title: Human evolution. Response to Comment on "Human-like hand use in Australopithecus africanus".
abstract: Almécija and colleagues claim that we apply a simplified understanding of bone functional adaptation and that our results of human-like hand use in Australopithecus africanus are not novel. We argue that our results speak to actual behavior, rather than potential behaviors, and our functional interpretation is well supported by our methodological approach, comparative sample, and previous experimental data.
authors.affiliation: School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NR, UK. Department of Anthropology, University College London London, WC1H 0BW, UK. Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany. Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits 2050, South Africa. m.skinner@kent.ac.uk t.l.kivell@kent.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Matthew M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Skinner
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Nicholas B
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Stephens
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Zewdi J
authors.initials: ZJ
authors.lastname: Tsegai
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, University College London London, WC1H 0BW, UK.
authors.forename: Alexandra C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Foote
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: N Huynh
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Lightweight Design and Structural Biomechanics, Vienna University of Technology, Gusshausstrasse 27-29, 1040 Wien, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gross
authors.affiliation: Institute of Lightweight Design and Structural Biomechanics, Vienna University of Technology, Gusshausstrasse 27-29, 1040 Wien, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Dieter H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Pahr
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Jean-Jacques
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Hublin
authors.affiliation: School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NR, UK. Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany. Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits 2050, South Africa. m.skinner@kent.ac.uk t.l.kivell@kent.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Tracy L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Kivell
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D006801:Humans; D050279:Metacarpal Bones / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D008663:Metacarpus / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D013933:Thumb / Q000033:anatomy & histology*