Thursday, March 28, 2024
Youth Central Logo

YOUTH ARE AWESOME

Youth Are Awesome, commonly referred to as YAA, is a blog written by youth for youth. YAA provides the youth of Calgary a place to amplify their voices and perspectives on what is happening around them. Youth Are Awesome is a program of Youth Central.

Any views or opinions expressed on this blog belong solely to the author and do not represent those of people or organizations that the blog may be associated with, unless explicitly stated. All content is for informational purposes only.

HomeUncategorizedMeet your earliest ancestor, Ardi--Darwin would be proud!

Meet your earliest ancestor, Ardi–Darwin would be proud!

Ardi
Ardi

Say hello to “Ardi,” a hominid who lived in what is now Ethiopia about 4.4 million years ago . The 110-pound, 4-foot female roamed forests a million years before the infamous Lucy, who was long thought to be the earliest skeleton of a human.

A study of Ardi, under way since the first bones were discovered in 1994, indicates the species lived in the woodlands and could climb on all fours along tree branches, but the development of their arms and legs indicates they didn’t spend much time in the trees. And they could walk upright, on two legs, when on the ground.

Formally dubbed Ardipithecus ramidus — which means root of the ground ape — the find is detailed in 11 research papers published Thursday by the journal Science.

“This is one of the most important discoveries for the study of human evolution,” said David Pilbeam , curator of paleoanthropology at Harvard’s Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology.

“It is relatively complete in that it preserves head, hands, feet and some critical parts in between. It represents a genus plausibly ancestral to Australopithecus — itself ancestral to our genus Homo,” said Pilbeam, who was not part of the research teams.

Scientists assembled the skeleton from 125 pieces.

Ardi was found in Ethiopia‘s Afar Rift, where many fossils of ancient plants and animals have been discovered. Findings near the skeleton indicate that at the time it was a wooded environment. Fossils of 29 species of birds and 20 species of small mammals were found at the site. Geologist Giday WoldeGabriel of Los Alamos National Laboratory was able to use volcanic layers above and below the fossil to date it to 4.4 million years ago! The pelvis and hip show the gluteal muscles were positioned so she could walk upright. Her feet were rigid enough for walking but still had a grasping big toe for use in climbing.

 Click here to read more information about this amazing discovery!

SaM
SaM
I like science and your face. It has been said that I own more superhero shirts than Sheldon Cooper himself... Follow me on Twitter! twitter.com/Serving0fNeRd
RELATED ARTICLES

Most Popular