The Functional Morphology of the Hominid Foot. (original) (raw)
This is to certify that I am responsible for the work submitted in this thesis, that the original work is my own, except as specified in the acknowledgments and in references, and that neither the thesis nor the original work contained therein has been previously submitted to any other institution for a degree. Name: Francesca Campbell Signed: Date: 3 7 1. Abstract The functional morphology of the hominoid foot is reviewed with a particular emphasis on the comparison of the species Gorilla gorilla, Pan troglodytes and Homo sapiens. Collated measurements from specimens at the University of Sheffield and the Powell-Cotton Museum are compared using linear divisions of the foot. Linear divisions are compared using descriptive statistics using SPSS, average relative lengths using R, and finally analysed by PCA using SPSS. Attention is given to the second toe due to the unique morphology of the adducted H. sapiens hallux. From the comparative model of extant primates the foot bones of extinct homind bones are analysed, with special attention paid to the most complete foot specimen; Homo ergaster 'Narikotome Boy', Little Foot (STW 573) and OH 8 Homo habilis. This work supports the previous comparative work carried out by Adolph Schultz in the early 20th Century, the work of John Napier, John Robinson in the 1960's and Will Harcourt-Smith in the late 20th and early 21st Century. The wide range of human variation is demonstrated and the results are discussed in the context of there being a greater diversity in hominoid locomotion that the 'less uprightmore upright' model favoured for many years {fig1}. Recent developments in human walking style are discussed in the context of a closer link between extinct species than previously thought. 8 Francesca Campbell Figure 1. the 'less upright to more upright' model of evolution 9
Loading Preview
Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.