Homo ergaster

HOMO ERGASTER

The Homo ergaster species lived in Africa 1.8 million years ago and was alive until 600,000 years ago, likely becoming the ancestor of Homo erectus in Asia, Homo neanderthalensis in Europe, and Homo sapiens in Africa (1995CachelS_HarrisJ; 2005KleinR). Homo ergaster is occasionally equated with Homo erectus in publications (2013TattersallI).

The most complete Homo ergaster skeleton belongs to an adolescent named "Turkana Boy" (KNM-WT 15000). The young man was between 8 and 12 years old (2010GravesRR_CunninghamDL; 2019BergmanJ). The age of this individual's remains is believed to be 1.6 million years (2007TattersallI).

Turkana Boy (reconstruction) Author: Mettmann Neanderthal Museum; source: wikimedia.org collection (license CC BY-SA 4.0, no changes).

The pelvis of specimen KNM-WT 15000 is well preserved. It shows ossified acetabulums. In turn, they have spacious acetabular fossae and wide acetabular notches. Based on these elements, it is possible to conclude that Homo ergaster had a ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF).

Left acetabulum of the pelvis of the «Turkana Boy» (c. 12 years old); epoxy resin cast, material from the educational collection of the Archaeology Research Laboratories, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (model Joy Mersman). [sketchfab.com]

We have studied the image of the proximal section of the right femur of the individual KNM-WT 15000 (researchgate.net). On the medial surface, almost in the center, the fossa of the femoral head is visualized (2018DeSilvaJM_BergerLR:Fig.2). We can distinguish a similar structure in the image of the upper third of the left femur of the same skeleton (2018CromptonRH_ClarkeR:Fig.7). The presence of the fossa of the femoral head is additional strong evidence in favor of the presence of LCF in the Homo ergaster species.

References

Cachel S, Harris J. Ranging patterns, land-use and subsistence in Homo erectus from the perspective of evolutionary ecology. In: Bower JRF, Sartono S (Eds). Human evolution in its ecological context (Proceedings of the Pithecanthropus Centennial 1893–1993 Congress). Leiden: Pithecanthropus Centennial Foundation, Leiden University, 1995:51-66.

Klein R. Hominin dispersals in the Old World. In: Scarre C (Ed). The Human Past: World Prehistory & the Development of Human Societies. Thames & Hudson, 2005:84-123. [researchgate.net]

Tattersall I. Homo ergaster and its contemporaries. Handbook of paleoanthropology. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag, 2013:1633-53. [academia.edu]

Graves RR, Lupo AC, McCarthy RC, Wescott DJ, Cunningham DL. Just how strapping was KNM-WT 15000?. Journal of Human Evolution. 2010;59(5)542-54. [sciencedirect.com]

Bergman J. Turkana Boy Hurts Evolutionary Narratives, Oct 8, 2019. [crev.info]

Tattersall I. Homo ergaster and its contemporaries. Handbook of paleoanthropology. 2007;3:1633-53. [academia.edu]

DeSilva JM, Churchill SE, Zipfel B, Walker CS, Sylvester AD, McNutt EJ, ... Berger LR. Australopithecus sediba---The Anatomy of the Lower Limb Skeleton of Australopithecus sediba. PaleoAnthropology. 2018:357-405. [researchgate.net]

Crompton RH, McClymont J, Thorpe S, Sellers W, Heaton J, Pickering TR, ... Clarke R. Functional anatomy, biomechanical performance capabilities and potential niche of StW 573: an Australopithecus skeleton (circa 3.67 Ma) from Sterkfontein Member 2, and its significance for the last common ancestor of the African apes and for hominin origins. BIoRxiv. 2018;481556. [biorxiv.org]

Keywords

ligamentum capitis femoris, ligamentum teres, ligament of head of femur, doctrine, homo ergaster

The original text in Russian is available at the link: Homo ergaster

NB! Fair practice / use: copied for the purposes of criticism, review, comment, research and private study in accordance with Copyright Laws of the US: 17 U.S.C. §107; Copyright Law of the EU: Dir. 2001/29/EC, art.5/3a,d; Copyright Law of the RU: ГК РФ ст.1274/1.1-2,7

