Australopithecus afarensis, a human ancestor could have given birth in a way that combines the childbirth practices of chimpanzees and human beings a team of scientists have claimed. They reported how this finding shed light on the evolution of human birth and how it evolved and paved the way for large brains. The scientists detailed their findings in the journal The Anatomical Record in April 2017, and followed up with a further paper on the subject in 2019.
Revealing Information about Hominin’s Childbirth
The study revealed how the ancient relative of mankind known as ” Lucy” could have given birth in a way that combines how chimpanzees and humans give birth, with newborns going through a bit of tilting in the birth canal as they were born. “What we found with Lucy was very much in between that of chimpanzees and humans,” the study’s lead author Jeremy DeSilva, a paleoanthropologist at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, told Live Science .
The Hidden Treasures of Ethiopia’ exhibit at Houston Museum of Natural Science featuring a model of “Lucy.” ( Jason Kuffer/CC BY NC ND 2.0)
More interestingly, the scientists also noticed that there was a tight fit between the infant A. afarensis and its birth canal. This could mean that their species may have had complications during labor just like contemporary humans – and thus the presence of a midwife was probably much needed. As DeSilva said :
“Because their…
