Australopithecus afarensis

AUSTRALOPITHECUS AFARENSIS

In 1735, Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) placed humans as a species «Homo nosce te ipsum» in the order Anthropomorpha along with monkeys and sloths (1735LinneC). In a publication in 1758, the naturalist transferred humans to the order Primates (1758LinneC). Today, humans and chimpanzees are united in the tribe Hominini, as descended from a common ancestor (2001GrovesCP). It has been established that the chromosome that distinguishes humans from monkeys was formed before 4.5 Ma (2022PoszewieckaB_GambinA). The hominin subfamily Sahelanthropus tchadensis lived in the Republic of Chad (Central Africa) from 7.2±0.31 to 6.8±0.45 Ma (2008LebatardAE_BrunetM; 2012ReynoldsSC_GallagherA). Reconstruction of its musculoskeletal system showed that the creature could have been an upright bipedal primate (2005ZollikoferCP_BrunetM). Fossils of what is probably the first bipedal representative of the hominid family Orrorin tugenensis, lived 6.1-5.7 Ma and still retained adaptations for climbing, have been discovered in Kenya (East Africa) (2001SenutB_CoppensY; 2006SawadaY_IshidaH; 2008RichmondBG_JungersWL).

Fragments of the skeleton of Ardipithecus kadabba, belonging to the tribe Hominini, are dated to 5.7-5.5 Ma (2009WhiteTD_WoldeGabrielG). The age of fossil bones of another specimen of the same genus Ardipithecus ramidus is 4.4 million years (2015WhiteTD_SuwaG). Australopithecus anamensis is a key species that seems to have given rise to the genus Homo, lived 4.2-4.1 Ma (2020BobeR_CarvalhoS). The evolutionary tree of hominids shows that Australopithecus anamensis gave rise to Australopithecus afarensis, and it was replaced by Australopithecus africanus (2012ШулимоваЕА).

The oldest parts of the supporting elements of the body of Australopithecus afarensis from Ethiopia (East Africa) are dated to the period 3.8-3.6 Ma (2010 Haile-Selassie Y). The cult remains of a female specimen of the mentioned species, conventionally designated «Lucy», are slightly younger - 3.2 million years (1994 Kimbel WH_Rak Y; 2004 Johanson DC).

Australopithecus afarensis, reconstruction by M. L. Butovskaya; exposition of the Orlov Paleontological Museum (Moscow); photo by the author.

The list of its skeletal elements includes a part of the pelvic bone and the left femur. Each of them has reliable features of the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF) that was present: the acetabular fossa, the acetabular notch, and the femoral head fossa.

Cast of the pelvis of a female Australopithecus afarensis (Lucy); exposition of the Orlov Paleontological Museum (Moscow); photo by the author.

Left femur of a female Australopithecus afarensis (Lucy); epoxy resin cast, material of the educational collection of the Archaeology Research Laboratories of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (model by Steve Davis). [sketchfab.com]

A notable feature is the elongated acetabular fossa, which has a small transverse size.

Left acetabulum (external view) of the pelvis of a female Australopithecus afarensis (Lucy); Epoxy resin casting, material from the teaching collection of the Archaeology Research Laboratories, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (model by Steve Davis). [sketchfab.com]

This observation suggests that Australopithecus afarensis had a smaller range of pronation and supination than modern humans.

References

von Linne C. Systema naturae, sive, regna tria naturae, systematice proposita per classes, ordines, genera, & species. Lugduni batavorum: T. Haak, 1735. [books.google]

von Linne C. Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. T. 1-2. Holmiae: Impensis Direct. Laurentii Salvii, 1758.

