PMID: 6406899Jun 2, 1983Paper

Cerebral brain endocast pattern of Australopithecus afarensis hominid

Nature
R L Holloway

Abstract

It is rare for cerebral convolutional details to be imprinted on the internal table of cranial bone of fossil hominids. To date, the South African examples have shown the best detail, although surrounded by considerable controversy. Given that the Hadar specimens are the oldest hominids known (3-4 Myr BP), and have been the subject of considerable debate and interpretation, it is fortunate that such details are found on the cranial bones of at least one specimen, AL 162-28, a small adult. I report here a preliminary description of that endocast and it appears that despite its smallish pongid-sized brain, some degree of cerebral organization had occurred almost 3-4 Myr ago towards a more human pattern. If correct, this would mean that brain size increase may well have followed locomotion, but that brain organization may have occurred early in hominid evolution. Such a finding would call for a re-examination of our understanding about human evolution, and would require much more caution in assuming either 'gradualist' or 'punctuated equilibria' models in hominid evolution.

References

Oct 31, 1975·Science·H M McHenry
May 8, 1981·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences·R L Holloway
Jul 9, 1981·Nature·J E CroninY Rak
Apr 1, 1982·American Journal of Physical Anthropology
Nov 1, 1980·American Journal of Physical Anthropology·D Falk

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Citations

Jan 1, 1991·American Journal of Physical Anthropology·R L Holloway
Nov 1, 1992·American Journal of Physical Anthropology·R L Holloway, J S Shapiro
Oct 17, 2002·Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association·Shawn M SanicolaLawrence Osher
Sep 21, 2004·Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association·Jill FerrariAlf D Linney
Feb 2, 2011·Forensic Science International : Synergy·Gérald QuatrehommeVéronique Alunni
Feb 23, 2010·Journal of Human Evolution·Alexandra A de SousaKarl Zilles
Mar 4, 2009·Journal of Human Evolution·Dean FalkFred Prior
Sep 16, 2008·Journal of Human Evolution·Jeremy M DeSilva, Julie J Lesnik
Jun 3, 2011·The Anatomical Record : Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology·Elena F KraniotiKaterina Harvati
Nov 9, 2004·Journal of Human Evolution·Emiliano Bruner
Nov 1, 1989·American Journal of Physical Anthropology·D Falk
Oct 1, 1985·American Journal of Physical Anthropology·B Blumenberg
Mar 17, 2017·American Journal of Physical Anthropology·Nguyen Van Minh, Yuzuru Hamada
May 4, 1986·Nature·R L Holloway, W H Kimbel
Apr 20, 2017·Chembiochem : a European Journal of Chemical Biology·Jonathan Okerblom, Ajit Varki
Jun 17, 2003·The Anatomical Record. Part A, Discoveries in Molecular, Cellular, and Evolutionary Biology·Ralph L HollowayMichael S Yuan
Nov 15, 2006·American Journal of Physical Anthropology·P Thomas SchoenemannJason Lewis
Jul 18, 2017·Frontiers in Human Neuroscience·Emiliano Bruner
Oct 16, 2019·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·José Luis Alatorre WarrenChristoph P E Zollikofer
Dec 26, 2018·Journal of Human Evolution·Amélie BeaudetDominic Stratford
Oct 3, 1986·Science·A H Neufeld

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