![]() It also offers new insights into how we evolved from the common ancestor we share with chimps. Even if Ardipithecus ramidus is not on our direct line, it must have been closely related to the direct ancestor and probably similar in appearance and adaptation. The discovers think it was ancestral to Australopithecus - it is the only putative hominin in evidence between 5.8 and 4.4 million years ago - but others do not agree. This species position as a direct ancestor of humans is unclear and scientists are still debating where it should be placed relative to our direct line. Additional fossils that may also belong to this species have been collected in northern Kenya. Distributionįossils belonging to this species were found in eastern Africa in the Middle Awash valley, Ethiopia. ![]() The name ‘ramid’ means ‘root’ in the Afar language. ‘Ardi’ means ‘ground’ or ‘floor’ and ‘pithecus’ is Latinised Greek for ‘ape’. The name is derived from the local Afar language. It also indicates that chimpanzee evolution underwent high degrees of specialisation since diverging from the last common ancestor and thus these apes are poor models for understanding the appearance of this ancestor. Analysis of the skeleton reveals that humans did not evolve from knuckle-walking apes, as was long believed. Instead, it may well preserve some of the characteristics of the last chimp-human ancestor. The skeleton does not look much like a chimp or gorilla or have the expected 'transitional' features. The results were hugely significant in terms of how we view the evolution of the earliest hominins and the physical appearance of the last common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees. ![]() She weighed about 50kg and stood about 120cm tall.The skeleton was in extremely poor condition and it took the team 15 years to excavate, scan, make virtual reconstructions, assemble and then analyse. The individual is believed to be a female and is nicknamed ‘Ardi’. It is the oldest known skeleton of a human ancestor.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |