Homo antecessor. Hip disarticulation

HOMO ANTECESSOR. Hip disarticulation

Postmortem separation of the leg from the pelvis in individuals of own species was performed by our evolutionary predecessors. In particular, this was done in the Homo antecessor community, which practiced cannibalism (2003TuttC). Ferna Y. et al. (1999) described evidence of intentional crushing of the femur diaphysis in a young individual (ATD6-76), presumably to extract bone marrow. The bone retained traces of not only several impacts by a striker, but also of an anvil on which the bone lay. The age of the said find in the Gran Dolina cave (Spain) is estimated at about 780 thousand years (1999FernaY_RosellJ).

The above features indicate that the femur was initially separated from the soft tissues. In the second stage, the butcher had to use a stone tool to cut the muscles and strong external ligaments of the hip joint. In the next stage, he tore, or perhaps cut off, the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF) to mobilize the hip and further manipulate it.

Homo antecessor
Author: Mauricio Antón; image source: prehistoric-wiki.fandom.com collection (CC-BY-SA license, no changes).

Homo antecessor colonized the Iberian Peninsula 1200-800 Kya (2015MorenoD_ArsuagaJL). Therefore, the skill of hip arthrotomy in hominids could have appeared more than 780 Kya (2001CarreteroJ_ArsuagaJL). It must be assumed that from this period human ancestors learned about the presence of LCF in their hip joint. Hominids observed LCF in animals when cutting up carcasses. The cutting was done with stone hand axes and blades. The oldest stone tools, 3.3 million years old, were discovered in Kenya (2015HarmandS_RocheH). Stone tools from Kenya with signs of wear, implying the processing of plant and animal tissues by hominins, are dated to the interval of 3.03-2.58 Ma (2023PlummerTW_PottsR).

Thus, knowledge of LCF in animals is more than three million years old. This information is contemporary with the genus Homo itself, which formed between 4.30 and 2.56 Ma (2021PüschelHP_PüschelTA).

References

Tutt C. Cannibalism among fossil hominids: Is there archaeological evidence?. The University of Western Ontario Journal of Anthropology. 2003;11(1). [ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php]

Ferna Y, Dı JC, Ca I, Rosell J. Human cannibalism in the Early Pleistocene of Europe (Gran Dolina, Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain). Journal of human evolution. 1999;37(3-4)591-622. [academia.edu]

Moreno D, Falgueres C, Pérez-González A, Voinchet P, Ghaleb B, Despriée J, ... Arsuaga JL. New radiometric dates on the lowest stratigraphical section (TD1 to TD6) of Gran Dolina site (Atapuerca, Spain). Quaternary Geochronology. 2015;30В:535-40. [daviniamoreno.com]

Carretero J, Lorenzo C, Arsuaga JL. Restes post-craniens du niveau TD6 du site en grotte du Pleistocene inferieur de Gran Dolina, Sierra de Atapuerca, Espagne. L'Anthropologie. 2001;105(2)179-201. [sciencedirect.com]

Harmand S, Lewis JE, Feibel CS, Lepre CJ, Prat S, Lenoble A, ... Roche H. 3.3-million-year-old stone tools from Lomekwi 3, West Turkana, Kenya. Nature. 2015;521(7552)310-5. [nature.com]

Plummer TW, Oliver JS, Finestone EM, … Potts R. Expanded geographic distribution and dietary strategies of the earliest Oldowan hominins and Paranthropus. Science. 2023;379(6632)561-6. [researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk]

Divergence-time estimates for hominins provide insight into encephalization and body mass trends in human evolution. Nature ecology & evolution. 2021;5(6)808-19. [nature.com]

Keywords

ligamentum capitis femoris, ligamentum teres, ligament of head of femur, doctrine, homo antecessor, disarticulation

The original text in Russian is available at the link: Homo antecessor. Экзартикуляция бедра

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999–10 Kya

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1665LindenJA

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2008DoddsMK_McCormackD

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1803LarreyDJ

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Vertebrates

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1900BetheE

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2021ProlyginaIV

Content [i] Annotation [ii] Original text in Russian [iii] English translation [iv] Source & links [v] Notes [vi] Authors & Affiliations [vii] Keywords [i] Annotation Excerpts from article Prolygina IV. Galen's treatise «On Bones for Beginners» ( Трактат Галена « О костях для начинающих », 2021). The author translates Galen's treatise, which mentions the location and significant strength of the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF). The text in Russian is available at the following link: 2021ПролыгинаИВ . [ii] Original text in Russian Quote p. 166 2. В каждой из седалищных костей есть весьма большая впадина, которая крепится при помощи очень крепкой связки [ LCF ] к головке бедренной кости. [iii] English translation Quote p. 166 2. In each of the ischial bones there is a very large socket, which is attached by a very strong ligament [LCF] to the head of the femur. [iv] Source & links Пролыгина ИВ. Трактат Галена « О костях для начинающих ». Hyp...

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