Ardipithecus Research Paper

We share almost 99 percent of our genetic material with chimpanzees. Yet we have several traits that are very different. Two legged walking, or bipedalism seems to be one of the earliest of the major hominine characteristics to have evolved. To

My hypothesis is was not supported since there was not a single organism that walked on four legs according to my data. I realized that just the general shape and condition of the skull didn’t correlate with how old it was, but the cranial capacity was the major determining factor. Every time humans evolved the need for their mental capacity increased and that’s evident in the skulls: the oldest having the smallest cranial capacity, the most recent having the largest cranial capacity. I also want to say that according to my data, our ancestors didn’t all just start walking on two legs one day, but the need to walk on two legs wasn’t there for a couple of our ancestors which is why some are so close to not being able to walk on two legs at all. That leads me to say that bipedalism was not dependant on when an organism was alive but where an organism was alive. As for prognathism, I also believe that

The Australopithecine are some of the earliest known hominids and they embody many characteristics that are associated with bipedalism. Bipedalism is a highly specialized and unusual form of primate locomotion that sets modern humans apart from all other living primates as we are the only extant obligate bipeds. Many evolutionary biologists and paleoanthropologists have devoted innumerable research hours to attempting to understand this unique form of locomotion and how it evolved. A number of interdependent morphological adaptations occurred over a long period of time to solve challenges posed by habitual bipedalism. As a result, there are obvious differences that exist between early and late hominin species.

She is considered a principle candidate as one of our ancestors. Another find, even older than Lucy, was a 4.4 million year old female Ardipithecus ramidus, nicknamed Ardi who was found in 1994 (Fossil discovery confirms “Lucy” walked upright). Ida, Lucy and Ardi are all significant links in understanding evolution.

2) Lucy is a collection of fossils from an early hominid species that is over 3 million years old. Lucy's fossils were discovered in Ethiopia, and Lucy was also very short compared to the average modern

Michel Brunet and his team found the fossil in the sand dunes of northern Chad after “a decade of digging”(Whitfield 2002). This discovery is most definitely a new one and one that will cause the reinterpretation of all previous hominid research. What makes this find so spectacular is that the structure of the skull suggests a being that walked upright, though it lived in a time when apes and chimpanzees also existed. “Sahelanthropus has many traits that shout ‘hominid’. These include smaller canines, and thicker tooth enamel than apes. And the point at the back of the skull where neck muscles attach suggests that Toumai walked upright”(Whitfield 2002). The key to this discovery, Brunet believes, is the back of the skull that suggests a muscle attachment for upright walking ability, which supports the scientist’s theory that

Afropithecus is a fairly large extinct ape- 50kg, characterized by a lack of a prehensile tail, long snout with procumbent incisors, generalized limb proportions and thick molar enamel. The braincase of Afropithecus is fairly small in size compared to other Miocene apes and Old World Monkeys from the same area. The primitive characteristics of Afropithecus suggest a relation to early catarrhines- such as Aegyptopithecus. And the post-cranial fossil record suggest that it was both arboreal and quadrupedal, similar to the proconsul that Afropithecus is categorized

First, evidence from the hominid fossil Ardy and archaeological evidence from the same area where Ardy was found points to the evolution of bipedalism in a woodland environment. This goes against the previous assumption that bipeds adapted to a more desolate environment. Additionally, it was also previously believed that bipedalism started with organisms that walked on two legs and their knuckles as a today’s chimp walk. However, there is no evidence in Ardy’s bones that it ever walked using its knuckles. On the other hand, Ardy possesses a short, broad hipbone which allows for bipedalism, but also a much longer lower half of the pelvis which would be more useful for climbing. Consequently, while Ardy could walk on two legs, it could not walk as well as future bipeds such as the fossil Lucy or modern humans. Lucy is often described as “the ape who stood up” and is further down the evolutionary track toward modern humans. This evolutionary adaptation to stand and walk on two legs opened great doors for humankind. Most important was the fact that walking on two limbs rather than four freed up our very special hands and empowered humankind to build tools and reshape the world as no creature could

Despite her short stature and hirsute frame, Lucy the Australopithecus afarensis, whose discovery is today commemorated with a Google Doodle, was from a species that could be a forerunner to modern humans.

