The naming of Australopithecus africanus in 1925, based on the Taung Child, heralded a
new era in human evolutionary studies and turned the attention of the then Eurasian-centric …

The modern human hand is an intriguing mix of primitive morphology and derived function.
Traditionally, its form and function are explained as a functional “trade‐off” between the …

Bipedalism, a defining feature of the human lineage, is thought to have evolved as forests
retreated in the late Miocene-Pliocene. Chimpanzees living in analogous habitats to early …

Systematic tool production and use is one of humanity's defining characteristics, possibly
originating as early as> 3 million years ago. 1–3 Although heightened manual dexterity is …

Since the first discovery of human fossils in the mid‐19th century, two subjects—our
phylogenetic relationship to living and fossil apes and the ancestral locomotor behaviors …

In 1994, Hunt published the 'postural feeding hypothesis'—a seminal paper on the origins of
hominin bipedalism—founded on the detailed study of chimpanzee positional behavior and …

Extant primates, especially chimpanzees, are often used as models for pre-modern hominin
(henceforth: hominin) behaviour, anatomy and cognition. In particular, as hominin behaviour …

Trabecular bone—the spongy bone inside marrow cavities—adapts to its mechanical
environment during growth and development. Trabecular structure can therefore be …

Much research has debated the technological abilities of Neanderthals relative to those of
early modern humans, with a particular focus on subtle differences in thumb morphology …

Shoulder shape directly impacts forelimb function by contributing to glenohumeral (GH)
range-of-motion (ROM). However, identifying traits that contribute most to ROM and …