A recent study on human anatomy of a fossil calcaneus or heel bone comes to overrule the belief that people have similarities with chimpanzees. It seems that humans resemble more gorillas.
The team of researchers examined the internal anatomy of the StW352 Australopithecus africanus (our human ancestor or hominin) fossil, taken from the fossil record in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage, in South Africa, which is 40km from Johannesburg.
The researchers examined the orientation and structure of the spongy material inside the bone, called trabecular struts, in the fossil of Sterkfontein Member 4. What they discovered was that it had more similarities with gorillas than humans or chimpanzees. The great similarities of our human relative with gorillas exhibits resemblance in joint mobility and structure.
Prior examinations conducted on the external anatomy of the Australopithecus calcaneus had revealed similarities with humans or chimpanzees.
The recent study indicates how our ancestors moved and interacted with their environment over 2 million years ago. This is so because of the fact that the structure of the trabecular bone shows how creatures interact with their environment. The new discovery indicating resemblance with gorillas will help scientists understand the behavioral reconstructions of hominins.
http://whiteker.com/humans-have-greater-similarities-with-gorillas-than-chimpanzees
Paper (abstract): http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047248416300343
The team of researchers examined the internal anatomy of the StW352 Australopithecus africanus (our human ancestor or hominin) fossil, taken from the fossil record in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage, in South Africa, which is 40km from Johannesburg.
The researchers examined the orientation and structure of the spongy material inside the bone, called trabecular struts, in the fossil of Sterkfontein Member 4. What they discovered was that it had more similarities with gorillas than humans or chimpanzees. The great similarities of our human relative with gorillas exhibits resemblance in joint mobility and structure.
Prior examinations conducted on the external anatomy of the Australopithecus calcaneus had revealed similarities with humans or chimpanzees.
The recent study indicates how our ancestors moved and interacted with their environment over 2 million years ago. This is so because of the fact that the structure of the trabecular bone shows how creatures interact with their environment. The new discovery indicating resemblance with gorillas will help scientists understand the behavioral reconstructions of hominins.
http://whiteker.com/humans-have-greater-similarities-with-gorillas-than-chimpanzees
Paper (abstract): http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047248416300343