The Evolution of Man

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Ardipithecus is a genus that lived during the Late Miocene and Early Pliocene epochs in the Afar Depression, Ethiopia. Originally described as one of the earliest ancestors of humans after they diverged from the chimpanzees, the relation of this genus to human ancestors and whether it is a hominin is now a matter of debate: https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.114...611-145724

One relatively complete skeleton of this genus that was recently discovered is that of "Ardi", a small-brained 50-kilogram (110.231 lbs) female from about 4.4 million years ago, which is considered to belong to the species Ardipithecus ramidus. It is not established that Ardi's species is related to Homo sapiens. With regards to Ardi's body composition, archaeologists note that she is unique in that she possesses traits that are characteristic of both extinct primates and early hominids. It is still a point of debate whether or not Ardi was capable of bipedal movement. Ardi's divergent big toes are not characteristic of a biped. However, the found remains of her legs, feet, pelvis, and hands suggested that she walked upright when on the ground, but was a quadruped when moving around trees. Her big toe, for example, spreads out quite a bit from her foot to better grasp tree limbs. However, unlike chimpanzees, her foot contains a unique small bone inside a tendon, which kept the big toe stronger. When seen along with Ardi's other bone structures, this unique bone would have helped her walk bipedally, though less efficiently than Lucy. Her wrist bones also provided her with flexibility, but the palm bones were short. This suggests that Ardi did not walk on her knuckles, and only used her palms to move along tree branches. Some of Ardi's teeth are still connected to her jawbone and show enamel wear, suggesting a diet consisting of fruit and nuts: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magaz...dle-awash/, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/...a-science/, https://australian.museum/learn/science/...s-ramidus/, https://science.sciencemag.org/content/326/5949/64/F3
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