Possible brucellosis in an early hominin skeleton from sterkfontein, South Africa.
We report on the paleopathological analysis of the partial skeleton of the late Pliocene hominin species Australopithecus africanus Stw 431 from Sterkfontein, South Africa. A previous study noted the presence of lesions on vertebral bodies diagnosed as spondylosis deformans due to trauma. Instead, w...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2009-07-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2713413?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1811270209288273920 |
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| author | Ruggero D'Anastasio Bernhard Zipfel Jacopo Moggi-Cecchi Roscoe Stanyon Luigi Capasso |
| author_facet | Ruggero D'Anastasio Bernhard Zipfel Jacopo Moggi-Cecchi Roscoe Stanyon Luigi Capasso |
| author_sort | Ruggero D'Anastasio |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We report on the paleopathological analysis of the partial skeleton of the late Pliocene hominin species Australopithecus africanus Stw 431 from Sterkfontein, South Africa. A previous study noted the presence of lesions on vertebral bodies diagnosed as spondylosis deformans due to trauma. Instead, we suggest that these lesions are pathological changes due to the initial phases of an infectious disease, brucellosis. The macroscopic, microscopic and radiological appearance of the lytic lesions of the lumbar vertebrae is consistent with brucellosis. The hypothesis of brucellosis (most often associated with the consumption of animal proteins) in a 2.4 to 2.8 million year old hominid has a host of important implications for human evolution. The consumption of meat has been regarded an important factor in supporting, directing or altering human evolution. Perhaps the earliest (up to 2.5 million years ago) paleontological evidence for meat eating consists of cut marks on animal remains and stone tools that could have made these marks. Now with the hypothesis of brucellosis in A. africanus, we may have evidence of occasional meat eating directly linked to a fossil hominin. |
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cb1c7d11ec844e368e2ff1487fa3434b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T21:56:45Z |
| publishDate | 2009-07-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-cb1c7d11ec844e368e2ff1487fa3434b2022-12-22T03:15:18ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032009-07-0147e643910.1371/journal.pone.0006439Possible brucellosis in an early hominin skeleton from sterkfontein, South Africa.Ruggero D'AnastasioBernhard ZipfelJacopo Moggi-CecchiRoscoe StanyonLuigi CapassoWe report on the paleopathological analysis of the partial skeleton of the late Pliocene hominin species Australopithecus africanus Stw 431 from Sterkfontein, South Africa. A previous study noted the presence of lesions on vertebral bodies diagnosed as spondylosis deformans due to trauma. Instead, we suggest that these lesions are pathological changes due to the initial phases of an infectious disease, brucellosis. The macroscopic, microscopic and radiological appearance of the lytic lesions of the lumbar vertebrae is consistent with brucellosis. The hypothesis of brucellosis (most often associated with the consumption of animal proteins) in a 2.4 to 2.8 million year old hominid has a host of important implications for human evolution. The consumption of meat has been regarded an important factor in supporting, directing or altering human evolution. Perhaps the earliest (up to 2.5 million years ago) paleontological evidence for meat eating consists of cut marks on animal remains and stone tools that could have made these marks. Now with the hypothesis of brucellosis in A. africanus, we may have evidence of occasional meat eating directly linked to a fossil hominin.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2713413?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | Ruggero D'Anastasio Bernhard Zipfel Jacopo Moggi-Cecchi Roscoe Stanyon Luigi Capasso Possible brucellosis in an early hominin skeleton from sterkfontein, South Africa. PLoS ONE |
| title | Possible brucellosis in an early hominin skeleton from sterkfontein, South Africa. |
| title_full | Possible brucellosis in an early hominin skeleton from sterkfontein, South Africa. |
| title_fullStr | Possible brucellosis in an early hominin skeleton from sterkfontein, South Africa. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Possible brucellosis in an early hominin skeleton from sterkfontein, South Africa. |
| title_short | Possible brucellosis in an early hominin skeleton from sterkfontein, South Africa. |
| title_sort | possible brucellosis in an early hominin skeleton from sterkfontein south africa |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2713413?pdf=render |
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