Groves CP. Towards a taxonomy of the Hominidae. In: Humanity from African Naissance to Coming Millennia. In: Tobias PV, Raath MA, Moggi-Cecchi J, Doyle GA (Eds). Colloquia in Human biology and Palaeonthropology. Firenze: Firenze University Press, 2001:291-7. [library.oapen.org]

Poszewiecka B, Gogolewski K, Stankiewicz P, Gambin A. Revised time estimation of the ancestral human chromosome 2 fusion. BMC genomics. 2022;23(6)1-16. [link.springer.com]

Reynolds SC, Gallagher A (Eds). African genesis: perspectives on hominin evolution. Vol. 62. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012. [books.google]

Lebatard AE, Bourlès DL, Duringer P, Jolivet M, Braucher R, Carcaillet J, ... Brunet M. Cosmogenic nuclide dating of Sahelanthropus tchadensis and Australopithecus bahrelghazali: Mio-Pliocene hominids from Chad. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2008;105(9)3226-31. [pnas.org]

Zollikofer CP, Ponce de León MS, Lieberman DE, Guy F, Pilbeam D, Likius A, Mackaye HT, Vignaud P, Brunet M. Virtual cranial reconstruction of Sahelanthropus tchadensis. Nature. 2005;434(7034)755-9. [doc.rero.ch]

Senut B, Pickford M, Gommery D, Mein P, Cheboi K, Coppens Y. First hominid from the Miocene (Lukeino formation, Kenya). Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences-Series IIA-Earth and Planetary Science. 2001;332(2)137-44. [academia.edu]

Richmond BG, Jungers WL. Orrorin tugenensis Femoral Morphology and the Evolution of Hominin Bipedalism. Science. 2008;319(5870)1662-5. [doc.rero.ch]

Sawada Y, Saneyoshi M, Nakayama K, Sakai T, Itaya T, Hyodo M ... Ishida H. The ages and geological backgrounds of Miocene hominoids Nacholapithecus, Samburupithecus, and Orrorin from Kenya. In: Ishida H, Tuttle R, Pickford M, Ogihara N, Nakatsukasa M (Eds). Human origins and environmental backgrounds: Boston: Springer-Verlag, 2006:71-96. [link.springer.com]

White TD, Asfaw B, Beyene Y, Haile-Selassie Y, Lovejoy CO, Suwa G, WoldeGabriel G. Ardipithecus ramidus and the paleobiology of early hominids. Science. 2009;326(5949)64-86. [courses.edx.org]

White TD, Lovejoy CO, Asfaw B, Carlson JP, Suwa G. Neither chimpanzee nor human, Ardipithecus reveals the surprising ancestry of both. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2015;112(16)4877-84. [pnas.org]

Bobe R, Manthi FK, Ward CV, Plavcan JM, Carvalho S. The ecology of Australopithecus anamensis in the early Pliocene of Kanapoi, Kenya. Journal of human evolution. 2020;140:102717. [ora.ox.ac.uk]

Шулимова ЕА. Australopithecus anamensis: история открытия вида. Кубанские исторические чтения. Материалы III Всероссийской с международным участием научно-практической конференции. Краснодар, 2012:4-9. [elibrary.ru]

Haile-Selassie Y. Phylogeny of early Australopithecus: new fossil evidence from the Woranso-Mille (central Afar, Ethiopia). Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 2010;365(1556)3323-31. [pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Kimbel WH, Johanson DC, Rak Y. The first skull and other new discoveries of Australopithecus afarensis at Hadar, Ethiopia. Nature. 1994;368(6470)449-51. [nature.com]

Johanson DC. Lucy, thirty years later: an expanded view of Australopithecus afarensis. Journal of anthropological research. 2004;60(4)465-86. [journals.uchicago.edu]

Keywords

ligamentum capitis femoris, ligamentum teres, ligament of head of femur, doctrine, animals, monkey, homo, australopithecus

The original text in Russian is available at the link: Australopithecus afarensis

