Forbidden Archeology_ The Full Unabridged Edition - Michael A. Cremo [505]
Feldesman (1982a, p. 91) found Lucy’s humerus to be most closely related to the pygmy chimpanzee, Pan paniscus.
As far as the bones of the lower arm are concerned, Feldesman (1982b, p. 187) found that “‘Lucy’ (AL 288) clearly resembles Pan paniscus in proximal ulnar morphology.” The ulna is the innermost of the two bones making up the forearm (the radius is the other). The proximal, or upper, part of the ulna joins the humerus at the elbow.
In 1985, Della Collins Cook, an anthropologist, and three coauthors, among them Donald Johanson, published a study of the vertebral column of Australopithecus afarensis.
Cook and Johanson claimed: “The AL-288 vertebrae correspond to those of modern humans in remarkable detail” (Cook et al. 1983, p. 84). They noted, however, that the “Hadar vertebrae depart from the morphological pattern found in modern humans in a few details that may have functional significance” (Cook et al. 1983, p. 86). These “few details” were not trivial. For example, according to Cook and Johanson, the spinous processes of the A. afarensis neck and upper back vertebrae were quite long. The spinous process, a bony projection on the back side of the vertebrae, serves as a point of attachment for muscles. According to Cook and Johanson, the length and surface features of the spinous processes indicated that in A. afarensis the back and shoulder muscles were “massive relative to their size in modern humans” (Cook et al. 1983, p. 86).
Oxnard (1984, p. 334-i) stated that the features of the A. afarensis vertebrae reported by Cook and Johanson “are likely to have provided the stress bearing structures necessary to support the actions of very powerful shoulder muscles in climbing and arboreal activities suggested by our prior studies of the scapula and clavicle of other australopithecines.”
C. Owen Lovejoy, a supporter of Johanson, claimed that the afarensis hip was suitable only for upright walking (Johanson and Edey 1981, pp. 347–348). But the afarensis hip structure is significantly different from that in human beings. In particular, Lucy’s iliac blade, like that of other australopithecines, is positioned as in apes (Section 11.8.2, Figure 11.13). Susman said: “Therefore, we are of the opinion that the orientation of the iliac blades in the Hadar species is well-suited for a part-time climber” (Susman et al. 1984, p. 132).
In Scientific American, Lovejoy (1988) reasserted his familiar claims that Lucy’s pelvic structure and musculature were very similar to those of humans. We will not here repeat the detailed demonstrations by Zuckerman, Oxnard, Stern, Susman, and others that the pelvic morphology of A. afarensis had quite a bit in common with arboreal primates, and was better suited for climbing than walking (Section 11.8.2).
What is perhaps most significant about Lovejoy’s presentation is that he does not once directly mention his opponents and their arguments. This adds to our suspicions that the views of Zuckerman, Oxnard, Stern, Susman, Prost, and others are being suppressed for propaganda purposes on the level of secondary presentations for the wider scientific community, educational institutions, and the public in general. The views of the advocates of arboreality for A. afarensis are represented almost solely in the primary level of publication, in the obscure pages of scientific journals intended for specialists. They are, however, not at all well represented in publications like Scientific American, college textbooks on anthropology, and popular books and television programs dealing with the topic of human evolution. Arboreal habits would not look well in the hominid advertised as the oldest known creature directly ancestral to modern humanity.
Femurs from Lucy and the First Family group challenge claims by Johanson and Lovejoy that the lower limb of A. afarensis was distinctly human in morphology and function. Stern and Susman (1983, p. 296) concluded that the proximal (upper)