Department of Biomedical Sciences, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, Michigan, USA.
Anat Rec (Hoboken). 2013 Feb;296(2):290-304. doi: 10.1002/ar.22624. Epub 2012 Nov 23.
Researchers often attempt to use limb proportions to ascertain the locomotor repertoires of fossil hominins. This can be problematic as there are few skeletons in the fossil record that preserve both a full forelimb and hindlimb; therefore, estimates of full limb lengths are typically associated with substantial error. In this study, two-block partial least squares analyses were used to examine covariation between forelimb and hindlimb elements in extant hominoids and fossil hominins. This has the benefit of including both forelimb and hindlimb in a type of functional analysis without necessitating an accurate length estimate. There is a high degree of covariation between forelimb and hindlimb segments in the mixed species sample, particularly in the proximal ulna, distal humerus, and proximal/distal femur and that shape covariation is significantly correlated with intermembral indices in the extant taxa. Overall, the fossil hominins most closely resembled modern humans with the exception of analyses utilizing the distal femur where some occupied a unique morphological position; thus, some fossil hominins likely possessed locomotor capabilities similar to modern humans, whereas others likely represent a unique morphological compromise between terrestrial bipedality and other positional behaviors not present among extant hominoids.
研究人员经常试图利用肢体比例来确定化石人类的运动方式。但这可能存在问题，因为化石记录中很少有骨骼同时保存完整的前肢和后肢；因此，对完整肢体长度的估计通常存在很大的误差。在这项研究中，使用两区块偏最小二乘分析来研究现生大猿类和化石人类的前肢和后肢元素之间的协变关系。这种方法的好处是在不要求准确长度估计的情况下，将前肢和后肢都包括在一种功能分析中。在混合物种样本中，前肢和后肢节段之间存在高度的协变，特别是在尺骨近端、肱骨远端、股骨近端/远端，并且形态协变与现生物种的两肢指数显著相关。总体而言，除了利用股骨远端的分析外，化石人类与现代人最为相似，在股骨远端的分析中，有些化石人类占据了独特的形态位置；因此，一些化石人类可能具有类似于现代人的运动能力，而另一些则可能代表了在现生物种中不存在的陆地两足行走和其他位置行为之间的独特形态妥协。
