https://carta.anthropogeny.org/moca/topics/foramen-magnum-placement
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130926111903.htm
https://www.lahc.edu/library/documents/parikh/Bio%20Anthro-Skeletal%20Features%20of%20Bipedalism.pdf
Monday, June 8, 2020
The Secret Life of Bipedality: Foramen Magnum
One of the ways that paleoanthropologists determine whether or not a fossil could be a hominid, or whether or not they could potentially have been bipedal, is to determine the position of the foramen magnum. "The foramen magnum (from the Latin, meaning "great hole") is the large opening in the base of the skull through which the spinal chord exits the cranial vault (Beasley, n.d.). The position of the foramen magnum gives an indication of what kind of locomotion the species had. In bipedal organisms the position of the foramen magnum is central under the braincase. In other species, like chimpanzees and most other mammals, the foramen magnum is toward the back of the skull. This is due to the spine being positioned more behind the head.
https://carta.anthropogeny.org/moca/topics/foramen-magnum-placement
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130926111903.htm
https://www.lahc.edu/library/documents/parikh/Bio%20Anthro-Skeletal%20Features%20of%20Bipedalism.pdf
https://carta.anthropogeny.org/moca/topics/foramen-magnum-placement
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130926111903.htm
https://www.lahc.edu/library/documents/parikh/Bio%20Anthro-Skeletal%20Features%20of%20Bipedalism.pdf
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
good job. i always thought the foramen magnum was interesting. we like to think we can tell bipealism from it, but that is only in cases with a complete skull. when it is partial we need to have ways to estimate its placement without knowing the full story. It amazes me how much work goes into learning these things. Dart used the foramen maghum placment as a way to tell bipedality in Taung child!
ReplyDelete