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STS 14

{{Short description|Hominin fossil}}

{{For|the Space Shuttle mission|STS-41-D|STS-51-A}}

{{Infobox fossil

| catalog number = STS 14

| common name =

| image = File:Sterkfontein_Caves_8.jpg

| species = Australopithecus africanus

| age = 2.5 million years old

| place discovered =

| date discovered =

| discovered by = Robert Broom and John T. Robinson

| footnotes =

}}

STS 14 is a fossilized partial skeleton of the species Australopithecus africanus. It was discovered at Sterkfontein, South Africa by Robert Broom and John T. Robinson in August 1947, and is estimated to be about 2.5 million years old.{{cite web|url=http://australianmuseum.net.au/australopithecus-africanus|title=Australopithecus africanus|publisher=Australian Museum|date=20 January 2011}}{{cite book|first= Donald|last= Johanson|first2=Blake|last2=Edgar|title=From Lucy to Language|url= https://archive.org/details/fromlucytolangua2006joha|url-access= registration|publisher=Simon & Schuster|year=2006|page=[https://archive.org/details/fromlucytolangua2006joha/page/148 148]|isbn=978-0-7432-8064-8}}

Some scientists have proposed that STS 14 may have come from the same individual as STS 5 though that fossil is considered only 2.15 million years old.

Description

The specimen consists of a pelvis, vertebral column and fragmentary rib and femur. Notable characteristics include the distinctly human-like shape of its pelvic blades, indicating a type of bipedalism.{{Cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=frbdBgAAQBAJ|title = From Biped to Strider: The Emergence of Modern Human Walking, Running, and Resource Transport|last = Meldrum|first = Jeff|last2 = Hilton|first2 = Charles E.|date = 2011-06-27|publisher = Springer Science & Business Media|isbn = 9781441989659|language = en}} This find was the first to demonstrate, without a doubt, pre-Homo bipedality.

Curiously, the specimen has six lumbar vertebrae, more than either most humans, who have five, or modern apes, which may have five or fewer.

The specimen's sacrum contains an unfused intervertebral disk between the first and second sacral vertebrae, suggesting that the individual died before reaching maturity.{{cite web|url=http://www.efossils.org/page/boneviewer/Australopithecus%20africanus/Sts%2014#100478752|title=Australopithecus africanus: Sts 14|publisher= eFossils|accessdate=7 July 2015}}

See also

References

{{reflist}}

External links

  • {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20060118234116/http://www.modernhumanorigins.net/sts14.html Image of STS 14]}}
  • {{cite book | author=Tattersall, Ian, Schwartz, Jeffery | title=Extinct Humans | publisher=Westview Press, Boulder CO | year=2000 | isbn=0-8133-3482-9 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/extincthumans00tatt }}
  • {{cite book|author=Larsen, Clark Spencer, Matter, Robert M, Gebo, Daniel L|title=Human Origins: the fossil record|publisher=Waveland Press, Prospect Heights, Illinois|year=1991|isbn=0-88133-575-4|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/humanoriginsfoss0000lars}}
  • [http://www.maropeng.co.za Maropeng - The Cradle of Humankind] Official Website
  • [https://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31&id_site=915 UNESCO - Fossil Hominid Sites of Sterkfontein, Swartkrans, Kromdraai, and Environs]

Category:Australopithecus fossils

Category:Quaternary fossil record

Category:Archaeological discoveries in South Africa

Category:1947 archaeological discoveries

Category:Archaeology of Southern Africa

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