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BLOG CONTENT

500–1 Mya

Comments

21cent.bcBaqetIII

Groups of wrestlers on the walls of tomb BH15, belonging to Baqet III – a contemporary of Pharaoh Mentuhotep II (frescoes, Beni Hasan, Egypt). These images depict wrestling scenes and the circumstances under which injuries to the hip joint — including the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF) — might occur. The frescoes appear to have served as the basis for the description of wrestling found in the Book of Genesis: 25 And Ja cob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. 26 And when he saw that he could not pre vail against him, he struck against the hollow of his thigh ; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was put out of joint, as he was wrestling with him. … 33 Therefore do the children of Israel not eat the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day; because he struck against the hollow of Jacob's thigh on the sinew that shrank. ( 1922LeeserI , Genesis (Bereshit) 32:25-26,33) More about the plot in our work: Nint...

20cent.bcAmenemhet

Groups of wrestlers on the walls of tomb BH2, belonging to Amenemhat (Ameni)—a contemporary of Pharaoh Senusret I (frescoes, Beni Hasan, Egypt). These images depict wrestling scenes and the circumstances under which injuries to the hip joint—including the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF)—might occur. The frescoes appear to have served as the basis for the description of wrestling found in the Book of Genesis : 25 And Ja cob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. 26 And when he saw that he could not pre vail against him, he struck against the hollow of his thigh ; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was put out of joint, as he was wrestling with him. … 33 Therefore do the children of Israel not eat the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day; because he struck against the hollow of Jacob's thigh on the sinew that shrank. ( 1922LeeserI , Genesis (Bereshit) 32:25-26,33) More about the plot in our work...

NEWS 2026

New publications of our resource in 2026 The initial phase of collecting data on LCF, accumulated prior to the 20th century, is largely complete. Next, we plan to analyze and synthesize thematic information, adding data from the 20th and 21st centuries. The work will focus primarily on: prevention, diagnosis, arthroscopy, plastic surgery, and endoprosthetics. November 1 , 2026 LCF in 2026 (November) Quotes from articl es and books published in November 2026 mentioning the ligamentum capitis femoris . October 29 , 2026 22cent.bcBaqetI . Fresco. A depiction of the circumstances surrounding a hip joint injury. October 28 , 2026 17cent.Akrotiri . Fre sco. A depiction of the circumstances surrounding a hip joint injury. 20cent.bcAmenemhet . Fresco. A depiction of the circumstances surrounding a hip joint injury. 20cent.bcKhety . Fresco. A depiction of the circumstances surrounding a hip joint injury. 21cent.bcBaqetIII . Fresco....

Tweet of October 26, 2026

The new book about the first patient with a #ligamentum_teres injury. PDF: http://books.google.com/books/about?id=OcogEgAAQBAJ Manuscript: https://roundligament.blogspot.com/2026/10/medical-record-title-and-contents.html Tweet of October 26, 2026 #Bible #Genesis BLOG CONTENT TWITTER OR X

1893GriffithFL

Griffith F.L. (1893): A group of wrestlers on the wall of the tomb of Baqet III (fresco, late 20th century BCE, Egypt). A depiction of the circumstances surrounding a hip joint injury—possibly involving the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF) – which served as the basis for the description of a wrestling match in the Book of Genesis: 25 And Ja cob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. 26 And when he saw that he could not pre vail against him, he struck against the hollow of his thigh ; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was put out of joint, as he was wrestling with him. … 33 Therefore do the children of Israel not eat the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day; because he struck against the hollow of Jacob's thigh on the sinew that shrank. ( 1922LeeserI , Genesis (Bereshit) 32:25-26,33) More about the plot in our work: Ninth month, eleventh day ( 2024АрхиповСВ ) and Medical Record (2026Ar...

