Le pied des hominoïdes miocènes et des hominidés fossiles

The locomotor abilities of primates are closely related to the architecture of their feet. The question of bipedality is crucial for knowledge of human origins and the human evolutionary process. Research in this issue presents data for a locomotor diagnostic of miocene hominoids, australopithecines, and different species of the genus Homo through architectural analysis of their foot remains. Known relationships between primate foot bone anatomy and their locomotor modalities are first presented. Then, the tarsometatarsal complex of living humans, gorillas and chimpanzees is analyzed, with the aim of identifying some diagnostic angular features of the foot architecture. These architectural markers are measured on the fossil material; locomotor and taxonomic implcations are proposed. A scenario of the main evolutionary tendencies over the last 20 million years, with respect to the foot and locomotor modalities, can thus be envisaged.