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Right: CAT scan of the femur of Aurora togenensis; Left: reconstruction of the bone. Different structure compared to chimpanzees. Photo: University of Pennsylvania
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As early as 6 million years ago, the human ancestors walked upright, unlike the apes - this is according to a study published at the end of last week in the journal "Science". Until now, researchers knew that Australopithecus, which lived about 3 million years ago, walked on only two legs, but there was no evidence of earlier hominids that did so.
The researchers examined the bones of Aurorin tugenensis, an ancestor of man who lived about 6 million years ago, which were discovered about 4 years ago in Kenya. Among other things, the ball-like upper part of the femur, which enters the femoral socket, is intact.
The bone is similar in size to the bones of a chimpanzee, but looks quite different. The researchers used a computerized tomography (CAT) method to create a three-dimensional image of the bone. They discovered that the upper part of the bone connecting the "ball" and the hip socket is narrower than the lower part. According to the researchers, this is evidence that the aurorin tugenensis walked on two legs.
"We have solid evidence for the earliest upright standing, and we can state with confidence that 6 million years ago, human ancestors walked on two legs," said Dr. Robert Eckhardt, a professor of comparative morphology and mechanics at the University of Pennsylvania, who headed the team of researchers.
"In today's chimpanzees and gorillas, the thickness of the top and bottom of the same bone is almost the same," Eckhardt said. "In modern humans, the upper part is four times narrower or more than the lower part. The ratio in the fossil is 1 to 3."
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