Forbidden Archeology: The Hidden History of the Human Race

There are other significant differences. Zuckerman (1954, pp. 344–345) said about the specimens of Australopithecus pelvis that he studied: (1) “in their maximum iliac breadth they were smaller than in man, but of the size usual in apes”; (2) “the extent of the gluteal [muscle] areas was significantly smaller than in the chimpanzee and man, but of the size found in the gorilla, and . . . in the orang”; (3) “The size of the auricular surface, the area with which the sacrum [tail bone] articulates, was significantly smaller than in man, but similar to that in apes.”

Regarding the size of the auricular surface and that of the iliac tuberosity (the large rounded prominence for the attachment of muscles and ligaments on the upper part of the ilium), Zuckerman (1954, p. 346) stated: “Schultz (1930) has shown that the great relative size of these two areas in man is related to the erect attitude, and to the transmission of the weight of the trunk, head, and upper limbs on the sacroiliac articulations. Their smaller size in the great apes can be related to the more quadrupedal posture and gait of these animals. In view of their equally small size in the fossil specimens, it is difficult not to believe that the Australopithecines walked in the same way as do apes.” Modern proponents of a more humanlike view of Australopithecus consistently and vehemently deny this possibility.

According to Zuckerman, features of the Australopithecus pelvis identified by some as decidedly human were subject to alternate interpretations. One of these humanlike features, according to Broom, Robinson, and Schepers (1950), was “the presence of a well-developed anterior inferior iliac spine.” Zuckerman (1954, pp. 343–344), however, observed: “Such a spine may imply a ligament whose development is normally associated with the maintenance of the erect posture. On the other hand the spine is also well developed in many quadrupedal animals, e.g. the menotyphlous insectivores, and many carnivores and rodents (Straus 1929).”

In a set of drawings, Oxnard showed the hips and lower limbs of a human, an ape, and an australopithecine placed as if all three were quadrupedal. Oxnard (1975a, p. 57) noted: “The similarities of the ape and Australopithecus are most evident.” This could be taken to indicate that Australopithecus was well adapted for quadrupedal locomotor behavior.

In 1973, Oxnard assisted Zuckerman and other researchers in conducting an extensive multivariate statistical analysis comparing the pelvis of Australopithecus with the pelvises of 430 primates, representing 41 genera.

The pelvis study considered 4 measurements relating to joints and 5 relating to muscular attachments. When all 9 features of the pelvis were considered together, Australopithecus proved to be unique, differing from both human beings and the nonhuman primates.

Zuckerman and Oxnard therefore concluded that it was “conceivable that the habitual posture and gait of Australopithecus might have been unique by displaying a combination of quadrupedalism and bipedalism” (Zuckerman et al. 1973, p. 153).

Amplifying this suggestion, Zuckerman and Oxnard further stated: “the locomotor use of the hindlimb might have been composite, involving possibly quadrupedalism, bipedalism, and maybe other types of activity, such as an ‘acrobatic’ function” (Zuckerman et al. 1973, p. 156). Their comparative studies demonstrated that among sub-human primates “the group approximating most closely to Australopithecus comprises genera in which the hindlimb sometimes supports, sometimes suspends the animal, and generally operates in many planes of space” (Zuckerman et al. 1973, p. 159). It is difficult to overstate how strongly this contradicts the conventional picture of Australopithecus, which is never shown hanging from a tree limb by its legs.

11.8.3 Zuckerman and Oxnard on Suppression Of Evidence