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Thursday, July 24, 2008

Photo: 6-Million-Year-Old Human Ancestor 1st to Walk Upright?


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An analysis of six-million-year-old bones from an early human ancestor that lived in what is now Kenya (above) proves that it was the earliest known hominin to walk upright, a new study suggests.

Still controversial is where Orrorin tugenensis fell on the human family tree—some argue that the species was a direct ancestor of modern-day hominins, but others think it was part of a now-extinct lineage.

Image courtesy of John Gurche and Brian Richmond