B46
The skull of Ardipithecus ramidus
the digital reconstruction of Science 2009

The skull fragments of Ardipithecus ramidus was recovered late in the excavations of the ARA-VP-6/500 partial skeleton. These fossil parts were extremely fragile, necessitating careful extraction in the laboratory. Although some of the important skull morphologies can be inferred from the damaged individual pieces, the range of analysis possible seemed rather limited. In 2003, we were able to micro-CT scan the skull pieces, and used the acquired scan data in the digital reconstruction. The reconstructed skull enabled substantial new inferences to be made. In particular, comparisons revealed that the chimpanzee skull is probably uniquely derived in its extreme anterior placement of the entire face. The Ar. ramidus skull appears primitive (not derived) in many ways, but shares with Australopithecus a derived basicranial structure. On the other hand, Ar. ramidus lacks indication of masticatory apparatus enhancement, so characteristic of Australopithecus species. (Gen Suwa)

References

Suwa, G. et al. (2009) The Ardipithecus ramidus skull and its implications for hominid origins. Science 326: 68e1-e7.