Re: Earliest Hominids

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In article <herwin-2406950939120001@192.0.2.1> Harry Erwin,
herwin@gmu.edu writes:
>Weight: Less than pigmy chimps. Adult females at 40-50 pounds and adult
>males at 60-80.

Most workers (Jungers, McHenry) agree on a mass of 28 - 30 kg (61.6 -
66.0 lbs) for the smallest known australopithecines (AL 288, Sts 14).
Estimating mass of the male individuals is more problematic, but I have
seen ranges from 45 - 80 kg (99 - 176 lbs) for male afarensis. Most
current work seems to be converging on an upper weight limit of around 55
kg (121 lbs) for these guys. Even the low estimated weights for the
males will result in substantial sexual dimorphism, which suggests
polygamous breeding systems.

Alex Duncan
Dept. of Anthropology
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX 78712-1086
512-471-4206
aduncan@mail.utexas.edu

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