A first digital reconstruction of the face of “Little Foot” (Petit Pied in French) was created by an international team of scientists, including anthropologists from the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS).
Considered the most complete ofAustralopithecus unearthed so far, the fossil was discovered between 1994 and 1997 in Sterkfontein, South Africa.
General view of the Little Foot skeleton still in place in Sterkfontein Cave, November 2006.
Photo : Wikimedia
No less than 90% of its skeleton has been found, while 40% of that of the Australopithecus nicknamed Lucy discovered in Ethiopia in 1974 has been brought to light.
What we know about Little Foot
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- Analyzes of the fossil show that it is a woman in her thirties, barely more than a meter tall.
- The study of its limbs also provides clues about its lifestyle: the proportion of its hands and arms in relation to its legs suggests that hominids of this era already practiced a form of bipedalism, while retaining the ability to climb trees.
An important reconstruction
The skeleton of Little Foot
was buried in sediments whose movements and weight have caused fractures and deformations which make the analysis of his skull, and more particularly of his face, difficult
explain French paleoanthropologist Aurélie Meilhon and her colleagues in a press release published by the CNRS.
Reconstruction of the face of “Little Foot”.
Photo: CNRS/Amélie Beaudet
However, this anatomical region is an essential element for understanding the adaptations of our ancestors and parents to their environment.
Understanding the evolution of the genre Australopitecus is essential, since, for 2 million years, it experienced great evolutionary success in Africa which led to the appearance of several species, including A handy manancestor ofA wise man.
A complex job
Initially, the researchers digitized all of the bones in South Africa, but the resolution obtained did not make it possible to establish a sufficiently precise portrait. The fossilized skull was therefore transported to the United Kingdom, where it was carefully digitized
using high-precision X-ray micro-tomography.
Detail of Little Foot’s skull still in place in Sterkfontein Cave in November 2006.
Photo : Wikimedia
This work made it possible to virtually correct the deformations suffered over millennia and to reconstruct the 3D face of Little Foot
with an accuracy of 21 microns (0.021 mm).
Surprising conclusions
Comparison of this new face with those of current great apes and other specimens of australopithecines revealed a surprise: the face of Little Foot
is morphologically closer to specimens from East Africa (Lucy) than to those from South Africa (Mrs. Ples and Taung’s child).
Another detail also struck the researchers: its very high eye sockets occupy a predominant place on the face. This characteristic could have influenced its vision and foraging strategies. These results raise new questions about the migrations of these populations and the pressures of natural selection that sculpted the faces of our distant cousins.
The details of this reconstruction are the subject of an article published in the Palevol Reports (new window) (in English).
