Stw 441/465: a new fragmentary ilium of a small-bodied Australopithecus africanus from Sterkfontein, South Africa

In 1986 and 1987, a hominid left ilium fragment consisting of a spina iliac a anterior superior and crista iliaca was discovered during excavations at Sterkfontein, South Africa. Although the specimen is small it gives valuabl e hints for muscle insertions and origins at: the pelvis of Auslralopithecu s africanus. It indicates that the anatomy of the abdominal muscles and of the mm. glutei medius et minimus of A. africanus was quite different from t hat of the great apes and more similar to that of modem humans. This has ma jor implications for the interpretation of the bipedalism and locomotor eff iciency of the early South African hominids. (C) 2001 Academic Press.