Edward J. Odes1, Patrick Randolph-Quinney1,2 ...

Edward J. Odes1, Patrick Randolph-Quinney1,2, Alexander Parkinson2, Bernard Zipfel2, Jakobus Hoffman3, Frikkie de Beer3, Heather Bonny4 and Lee R. Berger2,5. Use of microcomputed tomography in the investigation of pseudopathology on the skeleton of StW 431 (Australopithecus africanus) from Sterkfontein Cave, Cradle of Humankind. 1School

of Anatomical Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand Medical School, Johannesburg, South Africa. Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. 3Radiography/Tomography Section, South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (NECSA), Pelindaba, South Africa. 4Natural History Museum, South Kensington, London, UK. 5Centre for Excellence in Palaeosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa 2Evolutionary

This paper discusses the use of high-resolution 3-D imaging methods to assist in the analysis of pseudopathological lesions affecting the lower lumbar vertebrae of the 2.4 to 2.8 Mya partial skeleton StW 431 (Australopithecus africanus) from Sterkfontein Cave, South Africa. The specimen was originally diagnosed as suffering from skeletal manifestations of the pathogen brucella (D'Anastasio et al., 2009) which would mark the earliest manifestation of brucellosis in the fossil record. We here report the use of micro-computed tomography (MCT) on the partial skeleton and comparative clinical specimens to falsify the claims of D’Anastasio and colleagues. This paper will highlight the utility of MCT volume imaging in the differential diagnosis of skeletal pathological disorders, and provide recommendations for best practice when differentiating between true and pseudo-pathology in fossil and subfossil remains. Reference: D'Anastasio R, Zipfel B, Moggi-Cecchi J, Stanyon R, Capasso L (2009) Possible Brucellosis in an Early Hominin Skeleton from Sterkfontein, South Africa. PLoS ONE 4(7): e6439. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0006439