@article{1d317ef63dc94f5cb7d409edfd70213d,
title = "Ardipithecus ramidus postcrania from the Gona Project area, Afar Regional State, Ethiopia",
abstract = "Functional analyses of the 4.4 Ma hominin Ardipithecus ramidus postcrania revealed a previously unknown and unpredicted locomotor pattern combining arboreal clambering and a form of terrestrial bipedality. To date, all of the fossil evidence of Ar. ramidus locomotion has been collected from the Aramis area of the Middle Awash Research Project in Ethiopia. Here, we present the results of an analysis of additional early Pliocene Ar. ramidus fossils from the Gona Project study area, Ethiopia, that includes a fragmentary but informative partial skeleton (GWM67/P2) and additional isolated manual remains. While we reinforce the original functional interpretations of Ar. ramidus of having a mixed locomotor adaptation of terrestrial bipedality and arboreal clambering, we broaden our understanding of the nature of its locomotor pattern by documenting better the function of the hip, ankle, and foot. The newly recovered fossils document a greater adaptation to bipedality in the Ar. ramidus ankle and hallux than previously recognized. In addition, a newly discovered scaphoid bone with a fusing os centrale provides further evidence about the nature of hominin hand evolution.",
keywords = "Ardipithecus ramidus, Bipedality, Ethiopia, Gona, Hominin, Postcrania",
author = "Simpson, {Scott W.} and Levin, {Naomi E.} and Jay Quade and Rogers, {Michael J.} and Sileshi Semaw",
note = "Funding Information: The Gona Project was conducted under a permit from the Ethiopian Authority for the Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the National Museum of Ethiopia. Without their continuing support this project would not have been possible. Permission by the Afar Regional State government in Semera and the local administrators was instrumental in supporting this project. Major financial support for this research was provided by the L.S.B. Leakey Foundation (S.S.), Ministerio de Economia, Industria y Competitividad (MINECO) ( HAR2013-41351-P to S.S.), Marie Curie EU Integration Grant ( FP7-PEOPLE-2011-CIG to S.S.) and additional funding for field and laboratory research was provided by the U.S. National Science Foundation ( NSF SBR-9818353 to S.S.; NSF HOMINID-RHOI BCS-0321893 to Tim White and F. Clark Howell, CWRU Research Initiation Grant (S.W.S.), the National Geographic Society (S.S.; J.Q.), and Wenner-Gren Foundation (S.S.). We would like to thank the following institutions and people for providing access to the fossils and comparative specimens in their care: Department of Paleoanthropology, National Museum of Ethiopia, the Department of Physical Anthropology, Cleveland Museum of Natural History (Y. Haile-Selassie and L. Jellema), and the Department of Anthropology, Kent State University (C. O. Lovejoy). We also thank those that granted us permission to examine and photograph fossils in their care: T.D. White, B. Asfaw, G. Suwa, and W.H. Kimbel. This research benefitted from discussions with B. Latimer, G. Suwa, B. Asfaw, O. Lovejoy, Y. Haile-Selassie, S. Frost, J. DeSilva, C.V. Ward, and D.J. Peppe. Additional comparative data were collected by P. Tamer, C. Gaffney, and Y. McDermott. No field project can be successful without the support of the people who participated in the fieldwork and camp support, so we would like to thank our many friends from Eliwiha, our colleagues, and students for their many and significant contributions including Asahamad Humet, Yasin Ismail Mohamed, Abdu Mohamed Ali, Hamadu Humid Aden, Ibrahim Habib (deceased), Kimpiro Kairento, Wegenu Amerge, Beziyihu Tegegne, Mohamed Ahmedin, S. Frost, E.J. Smith, S.M. Melillo, M. Everett, D. WeldeGeorgis, A. Weiser, S. Stanford, M. Anderson. The thoughtful suggestions and advice of the journal's editors and the reviewers are greatly appreciated. Funding Information: The Gona Project was conducted under a permit from the Ethiopian Authority for the Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the National Museum of Ethiopia. Without their continuing support this project would not have been possible. Permission by the Afar Regional State government in Semera and the local administrators was instrumental in supporting this project. Major financial support for this research was provided by the L.S.B. Leakey Foundation (S.S.), Ministerio de Economia, Industria y Competitividad (MINECO) (HAR2013-41351-P to S.S.), Marie Curie EU Integration Grant (FP7-PEOPLE-2011-CIG to S.S.) and additional funding for field and laboratory research was provided by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF SBR-9818353 to S.S.; NSF HOMINID-RHOI BCS-0321893 to Tim White and F. Clark Howell, CWRU Research Initiation Grant (S.W.S.), the National Geographic Society (S.S.; J.Q.), and Wenner-Gren Foundation (S.S.). We would like to thank the following institutions and people for providing access to the fossils and comparative specimens in their care: Department of Paleoanthropology, National Museum of Ethiopia, the Department of Physical Anthropology, Cleveland Museum of Natural History (Y. Haile-Selassie and L. Jellema), and the Department of Anthropology, Kent State University (C. O. Lovejoy). We also thank those that granted us permission to examine and photograph fossils in their care: T.D. White, B. Asfaw, G. Suwa, and W.H. Kimbel. This research benefitted from discussions with B. Latimer, G. Suwa, B. Asfaw, O. Lovejoy, Y. Haile-Selassie, S. Frost, J. DeSilva, C.V. Ward, and D.J. Peppe. Additional comparative data were collected by P. Tamer, C. Gaffney, and Y. McDermott. No field project can be successful without the support of the people who participated in the fieldwork and camp support, so we would like to thank our many friends from Eliwiha, our colleagues, and students for their many and significant contributions including Asahamad Humet, Yasin Ismail Mohamed, Abdu Mohamed Ali, Hamadu Humid Aden, Ibrahim Habib (deceased), Kimpiro Kairento, Wegenu Amerge, Beziyihu Tegegne, Mohamed Ahmedin, S. Frost, E.J. Smith, S.M. Melillo, M. Everett, D. WeldeGeorgis, A. Weiser, S. Stanford, M. Anderson. The thoughtful suggestions and advice of the journal's editors and the reviewers are greatly appreciated. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2018 Elsevier Ltd",
year = "2019",
month = apr,
doi = "10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.12.005",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "129",
pages = "1--45",
journal = "Journal of Human Evolution",
issn = "0047-2484",
publisher = "Academic Press Inc.",
}