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Principal components analysis of distal humeral shape in Pliocene to recent African hominids: the contribution of geometric morphometrics
Author(s) -
Bacon AnneMarie
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1096-8644(200004)111:4<479::aid-ajpa4>3.0.co;2-#
Subject(s) - morphometrics , principal component analysis , evolutionary biology , geology , paleontology , biology , geography , zoology , mathematics , statistics
The shape of the distal humerus in Homo , Pan ( P . paniscus and P . troglodytes ), Gorilla , and six australopithecines is compared using a geometric approach (Procrustes superimposition of landmarks). Fourteen landmarks are defined on the humerus in a two‐dimensional space. Principal components analysis (PCA) is performed on all superimposed coordinates. I have chosen to discuss the precise place of KNM‐KP 271 variously assigned to Australopithecus anamensis , Homo sp ., or Praeanthropus africanus , in comparison with a sample of australopithecines. AL 288‐1, AL 137‐48 (Hadar), STW 431 (Sterkfontein), and TM 1517 (Kromdraai) are commonly attributed to Australopithecus afarensis (the two former), Australopithecus africanus , and Paranthropus robustus , respectively, while the taxonomic place of KNM‐ER 739 ( Homo or Paranthropus ?) is not yet clearly defined. The analysis does not emphasize a particular affinity between KNM‐KP 271 and modern Homo , nor with A . afarensis , as previously demonstrated (Lague and Jungers [1996] Am J Phys Anthropol 111:479–487, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.