the recognition of these two taxa as separate species.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"206 ","pages":"Article 103733"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144810525","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The hominin teeth from the late Middle Pleistocene Hualongdong site, China","authors":"Xiujie Wu ,&nbsp;María Martinón-Torres ,&nbsp;Song Xing ,&nbsp;Shuwen Pei ,&nbsp;Yanjun Cai ,&nbsp;Haowen Tong ,&nbsp;José María Bermúdez de Castro ,&nbsp;Wu Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103727","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103727","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Between 2014 and 2015, abundant human fossils dated to about 300 ka were found in the Hualongdong (HLD) site, Anhui province, South China. The HLD human sample consists of a nearly complete skull with 14 teeth in situ, one partial maxilla with one premolar in situ, six isolated teeth, three femoral diaphyseal sections, and a few cranial pieces. Former studies found that the HLD hominins show a mosaic of primitive and derived characteristics with regard to the <em>Homo</em> clade. While the cranium, limbs, and mandible display predominantly primitive features shared with early <em>Homo</em> specimens, the facial bones display closer affinities to modern humans. To assess the phylogenetic affinities of the HLD taxa and other Asian hominin record as well as African and European Pleistocene specimens, we present a comparative morphometric analysis of the 21 HLD teeth. Our dental study reveals a mosaic of primitive and derived dental features for the HLD hominins regarding the <em>Homo</em> clade. The results show that most of the HLD dental features resemble those of Late Pleistocene hominins expect for the robust roots of premolars and molars that approach Middle Pleistocene morphologies. A few features like the reduced M₃ link the HLD 6 mandible with East Asian Pleistocene hominins and recent modern humans. The HLD also lacks typical Neanderthal traits. This population presents a remarkable number of derived dental features not present in most Middle Pleistocene hominin fossil assemblages in East Asia with perhaps the exception of Panxian Dadong or Jinniushan. The findings from HLD teeth provide further support to the diversity in late Middle Pleistocene hominin evolution. Several scenarios can potentially explain this variability and would need further exploration. Hualongdong-particular morphology could be the result of genetic drift or gene flow with a more archaic form, such as <em>Homo erectus</em>. Alternatively, the HLD sample could belong to a hominin population closely related to the <em>Homo sapiens</em> clade and be distinct from <em>H. erectus</em>, Neanderthals, and Denisovans.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"206 ","pages":"Article 103727"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144679900","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Reconstruction of the locomotor repertoire of early primates in the light of astragalar and calcaneal shape","authors":"Oriol Monclús-Gonzalo ,&nbsp;David M. Alba ,&nbsp;Anne-Claire Fabre ,&nbsp;Judit Marigó","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103730","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103730","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The locomotor behavior of the earliest euprimates is key to our understanding of the origin and early diversification of the group. Postcranial traits suggest that major locomotor shifts occurred during the early evolution of this clade. Two tarsal bones, the astragalus and the calcaneus, have been extensively studied because of their functional importance. To provide further insights into early primate evolution, we use a three-dimensional high-density sliding semilandmark geometric morphometric approach to quantify tarsal shape on an extensive (936) sample of astragali and calcanei from extant and extinct primates as well as other euarchontans. We reconstruct the locomotor repertoire for a total of 37 extinct taxa, representing all major Paleogene primate groups, using a partial least squares regression between astragalar/calcaneal shape and locomotor percentages compiled from the literature. Our results concur with previous studies and confirm that the astragalar/calcaneal shape exhibits a strong functional signal, allowing to accurately estimate the locomotor repertoire of extinct species. Locomotor estimates based on fossils indicate that early euprimates displayed a diverse array of locomotor repertoires comparable to extant species, highlighting cases of convergent evolution among distantly related groups. Locomotor differences between plesiadapiforms and early euprimates include a greater use of leaping by the latter, suggesting that the origin and early diversification of euprimates involved an important locomotor shift. Based on tarsal shape, this study improves our understanding of early primate locomotion and evolution, providing the most extensive taxonomic scope to date.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"206 ","pages":"Article 103730"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144662430","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Clavicular evidence for continued arboreality in Australopithecus afarensis","authors":"Hannah N. Farrell,&nbsp;Zeresenay Alemseged","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103714","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103714","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The emergence of the hominin lineage is marked by the transition to bipedalism, but debates persist regarding the role of arboreal behaviors during and after this shift. Uncertainties surrounding the locomotor habits of <em>Australopithecus</em> partly stem from the mosaic nature of their skeleton, with pelvic and lower limb traits principally indicating bipedalism, while upper limb morphology retains primitive features largely associated with arboreality in extant apes. Analyses of internal bone structure coupled with new fossil evidence may provide new insights in this regard. Here, we first describe the clavicles of the juvenile <em>Australopithecus afarensis</em> individual DIK-1-1, then the morphology is further investigated alongside adult <em>Au. afarensis</em>, as represented by KSD-VP-1/1, using geometric morphometrics and cortical cross-sectional geometry to identify and interpret potential functional signals. Our findings challenge the notion of a distinct modern human clavicular morphology as separate from chimpanzees, revealing significant overlap in external shape between <em>Homo</em> and <em>Pan</em>. Conversely, internal cortical geometry exhibits developmental plasticity in both extant apes and <em>Au. afarensis</em>, supporting its utility in exploring locomotor adaptations. Furthermore, similarities in internal cortical geometry between <em>Au. afarensis</em> and modern apes support hypotheses of continued arboreal behavior—including suspension and climbing—throughout life in the former. The discordance between external and internal morphology highlights the potential to identify unrecognized functional signals in hominin clavicles previously categorized as ‘primitive’ and cautions against oversimplified taxonomic assignments based solely on external shape. Ultimately, these results emphasize the importance of taking a comprehensive view of morphology to better understand locomotor evolution in early hominins and underscore the relevance of continued arboreality in <em>Au. afarensis</em>.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"205 ","pages":"Article 103714"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144470525","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}