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999–10 Kya

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Memorial Day

July 7 My Father's Day Vasily Dmitrievich Arkhipov (1936-2004) Tireless Worker of the Kindest Soul The engineering mindset inherited from him helped develop a Theory of ligamentum capitis femoris biomechanics , create mechanical models of the hip joint , and design walking machines with ligaments analogues . Jubilee Promo: Our Books at €1 Архипов С.В. Связка головки бедренной кости. Функция и роль в патогенезе коксартроза. Йоэнсуу: Издание Автора, 2023. [Arkhipov SV. The ligament of the head of femur. Function and role in the pathogenesis of coxarthrosis. Joensuu: Author's Edition, 2023. (In Russian)] Google Play Архипов С.В. Девятый месяц, одиннадцатый день: Рассуждение о XXXII главе книги Бытие. Йоэнсуу: Издание Автора, 2024. [Arkhipov S.V. The Ninth Month, Eleventh Day: A Reflection on Chapter XXXII of the Book of Genesis. Joensuu: Author’s Edition, 2024. (In Russian)] GooglePlay Архипов С.В. Дети человеческие: истоки библейских преданий в обозрении врача. Эссе, снабже...

LCF in 2026 (June)

LCF in 2026 (June ) (Quotes from articles and books published in June 2026 mentioning the ligamentum capitis femoris) Turner, A. H., Kernan, C. E., Laing, A., Pritchard, A. C., Stocker, M. R., Irmis, R. B., ... & Nesbitt, S. J. (2026). A new shuvosaurid (Archosauria, Poposauroidea) from the Late Triassic (Norian) Hayden Quarry of New Mexico, USA. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology , e2618182. [i] tandfonline.com Wang, F., Mu, Y., Sun, J., & Chi, H. Traumatic necrosis of femoral head: a case report. Journal of Clinical Medicine Research. 2026;7(1)14-18. [ii] en.front-sci.com Sha, S. Y., Lang, X. X., Liu, Y., Li, C. B., & Yin, Q. F. L‐Capsulotomy and Anatomic Repair of Zona Orbicularis: Hip Arthroscopy Capsular Management for Femoroacetabular Impingement Syndrome. Arthroscopy Techniques , e70149. [iii] arthroscopyjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com Garlapaty, A. R....

1155Abenezra

Content [i] Annotation [ii] Original text [iii] English translation [iv] Source & links [v] Notes [vi] Authors & Affiliations [vii] Keywords [i] Annotation Fragment from the book: Ezra AM. Ibn Ezra’s Commentary on the Pentateuch. Genesis (Bereshit) (1155). The author discusses the interpretation of the term gid ha-nasheh denoting ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF) in the book of Bereshit. The text in Russian is available at the following link: 1155Abenezra . [ii] Original text Bereshit 32:33 ( sefaria.org ) [iii] English translation Genesis 32:33 THE SINEW OF THE THIGH-VEIN. The meaning of the term gid ha-nasheh (the sinew of the thigh-vein) is known from the tradition received and transmitted to us by the Talmudic sages.49 No one but those lacking in understanding and knowledge of nature have any doubt as to its definition. The latter interpret gid (sinew) to refer to the penis and h...

Vertebrates

VERTEBRATES According to the molecular clock, a specific method for dating phylogenetic events, vertebrates (Vertebrata) separated from arthropods (Arthropoda) 976±97 Ma (2004HedgesSB_ShoeJL). The latter began to dominate in species diversity with the Cambrian burst of radiation, which occurred 520 Ma (2010EdgecombeGD). This ratio in the fauna of the Earth is still preserved. Approximately 525 Ma, the phylum Chordates separated from the group of bilaterally symmetrical animals (1995ChenJY_ZhouGQ). In turn, the evolution of chordate organisms led to the formation of the first vertebrates at least 500 Ma, from which the jawed mouths 450-400 Ma descended, becoming the ancestors of the placoderms or "armored" fish (Placodermi) (1979 НаумовНП _ КарташевНН ). Sculptural reconstruction of the placoderm Coccosteus from the order Arthrodires, Middle Devonian, 393.3-382.7 Ma ; exposition of the Orlov Paleontological Museum (Moscow); photo by the author. The first cartilaginou...

1665LindenJA

Content [i] Annotation [ii] Original text (in Latin) [iii] English translation [iv] Source & links [v] Notes [vi] Authors & Affiliations [vii] Keywords [i] Annotation Fragment from the book: Linden JA . Magni Hippocratis Coi Opera Omnia Graece Et Latine Edita. Vol. I. (1665). This article presents an excerpt from the treatise «Mochlicus» (Instruments of Reductions) by Hippocrates of Cos (b. 460 BC), translated into Latin. The author describes for the first time the localization and area of distal attachment of the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF) describit, mentionem in alio tractatu ponens. A translation of this article into Russian is available at the link: 1665LindenJA . The original source in Greek sees at the link: 1844LittreE , and in English at: 1886AdamsF . [ii] Original text (in Latin) Quote pp. 294-295 Vol. I. Ossium natura II. Ipsum aurem femur foras, & in anteriore parte incurvum est. Caput autem ejus appendix eft r...