Ardipithecus and other early Australopithecines lived in a habitat much wetter than the environment of Aramis, Ethiopia today. The set for scene one could at times experience a “rain fall,” and should include a woodland habitat with patches of denser forest and an abundant amount of monkeys just as what would have been seen between five and three million years ago. In 1992, an expedition led by Tim White of the University of California, Berkeley discovered the fossil of Ardipithecus ramidus, dating back to 4.4 million years ago. The skeleton nicknamed “Ardi” ended up weighing around 112 pounds, stood almost four feet tall, (somewhat larger than a male chimpanzee but smaller than a female gorilla) and was most likely a female. Ardi’s ape sized brain has a cranial capacity of only 300 to 350 CC.

The significance of finding these traits primitive in nature compared to the apes is that it shows how these are specialisations for apes to better access their terrestrial and tree dwelling environments. It also indicates that hominids did not develop these traits and therefore developed a less specialised grasping hand (Lovejoy et al., 2009a). Further evidence to support the hypothesis that Ardipithecus ramidus were both bipedal for tree dwelling life and land living is in the wrist bones. The bones were less fixed with the joints providing mobility to the hand. The most significant feature is the midcarpal joint, which shows increased flexibility that would allow Ardipithecus ramidus the ability to bear its body weight solely on it’s hands whilst moving throughout trees (Lovejoy et al., 2009a). The length of the upper limbs overall would have been difficult to support vertical climbs and aid in reaching longer distances between trees commonly found in arboreal settings (Sarmiento et al., 2011)

Bipedalism is a highly specialized and unusual form of primate locomotion that sets modern humans apart from all other living primates as we are the only extant obligate bipeds. Many evolutionary biologists and paleoanthropologists have devoted innumerable research hours to this unique form of locomotion. While much of the extinct taxa within Hominidae were bipedal, but the degree to which they were bipedal remains the subject of considerable debate. The significant discoveries of fossil hominin remains in the last 40 years have resulted in this debate becoming increasingly focused on how bipedal certain fossil taxa were rather than on the overall process. Although the early hominin fossil record remains poor, evidence points to at least

The book identifies “Lucy” as an ancient demonstration of bipedalism and a bowl-shaped pelvis. Her species, Australopithecus afarensis, had both ape-like and human features. The adaptations she exhibited are an example a further branching off of species. Aside from bone structure, I found it logical that early hominids

Approximately 4 million years ago a wonderful evolutionary phenomenon was happening in Africa. Early hominids, man’s ancestors, were beginning a giant leap in their evolution. These hominids were moving out of the forest and beginning to walk upright, out on the open plains (Fagan, 98). This change from quadrupedalism was the most significant adaptation that ever happened to these early hominids. It caused many adaptations that make man what he is today. This process occurred in early hominids for many different reasons, each reason helping to perfect the upright walking posture. Bipedalism is thought to have occurred because of changes in environment, feeding habits, thermal regulation, and

There has been much debate concerning the origins of bipedalism. Bipedalism, or the ability to move on two legs (eLucy, 2007) was said to have emerged due to climate change in East Africa, for sexual display purpose, to reduce exposure to sunlight, the need to use weapons and tools and many more (NOVA, 2013). There are numerous arguments associated with bipedalism as no one can be entirely sure as to what constituted to the emergence of this trait, which was first present in hominins Australopithecus Afarensis. Anthropologists claim that there is a missing link in the evolutionary lineage that makes it hard to confirm the real cause of bipedalism emergence. However, there are some models which are widely accepted by scientific world, such