Tardieu C
U.A. 1137 C.N.R.S., Laboratoire d'Anatomie Comparée, M.N.H.N., Paris, France.
Am J Phys Anthropol. 1998 Oct;107(2):163-78. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1096-8644(199810)107:2<163::AID-AJPA3>3.0.CO;2-W.
Did the first hominids have a short developmental period similar to that of the great apes or a longer period closer to that of modern humans? Evidence from studies on dental and facial growth favors the first point of view. Additional evidence presented in this report is provided by a morphogenetic analysis of the lower limb. Some morphological modifications undergone by the human femur during infantile and adolescent growth are shown to be excellent markers of different developmental stages. The angular remodelling of the femoral diaphysis, which results in femoral bicondylar angle, is a marker of infancy, while the reshaping of the distal femoral epiphysis is a marker of adolescence. This reshaping of the bony epiphysis consists of the strong projection of the external lip of the femoral trochlea, the increase of the radius of curvature of the external condyle, and the anteroposterior lengthening of the whole epiphysis. The growth spurt in linear dimensions of the femur, characteristic of human adolescence, is shown to be associated with qualitative changes of the distal femoral epiphysis engendered by the late closure of the distal epiphysis. The femur of the first hominids (Australopithecus afarensis) shows only features of infantile growth, whereas characters of both precocious and later growth are typical of later hominids (Homo). The absence of the derived epiphyseal features in Australopithecus would be linked to their early epiphyseal closure and short adolescent growth period; their presence in Homo would have been promoted by their delayed epiphyseal closure and prolonged adolescent growth period. The transition from Australopithecus to Homo appears to have involved a heterochronic process of time hypermorphosis (Gould, [1977], Ontogeny and Phylogeny [Cambridge: Harvard University Press]) in which the size of the femur increases, the epiphysis is modified, and the period of peripubertal growth is prolonged. The shape of the distal epiphyses of KNM-WT 15000, an immature Homo erectus (Brown et al. [1985] Nature 316:788-792), lies clearly within the range of modern human adolescents. In contradiction to Smith's ([1993] in A. Walker and R. Leakey [eds.]: The Nariokotome Homo erectus Skeleton [Cambridge: Harvard University Press], pp. 195-220) hypothetical reconstruction of life span of Homo erectus, we infer that a growth spurt had begun with Homo erectus but was probably less pronounced and of shorter duration than in modern humans. Our findings on the femur are consistent with studies of the growth on the hominid pelvis (Berge [1996] in LF Marcus, M Corti, A Loy, G Naylor, and DE Slice [eds.]: Advances in Morphometrics [Chicago: Plenum Publishing Corp.], pp. 441-448). It is suggested that the lengthening of the adolescent growth period, from Australopithecus to Homo, would have been also associated with the shape changes of the pelvis and with the lengthening of the lower limbs.
最早的原始人类的发育期是像大猩猩那样短，还是更接近现代人类，持续时间更长呢？牙齿和面部生长研究的证据支持第一种观点。本报告提供的其他证据来自对下肢的形态发生分析。人类股骨在婴儿期和青少年期生长过程中经历的一些形态变化被证明是不同发育阶段的良好标志。股骨干的角度重塑导致股骨双髁角，这是婴儿期的标志，而股骨远端骨骺的重塑则是青春期的标志。这种骨骺骨的重塑包括股骨滑车外侧唇的强烈突出、外侧髁曲率半径的增加以及整个骨骺的前后延长。股骨线性尺寸的生长突增是人类青春期的特征，它与远端骨骺晚闭合所导致的股骨远端骨骺的质性变化有关。最早的原始人类（阿法南方古猿）的股骨仅显示婴儿期生长的特征，而早熟和后期生长的特征在后来的原始人类（人属）中很典型。南方古猿缺乏衍生的骨骺特征可能与其早期骨骺闭合和较短的青少年生长期有关；这些特征在人属中的出现可能是由于其骨骺闭合延迟和青少年生长期延长。从南方古猿到人属的转变似乎涉及一种时间超形态的异时过程（古尔德，[1977]，《个体发生与系统发育》[剑桥：哈佛大学出版社]），在此过程中，股骨尺寸增加，骨骺发生改变，青春期前生长阶段延长。KNM-WT 15000是一具未成熟的直立人化石（布朗等人，[1985]《自然》316：788 - 792），其远端骨骺的形状明显处于现代人类青少年的范围内。与史密斯（[1993]，载于A. 沃克和R. 利基[编]：《纳里奥科托姆直立人骨骼》[剑桥：哈佛大学出版社]，第195 - 220页）对直立人寿命的假设性重建相反，我们推断直立人已经开始出现生长突增，但可能不如现代人类明显，持续时间也较短。我们对股骨的研究结果与对原始人类骨盆生长的研究（贝热，[1996]，载于LF 马库斯、M 科尔蒂、A 洛伊、G 内勒和DE 斯利塞[编]：《形态计量学进展》[芝加哥：普伦蒂斯霍尔出版社]，第441 - 448页）一致。有人提出，从南方古猿到人属，青少年生长期的延长也与骨盆形状的变化以及下肢的延长有关。
