Additional question: As discussed in chapter Hens Chapter 9, the crural index is calculated: (tibia length/femoral length) x 100.
A. Thinking of the bones involved, what would lead to a larger crural index? What would lead to smaller crural index?
B. How does this relate to climate?
C. Here are some crural indices from fossil hominids and living people: KNM-WT 15000 H. erectus: 88.0, average Neandertal: 78.9; average living African modern human: 84.8, average living European modern human: 80.0. What do these crural indices suggest about the climate that these groups lived in?
D. The average crural index of early anatomically modern humans is 85.1. What does this suggest about the climate that these individuals are from? How is it that these individuals are found in glacial Europe? (hint: think about hypotheses about the origins of modern humans).