Little Foot: Difference between revisions
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Fun Fact- Fun Fact's aren't fun. |
Fun Fact- Fun Fact's aren't fun. |
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Fun Fact- I LIEK TEH MUDKIPZ LULZ |
Fun Fact- I LIEK TEH MUDKIPZ LULZ |
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NO WAI!!!!!!!!!!!!!11!!! |
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== Dating == |
== Dating == |
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Revision as of 14:42, 4 December 2007
| Catalog no. | Stw 573 |
|---|---|
| Common name | Little Foot |
| Species | Australopithecus, species uncertain |
| Age | 2.2 - 3.3 mya |
| Place discovered | South Africa |
| Date discovered | 1994 |
| Discovered by | Ronald J. Clarke |
"Little Foot" is the nickname given to an extraordinarily complete fossil hominin skeleton found in 1994-1998 in the cave system of Sterkfontein, South Africa.
Discovery
The original Little Foot specimens were found by paleoanthropologist Ronald J. Clarke in 1994, while searching through bags of fossil bovid fragments at the site of Sterkfontein. These fragments came from the Silberberg Grotto, a large cavern within the Sterkfontein cave system. He spotted four left foot bones (the talus, navicular, medial cuneiform and first metatarsal) that were unmistakably hominin and most likely from the same individual. They were described as belonging to the genus Australopithecus, and catalogued as Stw 573 [1].
Due to the diminutive nature of the bones, they were dubbed "Little Foot". Dr. Clarke found further foot bones from the same individual in separate bags in 1997, including a right fragment of the distal tibia that had been clearly sheared off from the rest of the bone. Two fossil preparators and assistants of Dr. Clarke, Stephen Motsumi and Nkwane Molefe, were sent to the Silberberg Grotto to try and find the matching piece of tibia that attached to this fragment. Amazingly, within two days they found the remaining part of the bone protruding from the rock in the lower part of the grotto. Careful excavation by Dr. Clarke and his team lead to the uncovering of a complete skull and jaw in articulation, as well as other limb bones.
These were announced to the press in 1998, resulting in considerable media attention around the world [2].
Subsequent work has uncovered a relatively complete skeleton, including a complete forearm and hand in articulation, parts of the pelvis, ribs and vertebrae, a complete humerus and most of the lower limb bones. This sensational discovery is still being excavated and is likely to be far more complete than the famous Australopithecus afarensis skeleton, "Lucy", from the site of Hadar, Ethiopia.
The Age of Little Foot
Lttle Foot is a stundent attending Kennedy Catholic highschool. He was enrolled in the 10th grade is has become an icon in today's modern world. Little Foot is the symbol of all things good in a world of corruption and sin. In 2006 Little Foot took it apon himself to find his real parents, while exploring a thick forest he encountered a troll named Zanzar, Zanzers tribe was under the evil rule of the orc Grom'tar, Zanzar asked Marc to help him slay Grom'tar and Marc was all like "Why?" and Zanzar was all like "Cause he be enslavin mah people mon." and then Marc was all like "Ok". so together they ventured to Grom'tar's castle where the vanquished the vile orc. Once the orc was slain Marc became King of the Trolls. He would rule for a year before a revolution in the troll tribe caused him to step down from power. Marc was sad :( Marc then continued on his quest to find his real parents. This quest lasted of a year, he never found his real parents. Marc ws heart broken. Marc would spend all day at the tavern drinking mead. He was a poor beggar and hated by all. But then the town of Somers was under attack by an army of ogre's. Marc grabbed his sword and shield and set out to single handedly slay the orge army. He cut down the orge's as if they where just meer plants. Marc was a war hero and was promoted to Knight-Captain. And that is the story of how Marc became a god amoung men.
Fun Fact- Marc loves Soulja boy. Fun Fact- Fun Facts aren't fact. Fun Fact- Fun Fact's aren't fun. Fun Fact- I LIEK TEH MUDKIPZ LULZ
NO WAI!!!!!!!!!!!!!11!!!
Dating
The complex geology of Sterkfontein makes precise dating of Stw 573 difficult. There are no volcanic tuffs to ensure accuarate radiometric dating, and the paleomagnetic sequences are incomplete. Further to this, there has been considerable debate in the scientific literature as to how old Stw 573 is. Estimates range from almost 4 Ma based on cosmogenic 26Al and 10Be radiometric dating [3] to 2.2 Ma [4] based on Uranium-lead dating. A magnetochronology estimate places the fossil at about 3.3 Ma [5]
References
- ^ Clarke, R.J. and P.V. Tobias (1995). Sterkfontein Member 2 foot bones of the oldest South African hominid. Science 269, 521-524.
- ^ Clarke, R.J. (1998). First ever discovery of a well-preserved skull and associated skeleton of an Australopithecus. South African Journal of Science, 94; 460-463.
- ^ Partridge, T.C., Granger, D.E., Caffee, M.W. and Clarke, R.J. (2003) - « Lower Pliocene Hominid Remains from Sterkfontein », Science, Vol. 300, pp. pp. 607 - 612. (abstract)
- ^ Walker, J., Cliff, R.A. and Latham, A.G. (2006) - « U-Pb Isotopic Age of the StW 573 Hominid from Sterkfontein, South Africa », Science, Vol. 314, pp. pp. 1592 - 1594. (abstract)
- ^ Partridge, T.C., Shaw, J., Heslop, D. and Clarke, R.J. (1999) - « The new hominid skeleton from Sterkfontein, South Africa: age and preliminary assessment », Journal of Quaternary Science, 14, pp. 293-298.
See also
- List of fossil sites (with link directory)
- List of hominina (hominid) fossils (with images)