Fossil hominin footprints provide a direct source of evidence of locomotor behavior and allow inference of other biological data such as anthropometrics. Many recent comparative analyses of hominin footprints have used 3D analytical methods to assess their morphological affinities, comparing tracks from different locations and/or time periods. However, environmental conditions can sometimes preclude 3D digital capture, as was the case at Happisburgh (England) in 2013. Consequently, we use here a 2D geometric morphometric approach to investigate the evolutionary context of the Happisburgh tracks. The comparative sample of hominin tracks comes from eight localities that span a broad temporal range from the Pliocene to Late Holocene. The results show disparity in the shapes of tracks ascribed to hominins from the Pliocene (presumably Australopithecus afarensis), Pleistocene (presumably Homo erectus and Homo antecessor), and Holocene (Homo sapiens). Three distinct morphological differences are apparent between time samples: changes in adduction of the hallux, changes in the shape and position of the medial longitudinal arch impression, and apparent changes in foot proportions. Linear dimensions classified the potential H. antecessor tracks from Happisburgh as being most similar to the presumed H. erectus prints from Ileret. We demonstrate using 2D geometric morphometric methods and linear dimensions that the Happisburgh tracks are morphologically similar to other presumed Homo tracks and differ from the Laetoli footprints. The probable functional implications of these results fit well with previous comparative analyses of hominin tracks at other sites.

中文翻译：

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来自英格兰哈比斯堡的早更新世足迹与上新世、更新世和全新世时代其他足迹的形态相似性。

化石古人类足迹提供了运动行为的直接证据来源，并允许推断其他生物数据，如人体测量学。最近对古人类足迹的许多比较分析都使用 3D 分析方法来评估它们的形态相似性，比较来自不同位置和/或时间段的轨迹。然而，环境条件有时会妨碍 3D 数字捕获，就像 2013 年在 Happisburgh（英格兰）的情况一样。因此，我们在这里使用 2D 几何形态测量方法来研究 Happisburgh 轨道的进化背景。人类足迹的比较样本来自八个地点，跨越从上新世到晚全新世的广泛时间范围。结果显示归因于来自上新世（推测为南方古猿阿法种）、更新世（推测为直立人和前人）和全新世（智人）的古人类的足迹形状存在差异。时间样本之间存在三个明显的形态差异：拇趾内收的变化、内侧纵弓印象的形状和位置的变化以及足部比例的明显变化。线性维度将来自 Happisburgh 的潜在 H. antecessor 轨迹归类为与来自 Ileret 的假定 H.直立人指纹最相似。我们使用 2D 几何形态测量方法和线性维度证明了 Happisburgh 轨迹在形态上与其他假定的 Homo 轨迹相似，并且与 Laetoli 足迹不同。