Climbs Like a Monkey But It Walks Like a Human

Ancient man who became the ancestor of modern humans probably spend most of their lives in trees. But their feet are made for walking 2 million years sooner than expected.

Hominin footprints, our ancestors, which was found in Tanzania, East Africa, about 3.5 million years ago, suggesting they walked upright, a characteristic that distinguishes humans from other primates. Laetoli footprint was made by hominins who walked across the volcanic ash. Foot trail that later hardens due to rain and preserved until found during excavations in 1976. "Some people consider the Laetoli footprint formed by means such as what is usually done monkey, with a slightly bent forward posture," said study researcher, Robin Crompton, from the University of Liverpool. "Our findings are very different. The trail supports the opposite interpretation, that is very modern tracks from various aspects." Crompton and his team did a very accurate digital scans of the footprints and found a small change in depth tracks that indicate where more pressure rests, behind or in front of the foot. They compared the trail with footprints of modern humans, who usually wore shoes, and some examples of the footprints of India and Kenya, who used to walk barefoot, as well as footprints chimpanzee and bonobos, who walked upright. "Laetoli footprint trail is perfect with a range of modern humans," said Crompton. Traces show that hominins walked up on the toes. Conversely, the great apes that exist today, such as bonobos and chimpanzee, stepping with the middle leg. The only human-like primates known to have a footprint like that is Australopithecus afarensis, the Lucy specimen known based on the 3.2-million-year-old.*** [LIVESCIENCE | KORAN TEMPO 3597]