South Turkwel: A new Pliocene hominid site in Kenya

New fossils discovered south of the Turkwel River in northern Kenya include an associated metacarpal, capitate, hamate, lunate, pedal phalanx, mandibu lar fragment, and teeth. These fossils probably date to around 3.5 m.y.a. F aunal information suggests that the environment at South Turkwel was predom inantly bushland. The mandibular and dental remains are fragmentary, but th e postcranial fossils are informative. Comparisons with Australopithecus, m odern human, chimpanzee and gorilla hand bones suggest that the Turkwel hom inid was most like Australopithecus afarensis and A. africanus. Carpometaca rpal articulations are intermediate between those of modern humans and Afri can apes, suggesting enhanced gripping capabilities compared with extant ap es. The hamulus was strikingly large, similar in proportion only to Neander tals and some gorillas, suggesting the presence of powerful forearms and ha nds. There are no indicators of adaptations to knuckle-walking or suspensor y locomotion in the hand, and the pedal phalanx suggests that this hominid was habitually bipedal. (C) 1999 Academic Press.