1842GreenhillGA

A Latin translation of Theophilus Protospatharios's treatise On the Construction of the Human Being [Θεοφιλος ο Πρωτοσπαθάριος. Περὶ τῆς τοῦ ανθρώπου κατασκευῆς] (ca. 976-1115?). The author writes about the normal anatomy of the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF) and its connective function. For our commentary, see the link: 1842GreenhillGA [Rus]. See also 1581CrassoPI , 1724FabriciusJA , 2020ArkhipovSV_ProlyginaIV . Quote. [Grc] Περὶ τῆς τοῦ ανθρώπου κατασκευῆς . Βιβλιον Ε . 13. (original source: 1842GreenhillGA, p. 204) [Lat] De corporis humani fabrica. Liber quintus. Cap. XIII. Dei erga homines amor [et sapientia] ex heminae fundo teretem nervum promisit, cartilaginosum vinculum femoris capiti insertum, adstringensque ne facile elabatur; inde ex heminae oris aliae copulae oriuntur, totum femoris caput in orbem constringentes, non teretes et solae, (qualis quae ex fundo porrigitur,) sed latae, valenterque heminae oras ad comrai...

1632Hamburg

Unknown Master, tapestry from Hamburg – Jacob wrestling with the angel (1632). Depicting the circumstances and mechanism of the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF) injury based on the description 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 prevail 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 ( 2024 АрхиповСВ. Девятый месяц, одиннадцатый день ). Unknown Master, tapestry from Hamburg – Jacob wrestling with the angel (1632); original i...

1650-1550bcImhotep the Younger

A fragment of a hypothetical prototype of the book In the Beginning (ProtoBereshit), supposedly composed in 1609-1583 BC in northern Egypt. According to our hypothesis, in the work of fiction, an unknown physician-encyclopedist for the first time pointed out damage to the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF) as a cause of gait disturbance. See our commentary at the link: 1650-1550bcImhotep the Younger [Rus]. Quote [Egy] Edwin Smith Papyrus Variant spelling of the hieroglyph «mt» (original source: 1930BreastedJH, Vol. 2, Plate XII, Case 34) Translation [Eng] Edwin Smith Papyrus Translator's note: The vessels of which the commentator is speaking he calls mt, and it should be remembered that this term mt means not only “canal,” but also “ ligament, tendon.” (original source: 1930BreastedJH, Case 34; Vol. 1, p. 349) Original source: 1930BreastedJH, Vol. 2, Plate XII. External links Breasted JH. The Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus: published in facsimile and hierog...

1803LarreyDJ

Content [i] Annotation [ii] Original text [iii] English translation [iv] Source & links [v] Notes [vi] Authors & Affiliations [vii] Keywords [i] Annotation Fragment from the book: Larrey DJ. Relation historique et chirurgique de l'expedition de l'armée d'Orient, en Egypte et Syrie (Historical account and surgery of the expedition of the Army of the Orient, in Egypt and Syria, 1803). The author describes exarticulation in the hip joint and the technique of cutting the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF), which he calls the "interarticular ligament". The text in Russian is available at the following link: 1803LarreyDJ . [ii] Original text (France ) Quote pp. 325-328 Les praticiens qui ont proposé l'extirpation de la cuisse ne sont point d'accord sur la manière de la faire; cependant presque tous, craignant l'hémorragie de l'artère crurale, commencent par la ligature de ce vaisseau, forment ensuite un lambeau aux dépens des muscles ...

2024SarıkayaB_AltayMA

We are pleased to present to your attention a rare article on the histology of ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF). The authors focused on analyzing changes in the LCF of congenital hip dysplasia and assessing the proteinases involved in the breakdown of extracellular matrix proteins. We are sincerely grateful to our colleagues for the right to publish their work on another resource for its popularization. Histological Structure and Immunohistochemical Properties of the Ligamentum Teres in Patients With Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip Baran Sarıkaya, Mehmet Ali Dolap, Ahmet Yiğit Kaptan, Celal Bozkurt, Nihat Yumuşak, Akin Yigin, Serkan Sipahioğlu, Baki Volkan Çetin, Mehmet Akif Altay Published: May 06, 2024 Abstract Introduction This study aims to evaluate the histology of the ligamentum teres and its relationship with matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs (ADAMTS), which are involved in th...

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