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The lower limb and mechanics of walking in Australopithecus sediba.

Publication ,  Journal Article
DeSilva, JM; Holt, KG; Churchill, SE; Carlson, KJ; Walker, CS; Zipfel, B; Berger, LR
Published in: Science (New York, N.Y.)
April 2013

The discovery of a relatively complete Australopithecus sediba adult female skeleton permits a detailed locomotor analysis in which joint systems can be integrated to form a comprehensive picture of gait kinematics in this late australopith. Here we describe the lower limb anatomy of Au. sediba and hypothesize that this species walked with a fully extended leg and with an inverted foot during the swing phase of bipedal walking. Initial contact of the lateral foot with the ground resulted in a large pronatory torque around the joints of the foot that caused extreme medial weight transfer (hyperpronation) into the toe-off phase of the gait cycle (late pronation). These bipedal mechanics are different from those often reconstructed for other australopiths and suggest that there may have been several forms of bipedalism during the Plio-Pleistocene.

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Published In

Science (New York, N.Y.)

DOI

EISSN

1095-9203

ISSN

0036-8075

Publication Date

April 2013

Volume

340

Issue

6129

Start / End Page

1232999

Related Subject Headings

  • Walking
  • South Africa
  • Pronation
  • Male
  • Lower Extremity
  • Leg
  • Hominidae
  • General Science & Technology
  • Gait
  • Fossils
 

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DeSilva, J. M., Holt, K. G., Churchill, S. E., Carlson, K. J., Walker, C. S., Zipfel, B., & Berger, L. R. (2013). The lower limb and mechanics of walking in Australopithecus sediba. Science (New York, N.Y.), 340(6129), 1232999. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1232999
DeSilva, Jeremy M., Kenneth G. Holt, Steven E. Churchill, Kristian J. Carlson, Christopher S. Walker, Bernhard Zipfel, and Lee R. Berger. “The lower limb and mechanics of walking in Australopithecus sediba.Science (New York, N.Y.) 340, no. 6129 (April 2013): 1232999. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1232999.
DeSilva JM, Holt KG, Churchill SE, Carlson KJ, Walker CS, Zipfel B, et al. The lower limb and mechanics of walking in Australopithecus sediba. Science (New York, NY). 2013 Apr;340(6129):1232999.
DeSilva, Jeremy M., et al. “The lower limb and mechanics of walking in Australopithecus sediba.Science (New York, N.Y.), vol. 340, no. 6129, Apr. 2013, p. 1232999. Epmc, doi:10.1126/science.1232999.
DeSilva JM, Holt KG, Churchill SE, Carlson KJ, Walker CS, Zipfel B, Berger LR. The lower limb and mechanics of walking in Australopithecus sediba. Science (New York, NY). 2013 Apr;340(6129):1232999.
Journal cover image

Published In

Science (New York, N.Y.)

DOI

EISSN

1095-9203

ISSN

0036-8075

Publication Date

April 2013

Volume

340

Issue

6129

Start / End Page

1232999

Related Subject Headings

  • Walking
  • South Africa
  • Pronation
  • Male
  • Lower Extremity
  • Leg
  • Hominidae
  • General Science & Technology
  • Gait
  • Fossils