Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32179760›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2020

The atlas of StW 573 and the late emergence of human-like head mobility and brain metabolism.

Amélie Beaudet, Ronald J Clarke, Jason L Heaton, Travis R Pickering, Kristian J Carlson, Robin H Crompton, Tea Jashashvili, Laurent Bruxelles, Kudakwashe Jakata, Lunga Bam and 3 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
2.5field-weighted citation impact, top 11% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 22 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors at 6 institutions in 6 countries.

Amélie BeaudetSchool of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg, WITS, 2050, South Africa. beaudet.amelie@gmail.com.
Ronald J ClarkeEvolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg, WITS, 2050, South Africa.
Jason L HeatonEvolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg, WITS, 2050, South Africa.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8039-4748
Travis R PickeringEvolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg, WITS, 2050, South Africa.
Kristian J CarlsonEvolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg, WITS, 2050, South Africa.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5802-9680
Robin H CromptonEvolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg, WITS, 2050, South Africa.
Tea JashashviliEvolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg, WITS, 2050, South Africa.
Laurent BruxellesSchool of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg, WITS, 2050, South Africa.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7174-2111
Kudakwashe JakataEvolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg, WITS, 2050, South Africa.
Lunga BamSouth African Nuclear Energy Corporation SOC Ltd. (Necsa), Elias Motsoaledi Street Ext. (Church Street West), R104, Pelindaba, North West Province, South Africa.
Luc Van HoorebekeUGCT Department of Physics and Astronomy, Ghent University, Proeftuinstraat 86/N12, B-9000, Gent, Belgium.
Kathleen KumanSchool of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg, WITS, 2050, South Africa.
Dominic StratfordSchool of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg, WITS, 2050, South Africa.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9790-8848
University of the Witwatersrand · ZAUniversity of Southern California · USGhent University · BESouth African Nuclear Energy Corporation (South Africa) · ZAUniversity of Liverpool · GBUniversity of Wisconsin System · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Functional morphology of the atlas reflects multiple aspects of an organism's biology. More specifically, its shape indicates patterns of head mobility, while the size of its vascular foramina reflects blood flow to the brain. Anatomy and function of the early hominin atlas, and thus, its evolutionary history, are poorly documented because of a paucity of fossilized material. Meticulous excavation, cleaning and high-resolution micro-CT scanning of the StW 573 ('Little Foot') skull has revealed the most complete early hominin atlas yet found, having been cemented by breccia in its displaced and flipped over position on the cranial base anterolateral to the foramen magnum. Description and landmark-free morphometric analyses of the StW 573 atlas, along with other less complete hominin atlases from Sterkfontein (StW 679) and Hadar (AL 333-83), confirm the presence of an arboreal component in the positional repertoire of Australopithecus. Finally, assessment of the cross-sectional areas of the transverse foramina of the atlas and the left carotid canal in StW 573 further suggests there may have been lower metabolic costs for cerebral tissues in this hominin than have been attributed to extant humans and may support the idea that blood perfusion of these tissues increased over the course of hominin evolution.

Indexed as

Biological EvolutionAnimalsBrainFossilsHeadHominidaeHumansSkullSouth Africa

Identifiers

PMID32179760
PMCPMC7075956
OpenAlexW3010875671

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.