RECONSTRUCTION OF THE ECOLOGICAL NICHE AND LOCOMOTOR REPERTOIRE OF THE LAST COMMON ANCESTOR HOMO-PAN: (PALEO) BIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE IN PRIMARY TROPICAL FOREST (EQUATORIAL GUINEA)

BIPEDAL LOCOMOTION IS THE ESSENTIAL FEATURE OF HOMININS, SO ESTABLISHING THE MODE OF LOCOMOTION THAT PRECEDED IT IS ESSENTIAL FOR THE KNOWLEDGE OF HUMAN EVOLUTION. HOWEVER, THE HOW, WHERE AND WHY OF ITS ORIGIN ARE QUESTIONS WITH UNCERTAIN ANSWERS. THIS PROJECT PROPOSES TO CHARACTERIZE THE ECOLOGICAL NICHE WHERE HUMAN BIPEDAL LOCOMOTION AROSE THROUGH THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE LOCOMOTOR REPERTOIRE AND HABITAT USE OF HOMO-PAN LCA. THE AIM IS TO CONTRAST THE MODELS OF LOCOMOTION "SUSPENSION UNDER BRANCHES" VS. "MULTIGRADE: QUADRUPED GENERALIZED PLANTIGRADE ABOVE BRANCHES". FOR THIS PURPOSE, WE PROPOSE TO QUANTIFY THE REPERTOIRE OF ARBOREAL AND TERRESTRIAL LOCOMOTION MODES OF THE PRIMATE SPECIES OF AN AFRICAN TROPICAL FOREST, THE FORMER HYPOTHESIS OF THE ECOSYSTEM ASSUMED FOR THIS LCA. THE CHOSEN PLACE IS THE NATURAL PARK OF MONTE ALEN, EQUATORIAL GUINEA (GE) WHOSE NATIVE FOREST GATHERS EXCEPTIONAL CONDITIONS. THE PROJECT EXPLORES A LOGICAL-ANALYTICAL SCHEME AND A SEQUENCE OF ACTIVITIES TO CAPTURE DATA AND TEST HYPOTHESES ORGANIZED INTO FOUR OBJECTIVES. THE FIRST OBJECTIVE IS THE SEARCH OF FOSSILS THAT PHYSICALLY REPRESENT THE UAC HOMO / PAN IN AN ALMOST UNPRECEDENTED ENVIRONMENT: THE AFRICAN RAIN FOREST. THE DISCOVERY OF ANY PRIMATE FOSSIL IN THIS CONTEXT WOULD BE A TURNING POINT IN WORLD PALEOANTHROPOLOGY. AS A SECOND OBJECTIVE WE PROPOSE THE ANALYSIS OF THE LOCOMOTOR REPERTOIRE AND HABITATS OF THE PRIMATES OF MONTE ALEN. FOR THIS, THE ORIGINAL DATA WILL BE TAKEN IN THE FIELD BY DIRECT OBSERVATION AND FILMING. IN PARALLEL, AND AS A THIRD OBJECTIVE, THE BOTANICAL CHARACTERIZATION IS PURSUED IN THE BIOTOPES OCCUPIED BY THE PRIMATES. WITH THESE DATA, THE FOURTH OBJECTIVE SEEKS TO INFER A MODEL OF LOCOMOTION AND HABITAT USE FOR THE UAC HOMO / PAN (OF ECOLOGICAL NICHE). METHODS OF RECONSTRUCTION OF ANCESTRAL STATES AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH HABITAT VARIABLES WILL BE USED BY MEANS OF ANALYSIS OF COVARIANCE (PLS).