Several foot bones of Ardipithecus ramidus have been discovered among the 110+ individuals discovered in the Awash valley. Researchers suggest that Ardi would have successfully climbed trees and walked upright, with a foot adapted to both arboreal and terrestrial locomotion. The feet were rigid enough to support bipedalism, but had an opposable toe, that allowed the feet to grasp tree limbs. This configuration is yet another piece of information suggesting that hominids developed ancestral morphologies unlike African apes by 4.4 million years ago; and perhaps that characteristics of African apes developed after we split apart from them.
Sources and Further Information
Lovejoy, C. O., et al. 2009 Combining Prehension and Propulsion: The Foot of Ardipithecus ramidus. Science 326:72e1-72e8.
- Ardipithecus ramidus, the blog post, which has links to recent news stories
- Lucy, famous Australopithecus afarensis
- Hominin
- Aramis, Ethiopia
- Bipedal locomotion
- Middle Awash
