Canada and the World
Current Events with a Canadian Perspective
Last update
23 November 2010
Ancient Human Ancestor Found
After 17 years of analysis scientists are beginning
to find some surprises in the remains of a
human-
The oldest known skeleton of an assumed human ancestor has been unveiled. The female
creature is named Ardipithecus ramidus (below) -
dated at 4.4 million years old. Scientists say they need more fossil finds before
they are able to say that Ardi is definitely a direct human ancestor.
Chimpanzee Characteristics Appear in Remains
Ann Gibbons reporting for Science (October 2009) writes that Ardi “had a brain and
body the size of a chimpanzee, it did not knuckle-
In fact, Ardi walked upright, although the presence of an opposable toe says she also spent plenty of time in trees.
The research team has determined this from some of the key bones they recovered from a site in Ethiopia in 1992. The bones found include the skull with teeth, arms, hands, pelvis, legs, and feet. The dig also turned up fragments from what may be 35 other individuals.
Ardi Adds to the Information from Lucy
In 1974, paleontologist Donald C. Johanson found a 
skeleton in Hadar, Ethiopia. Named
Lucy (right) by the team that found her the proper scientific appellation is Australopithecus
afarensis and has been dated to 3.2 million years old.
According to National Geographic (September 2006) “With a mixture of ape and human
features -
Lucy’s discovery nailed the question of whether or not human ancestors walked upright before they evolved big brains – they did.
Study of Skeleton a Long Process
Professor Tim White from the University of California, Berkeley is one of the lead scientists on the project, said the investigation of the fossilized bones had been painstaking.
He told the journal Science, “It took us many, many years to clean the bones in the National Museum of Ethiopia and then set about to restore this skeleton to its original dimensions and form; and then study it and compare it with all the other fossils that are known from Africa and elsewhere, as well as with the modern age.”
Is Ardi the Missing Link?
Since Charles Darwin postulated evolution in his book Origin of the Species in 1859, scientists have been looking for a common ancestor between humans and the great apes.
Science reporter Jonathan Amos at BBC News (October 1, 2009) writes that “Because
of its age, Ardipithecus is said to take science closer to the yet-
“And because many of Ardipithecus’ traits do not appear in modern-
The missing link may be as far as back seven or nine million years ago.
Image credits
T. Michael Keesey
Matt Celeskey
Thomas Lersch
Sources
“A New Kind of Ancestor Ardipithecus Unveiled.” Ann Gibbons, Science, October 9, 2009.
“What was ‘Lucy’? Fast Facts on an Early Human Ancestor.” National Geographic News, September 20, 2006.
”Fossil Finds Extend Human Story.” Jonathan Amos, BBC News, October 1, 2009.
© Canada and the World, November 2010
All rights reserved
“If Ardipithecus ramidus was not actually the species directly ancestral to us, she must have been closely related to it.”
Ardipithecus ramidus team
The remains of Australopithecus afarensis were named Lucy because the Beatles tune “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” was played repeatedly at the discovery team’s celebration party.
A COUSIN?
Scientists say humans and chimpanzees evolved from a common ancestor, basing this claim on the fact that “The DNA sequences of humans and chimpanzees are 98.5 percent identical” (Medical News Today)
However, fundamentalist Christians have another view as outlined by Christian answers.net “Similarity…is not an absolute indication of common ancestry (Evolution) but certainly points to a common designer (creation).”