20cent.bcKhety

Groups of wrestlers on the walls of tomb BH17, belonging to Khety—possibly the son of Baqet III and a contemporary of Pharaoh Senusret I (frescoes, Beni Hasan, Egypt). These images depict wrestling scenes and the circumstances under which injuries to the hip joint — including the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF) — might occur. The frescoes appear to have served as the basis for the description of wrestling found in the Book of Genesis: 25 And Ja cob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. 26 And when he saw that he could not pre vail against him, he struck against the hollow of his thigh ; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was put out of joint, as he was wrestling with him. … 33 Therefore do the children of Israel not eat the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day; because he struck against the hollow of Jacob's thigh on the sinew that shrank. ( 1922LeeserI , Genesis (Bereshit) 32:25-26,33...

17cent.Akrotiri

The " Akrotiri Boxer Fresco ", found on the wall of a room in a house in the town of Akrotiri on the island of Thera—a site destroyed by the Minoan eruption (late 17th century BCE). The image depicts a bout that may have served as the basis for the legend concerning an injury to the hip joint and the *ligamentum capitis femoris* (LCF), as described in the Book of Genesis: 25 And Ja cob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. 26 And when he saw that he could not pre vail against him, he struck against the hollow of his thigh ; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was put out of joint, as he was wrestling with him. … 33 Therefore do the children of Israel not eat the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day; because he struck against the hollow of Jacob's thigh on the sinew that shrank. ( 1922LeeserI , Genesis (Bereshit) 32:25-26,33) More about the plot in our work: Ninth month, eleventh day ( 202...

MEDICAL RECORD. Chapter 2

Book manuscript: Arkhipov S.V. Medical Record: The Contribution of a Middle Bronze Age Egyptian Physician to the Book of Genesis. Kyrö: Author’s Edition, 2026. – 312 pp. – 2 tables. – Bibliographical references: 856 entries. play.google.com , books.google.com Introduction Chapter 2 Chronology of the Medical Record CONTENT [i] Text [ii] Navigation [iii] Application [i] Text When reading the Book of Genesis , we learn that the first recorded patient with an injury to the ligament of the head of femur was a man named Ya'akov (Gen. 32:25, 33). In adapted usage, the name is rendered as Jacob. According to the narrative, he was born near the well of Beer-Lahai-Roi, between Kadesh and Bered in the Negev Desert, which is in the south of the "Canaanite" land (Gen. 16:14, 23:19, 24:62). As is clear from the text, the "Canaanite land" is the western part of the current State of Israel, excluding the vicinity of the Jordan River (Gen. 13:11–12). Jacob's father ...

MEDICAL RECORD. Title and contents

Book manuscript: Arkhipov S.V. Medical Record: The Contribution of a Middle Bronze Age Egyptian Physician to the Book of Genesis. Kyrö : Author’s Edition, 2026. – 312 pp. – 2 tables. – Bibliographical references: 856 entries. Google Books ID: GGKEY:5GXG1LS275N , play.google.com , books.google.com Title, Abstract and Contents CONTENT [i] Abstract [ii] Dedication [iii] Book Covers and Title [iv] Table of Contents [v] Application [i] ABSTRACT Before you is the final medical record compiled by the author over a professional career as an orthopaedic surgeon. This work outlines information regarding a patient who sustained a hip joint injury in the Middle Bronze Age. The source material is extracted from the Book of Genesis and cross-referenced with facts from history, archaeology, natural science, and medicine past and present. Along the way, it is demonstrated that the protograph was composed in Ancient Egypt during the Second Intermediate P...

Key Role of the LCF

In the experiments conducted on the pelvis-femur-muscle-ligaments model, we found that when the contralateral pelvic drop occurs, the ligament of the head of femur become maximally tense; simultaneously, there is relaxation and lengthening of the gluteus medius muscle; the pelvis spontaneously rotates towards the stance limb (forward), and the load on the hip joint decreases. Thanks to the functioning of the ligament of the head of femur the walking is smooth, rhythmic, and energy-efficient. Track Music: Blue Dot Sessions , Vittoro (CC BY-NC 4.0 DEED / fragment) "Take care of the ligament of the head of femur for yourself and your neighbor!" . . keywords: ligamentum capitis femoris, ligament of head of femur, ligamentum te...

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