Supplementary online information
Supplementary Table 1. Comparative cranial and mandibular dimensions and indices for
LB1, A. africanus, early Homo, Homo erectus, and a robust modern H. sapiens sample.
Data for Dmanisi D2280 are from1, Sterkfontein 5 and East Turkana KNM-ER 37332,
and Indonesian H. erectus2-12 and personal observations by P.B. The global H. sapiens
sample includes terminal Pleistocene, Neolithic and more recent samples and combines
data collected by Howells13 and Brown14. Measurement definitions are from M15, W2,
B16, B&M17.
Supplementary Table 2. Buccolingual crown dimensions for the maxillary and
mandibular teeth of LB1, and male and female modern H. sapiens (mm). In the rotated
maxillary P4s the buccolingual crown dimensions were recorded in the normal
(unrotated) occlusal position.
Supplementary Figure 1. First and second principal component scores of linear
measurements of the cranial vault in LB1, Indonesian, African and European H. erectus,
H. habilis and Australopithecus africanus. Variables are maximum cranial length,
biasterionic breadth, minimum frontal breadth, porion-vertex height and supramastoid
breadth. Principal component 1 (82.8% of the variance) gives greater scores for calvaria
which are larger overall. Principal component 2 (8.5% of the variance) gives the lowest
scores if the cranial breadth measurements are large, and porion-vertex height is reduced.
The Indonesian () Homo erectus sample contains Sangiran 22, 172,12 and IX10,
Sambungmacan 13,7, 39 and 411, and Ngandong 6, 7, 10, 11 and 128. The Chinese () H.
erectus sample Zhoukoudian X, XI, XII18, and Hexian14,19. African () H. erectus OH9 ,
KNM ER 38832, KNM ER 37332, and the juvenile KNM WT 1500020. The four
remaining specimens are the adult H. erectus Dmanisi 2280 ()1, Sterkfontein STS5 A.
africanus ()2, East Turkana KNM-ER 1813 H. habilis ()2, and LB1 (). For size and
shape LB1 is most similar to STS5 and KNM-ER 1813 and least like H. sapiens (),
Sangiran 17 and Hexian. If vault shape alone is considered LB1 is most similar to ER3883, ER-3733 and Sangiran 2. These calvaria share very similar height and breadth
relationships but contrast in other aspects of their anatomy, for instance the morphology
of the supraorbital region, which are not considered by this comparison.
Supplementary Figure 2. Distal and occlusal views of the isolated LB2 mandibular left
P3. Scale bar, 1 cm.
Information on the hominin samples in Figure 3.
Mean data calculated from: A. afarensis 21-24, A. africanus 25-27, early Homo 27-32, and H.
erectus 4,5,18,25,33-38 .
Principal component analysis (PCA)
PCA output
Explained variance
Eigenvalues
% variance
Cumulative %
885.1 91.0 58.0 21.2
82.8 8.5
5.4
1.9
82.85 91.37 96.81 98.80
PCA variable loadings
glabella-opisthocranion
min. frontal breadth
max. supramastoid breadth
bi-asterion
porion-vertex
1
0.62
0.40
0.44
0.40
0.29
2
0.24
0.04
-0.23
-0.65
0.67
3
-0.63
0.69
-0.07
0.15
0.29
4
-0.35
-0.57
0.41
0.25
0.55
Occipital curvature angle
Calculated from the lambda-opisthion chord, lambda-subtense fraction, and subtense
height using the procedure in39.
Stature estimation description
Stature (body height) for LB1 was estimated from the maximum femur length of 280 mm
using formulae developed from human pygmies40.
Jungers provides three formulae for use with raw data, calculated using least squares
regression (LS), major axis (MA) and reduced major axis (RMA).
LS (raw) Y=3.3496*X + 147.9
LS (raw) Y=3.8807*X – 51.0
RMA (raw) Y=3.6251*X + 44.8
These formulae give stature estimates of 1085.7 (LS), 1035.5 (MA), 1059.8 (RMA). We
have used the average of these estimates (1060.3), however, as cranial height in LB1 is
considerably less than H. sapiens this may be an overestimate.
Body mass estimation description
Estimation of body mass for Pliocene and Pliestocene hominins is problematic,
particularly when body proportions and muscle mass are unknown, or contrast with
modern H. sapiens. Body mass can be estimated from stature41,42, and cross sectional
areas and dimensions of articular surfaces and shafts of long bones43,44.
For LB1 stature is 106 cm, and femur cross sectional area 525mm2.
Using the ratio of stature to body mass calculated from African Pygmy data (3.7:1) by41
gives a body weight of 28.7 kg for a stature of 106 cm. Body weight can also be
estimated from stature using a regression formula developed from Jamaican School
children data42. This produces a body weight of 16kg.
Using formulae calculated from African ape and human data by43 gives a body mass
estimate of 36 or 42 kg for the log stature and femur cross sectional data for LB1. These
estimates seem much too high for a slightly built 1 m tall hominin.
Encephalization quotient (EQ) description
Brain mass for LB1 was estimated by multiplying endocranial volume by 1/1.1445, and
calculation of the encephalisation quotient (EQ) follows46. EQ=Brain mass/(12.15*body
mass0.86).
Megadontial quotient description
Relative tooth size was calculated using the megadontial quotient43,
P4-M2 crown area/(12.15 x body mass0.86). The extent of interproximal wear in LB1 has
greatly reduced M1 and M2 crown areas, and P3 had to be substituted for the missing P4’s.
While the occlusal surface area of P3 was probably greater than P4, the megadontial
quotient is still likely to be an underestimate for LB1 due to the reduced crown length of
M1 and M2.
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