A Mechanical Hypothesis for the 7-6 Ma Hominin Divergence: The Soil-Breaking Miner Protocol (SBM)

Hominin origins represent engineering failure analysis of Last Common Ancestor (LCA) resource acquisition systems. Papionin LCA throughput (<1.2 MJ/day) failed to provision 4-6 MJ adult human requirements from 7.2-6.0 Ma East African C3/C4 ecologies. The Soil-Breaking Miner (SBM) Protocol presents a deterministic engineering solution converging 7.8-6.0 Ma across 42 fossil specimens (N=118 anatomical metrics). Observed convergence (82/118 prongs = 69.5%) rejects null mosaic models (χ²=47.2, p<0.0001 vs. 19% random expectation). Key predictions—all confirmed: • 7.8 Ma: Chorora max shear extraction (12 prongs) • 7.2 Ma: Sahelanthropus canine reduction + lumbar stabilization • 6.8 Ma: Orrorin Mc1 torque ×4 + iliac flaring • 6.0 Ma: Ardipithecus enamel industrialization SBM mechanizes bipedalism (torque distribution), canine reduction (grit occlusion), C3/C4 convergence (industrial provisioning). **Files:** Main manuscript + Supplement 1 (118-prong matrix) + Supplement 2 (torque calculations). **Priority filing:** 2026-01-15 (bioRxiv MS# 699739).