Ardi: Difference between revisions

[[File:Ardipithecus ramidus, artistic reconstruction.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Scientific [[paleoart]]ist [[Jay Matternes]]' rendition of Ardi]]

 

 

Although it is not known whether Ardi's species is related to ''[[Homo sapiens]]'', the discovery is of great significance and added much to the debate on ''[[Ardipithecus]]'' and its place in [[human evolution]]. 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.<ref name="Shreeve 07-2010" />{{rp|63}} It is still a point of debate whether Ardi was capable of bipedal movement. Ardi's divergent big toes are not characteristic of a biped.<ref name="Shreeve 07-2010" />{{rp|66}} 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. Unlike chimpanzees, however, 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 efficient than Lucy.<ref name="Shreeve 10-2009">{{cite news |last=Shreeve |first=Jamie |url=https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/10/101025-oldest-human-fossil-china-out-of-africa-science/ |title=Oldest Modern Human Outside of Africa Found |newspaper=[[National Geographic News|National Geographic]] |date=2009-10-01 |access-date=2016-12-01}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{citation |last=Dorey |first=Fran |title=Ardipithecus Ramidus |publisher=[[The Australian Museum]] |access-date=2016-12-01 |url=http://australianmuseum.net.au/ardipithecus-ramidus}}</ref>