Utilizing auxology to understand ontogeny of extinct hominins: A case study on Homo naledi.

Abstract

The methods used to study human growth and development (auxology) have not previously been applied within the setting of hominin maturation (ontogeny). Ontogeny is defined here as the pattern of biological change into an adult form, both at the individual and species level. The hominin fossil record has a lack of recovered immature materials, due to such factors as taphonomic processes that destroy pre-adults; the fragility of immature compared to adult bone; and the lower mortality rates of juveniles compared to adults. The recent discovery of pre-adult hominin skeletal material from a single, homogeneous Homo naledi species from the Rising Star cave system in South Africa provides the opportunity for a broader application of auxology methods and thus the need to understand their use in a modern context. Human auxology studies benefit from a robust database, across multiple populations, and with longitudinal studies in order to assess the patterns and variations in typical growth, development and life history stages. Here, we review the approach, vocabulary, and methods of these human studies, investigate commonalities in data with the fossil record, and then advance the reconstruction of ontogeny for the extinct hominin species H. naledi. To this end, we apply an auxology model into the paleontological context to broadly predict H. naledi birthweight of the offspring at 2.06 kg with a range (±1 SD) of 1.89 to 2.24 kg, with a length at birth 45.5 cm. We estimate a H. naledi juvenile partial skeleton DH7 to be a height of 111-125 cm at death.