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Evolution of the Hominid Hip

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Primate Locomotion

Abstract

The morphology of the hip region, and its functional implications, have figured prominently in discussions of the origin and nature of hominid bipedality (Dart, 1949; Broom and Robinson, 1950; Washburn, 1950; Le Gros Clark, 1955; Mednick, 1955; Napier, 1964, 1967; Day, 1969, 1973; Robinson, 1972; Lovejoy et al., 1973; McHenry, 1975; Wood, 1976; McHenry and Corruccini, 1978; Stern and Susman, 1983, 1991; Susman et al., 1984; Lovejoy, 1988; Berge, 1991; Jungers, 1991). During most of human bipedal gait, the body is balanced over one lower limb (Inman et al., 1981), a biomechanical problem not faced by quadrupeds. The solution to this problem has involved major changes in the form of the human pelvis and proximal femur (as well as structures more distal in the lower limb) from that of our primate quadrupedal contemporaries, and presumably ancestors (Le Gros Clark, 1959).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 725 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, Maryland, 21205, USA

    Christopher Ruff

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  1. Christopher Ruff
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. California State University, Sacramento, Sacramento, California, USA

    Elizabeth Strasser

  2. State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York, USA

    John G. Fleagle

  3. National Zoological Park, Washington, D.C, USA

    Alfred L. Rosenberger

  4. University of California, Davis, Davis, California, USA

    Henry M. McHenry

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Ruff, C. (1998). Evolution of the Hominid Hip. In: Strasser, E., Fleagle, J.G., Rosenberger, A.L., McHenry, H.M. (eds) Primate Locomotion. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0092-0_23

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