Human-like walking mechanics evolved before the genus Homo
April 23, 2018, Experimental Biology 2018
Ever since scientists realized that humans evolved from a succession of primate ancestors, the public imagination has been focused on the inflection point when those ancestors switched from ape-like shuffling to walking upright as we do today. Scientists have long been focused on the question, too, because the answer is important to understanding how our ancestors lived, hunted and evolved.
A close examination of 3.6 million year old hominin footprints discovered in Laetoli, Tanzania suggests our ancestors evolved the hallmark trait of extended leg, human-like bipedalism substantially earlier than previously thought.
Read more at:
https://phys.org/news/2018-04-human-like-mechanics-evolved-genus-homo.html#jCp
