title: Postcranial evidence from early Homo from Dmanisi, Georgia.
abstract: The Plio-Pleistocene site of Dmanisi, Georgia, has yielded a rich fossil and archaeological record documenting an early presence of the genus Homo outside Africa. Although the craniomandibular morphology of early Homo is well known as a result of finds from Dmanisi and African localities, data about its postcranial morphology are still relatively scarce. Here we describe newly excavated postcranial material from Dmanisi comprising a partial skeleton of an adolescent individual, associated with skull D2700/D2735, and the remains from three adult individuals. This material shows that the postcranial anatomy of the Dmanisi hominins has a surprising mosaic of primitive and derived features. The primitive features include a small body size, a low encephalization quotient and absence of humeral torsion; the derived features include modern-human-like body proportions and lower limb morphology indicative of the capability for long-distance travel. Thus, the earliest known hominins to have lived outside of Africa in the temperate zones of Eurasia did not yet display the full set of derived skeletal features.
authors: Georgian National Museum, 0105 Tbilisi, Georgia. dlordkipanidze@museum.ge
authors: David
authors: D
authors: Lordkipanidze
authors: Tea
authors: T
authors: Jashashvili
authors: Abesalom
authors: A
authors: Vekua
authors: Marcia S
authors: MS
authors: Ponce de León
authors: Christoph P E
authors: CP
authors: Zollikofer
authors: G Philip
authors: GP
authors: Rightmire
authors: Herman
authors: H
authors: Pontzer
authors: Reid
authors: R
authors: Ferring
authors: Oriol
authors: O
authors: Oms
authors: Martha
authors: M
authors: Tappen
authors: Maia
authors: M
authors: Bukhsianidze
authors: Jordi
authors: J
authors: Agusti
authors: Ralf
authors: R
authors: Kahlke
authors: Gocha
authors: G
authors: Kiladze
authors: Bienvenido
authors: B
authors: Martinez-Navarro
authors: Alexander
authors: A
authors: Mouskhelishvili
authors: Medea
authors: M
authors: Nioradze
authors: Lorenzo
authors: L
authors: Rook
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000818:Animals; D049628:Body Size; D005580:Fossils; D005846:Georgia (Republic); D049690:History, Ancient; D015186:Hominidae / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007867:Leg Bones / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D008124:Locomotion; D012863:Skeleton