Australopithecus africanus
3= Sterkfontein.
Australopithecus africanus is an extinct species of hominin from South Africa. Its name means "southern African monkey." The first fossil remains, the skull of a child known as the Taung Child, were discovered in 1924 by Raymond Dart in Taung, South Africa, but were not accounted for until 30 years later. Later discoveries were made at Sterkfontein and Makapansgat.
The biochronology (estimation of biological age) of the species ranges from the Piacenzian (Upper Pliocene) to the Gelasian (Lower Pleistocene), although absolute ages are difficult to determine due to the characteristics of the sites. Some sources shuffle figures from less than 3 million years old to more than 2 million; others date it between 3.3 and 2.5 million years.
Features
Like other Australopithecus, A. africanushad a bipedal gait, although it still retained arboreal habits. Their average weight was 41 kg for males and 30 kg for females, with a height of 1.50 m.
Its cranial capacity is 480 cm³ to 520 cm³, much below the 1500 cm³ of the current human being. Its braincase is taller and rounder than that of anthropomorphs, and its postcranial skeleton is similar to that of Australopithecus afarensis.
His face is shorter. It presents less prognathism (the mandible is advanced with respect to the maxilla), together with a smaller size of teeth.
Their teeth are not much different from those of humans. The canines were small, without protruding like in anthropomorphic ones, and the incisors were as small as ours. Recent studies have shown that it could crack seeds and large nuts with its teeth, which would have given it a great advantage in times of scarcity of other softer foods.
It is also important to mention that the diastema (separation between incisors) disappears, or is very scarce.
Therefore, we notice a reduction in canines and incisors and there is a greater emphasis on chewing in the rest of the teeth.
Another important point is sexual dimorphism.
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