Jaws and teeth of Australopithecus afarensis from Maka, Middle Awash, Ethiopia

The Maka locality in Ethiopia's Middle Awash area has yielded new cranioden tal remains dated to 3.4 million years (myr) in age. These remains are desc ribed and assessed functionally and systematically. The fossils are assigne d to Australopithecus afarensis. Maka thus joins Hadar and Laetoli as the t hird major locality yielding this species. As with previous site samples, t he Maka collection displays a wide range of size variation. The nearly comp lete and undistorted MAK-VP-1/12 adult mandible from Maka is an excellent m atch for Hadar and Laetoli counterparts, confirming the geographic and temp oral distribution of A. afarensis. This specimen shows that this taxon is f unctionally and developmentally hominid in its incisor/canine/premolar comp lex. A postulated evolutionary trajectory through A. anamensis to A. afaren sis would have involved postcanine megadontia and other adaptations to a mo re heavily masticated diet relative to the earlier Ardipithecus ramidus. Am 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.