Heads we lose: Four million-year-old skull is similar to ours

Given the technomania and sophistication of our species‚ we like to think we're super-evolved with a brain that has taken aeons to perfect.

It would stand to reason that our marvellous brains are also encased in a state-of-the-art cranium that no other species has had the joy of owning.

But a hi-tech scan of a four million-year-old cranium from the Cradle of Humankind in Sterkfontein has found that is very similar to ours.

This was announced on Monday by Wits University after the cranium of the extinct Australopithecus was scanned through high-resolution imaging systems.

The fossil‚ found in 1995 in the Jacovec Cavern‚ is considered the oldest evidence of human evolution in South Africa‚ and these findings have now been published in the Journal of Human Evolution.

Dr Amelie Beaudet‚ from the School of Geography‚ Archaeology and Environmental Studies at Wits and her colleagues from the Sterkfontein team‚ scanned the cranium and applied advanced imaging techniques in “virtual palaeontology” to further explore its anatomy.

“The Jacovec cranium represents a unique opportunity to learn more about the biology and diversity of our ancestors and their relatives and‚ ultimately‚ about their evolution‚” said Beaudet.

“Unfortunately‚ the cranium is highly fragmentary and not much could be said about the identity nor the anatomy of the Jacovec specimen before.”

Through high-resolution scanning‚ the researchers were able to explore fine details of the inner anatomy of the Jacovec specimen and to report previously unknown information about the genus Australopithecus.

Their work showed that the cranium of the Jacovec specimen and of Australopithecus specimens from Sterkfontein in general was thick and essentially composed of spongy bone.

“This large portion of spongy bone‚ also found in our own cranium‚ may indicate that blood flow in the brain of Australopithecus may have been comparable to us‚ and that the brain case had an important role in the protection of the evolving brain‚” said Beaudet.

What this means is that the sophisticated evolution of our own brain was made possible by a highly protective cranium.

This is yet another palaeontological inroad that the treasure trove of the Cradle of Humankind has offered up. Recent years have seen a focus on Mrs Ples‚ Little Foot‚ and more recently‚ the mysterious Homo Naledi.

“The Jacovec cranium exemplifies the relevance of the Sterkfontein fossil specimens for our understanding of human evolution‚” said Beaudet. “Imaging techniques open unique perspectives for revisiting the South African fossil assemblage. ”