Hominin hand bone fossils from Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa (1998e2003 excavations) Travis Rayne Pickering a, b, c, * , Jason L. Heaton b, c, d , Ron J. Clarke b , Dominic Stratford e a Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA b Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersand, WITS, 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa c Plio-Pleistocene Palaeontology Section, Department of Vertebrates, Ditsong National Museum of Natural History (Transvaal Museum), Pretoria, South Africa d Department of Biology, Birmingham-Southern College, Birmingham, AL, 35245, USA e School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa article info Article history: Received 17 May 2017 Accepted 27 February 2018 Keywords: Australopithecus Sterkfontein Manus Grips Dexterity Climbing abstract We describe eleven hominin metacarpals and phalanges recovered from Jacovec Cavern and Member 4 of the Sterkfontein Formation between 1998 and 2003. Collectively, the fossils date in excess of 2.0 Ma, and are probably attributable to Australopithecus africanus and/or Australopithecus prometheus. When combined with results of previous studies on Australopithecus postcranial functional morphology, the new data presented here suggest that at least some late Pliocene and/or early Pleistocene hominins from Sterkfontein were arboreally adept. This finding accords with the reconstruction of the site's >2.0 Ma catchment area as well-vegetated and containing significant woody components. In addition, most of the new specimens described here evince morphologies that indicate the hands from which they derived lacked complete modern humanlike manual dex- terity, which is integral to the manufacture and use of intentionally shaped stone tools. The absence of lithic artifacts from both stratigraphic units from which the fossils were excavated is consistent with this conclusion. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Modern humans (Homo sapiens) possess advanced capabilities of manipulation that set them apart from other primates. Many of those capabilities are predicated on derived features of the human hand that facilitate the formation and maintenance of a variety of specialized grips (e.g., Napier 1956, 1962; Marzke and Shackley, 1986; Marzke and Wullstein, 1996; Marzke, 1997). The hands of extant nonhuman hominoids also show uniquely derived features that distinguish them from other primates. For example, the specialized wrist, palm and finger bones of African apes permit terrestrial knuckle-walking (e.g., Schultz, 1930; Tuttle, 1967, 1969; Corruccini, 1978; Inouye, 1994; Matarazzo, 2008). In addition, various characteristics of ape phalanges are correlated strongly and positively with their arboreal vocation as climbers and suspensory locomotorists (e.g., Susman, 1979; Stern et al., 1995; Richmond, 2007; Deane and Begun, 2008; Rein, 2011). Previous fossil studies have concluded that the hands of at least some Pliocene and early Pleistocene hominins 1 combined hu- manlike and apelike adaptations. Many researchers (e.g., Stern and Susman, 1983; Susman et al., 1984; Richmond, 2007; Kivell et al., 2011, 2015) have contended that the apelike features of those handsdincluding especially their strongly built, longitudinally curved proximal phalangesdcorroborate other postcranial evi- dence, which indicates that relevant species were adept and pre- sumably frequent arborealists (e.g., Robinson, 1972; Vrba, 1979; Jungers, 1982; Stern and Susman, 1983; Jungers and Stern, 1983; Schmid, 1983; Susman et al., 1984; Tardieu, 1986; Spoor et al., 1994; Clarke and Tobias, 1995; Macchiarelli et al., 1999; DeSilva et al., 2012, 2013; Green and Alemseged, 2012; Haile-Selassie et al., 2012; Churchill et al., 2013; but see, e.g., Lovejoy et al., * Corresponding author. E-mail address: tpickering@wisc.edu (T.R. Pickering). 1 Based on White (2002), Clarke (2012), and White et al. (2015), R.J.C. objects to the use of the term ‘hominin’ and prefers the use of the term ‘hominid’. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Human Evolution journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jhevol https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.02.014 0047-2484/© 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Journal of Human Evolution 118 (2018) 89e102