Ardi
Ardi (ARA-VP-6/500) is the fossilized skeletal remains of a female Ardipithecus ramidus, estimated from radiometric dating to be 4.4 million years old. Ardi is a more primitive hominid than the well-known Australopithecine skeleton, Lucy. Standing at 42 inches (120 cm) tall and weighing around 110 lb. (50 kg),[1] Ardi was slightly shorter than Lucy but almost double her weight. The skeleton was discovered in the arid badlands near the Awash River in Ethiopia, specifically at a site called Aramis. Although it is not known whether Ardi's species developed into Homo sapiens, the discovery is of great significance as Ardi is the oldest known hominid fossil. The discovery was made by a team of scientists led by UC Berkeley anthropologist, Tim D. White.[1][2][3] On October 1, 2009, the journal Science published a collection of eleven articles, detailing many aspects of A. ramidus and its environment.[4]
Researchers infer from the form of Ardi's pelvis and limbs and the presence of her opposable big toe that she was a facultative biped: bipedal when moving on the ground, but quadrupedal when moving about in tree branches.[5][6][7] Ardi had a more primitive walking ability than later hominids, and could not walk or run for long distances.[3] The teeth suggest omnivory, and are more generalized than those of modern apes.[7]
The word Ardi means 'base' and the word ramid means 'root' in the Afar language.[citation needed]
References
- ^ a b Lemonick, MD; Dorfman, D (2009). "Ardi is a new piece for the evolution puzzle". TIME. Retrieved October 6, 2009.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help); Unknown parameter|day=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ Achenbach, J (2009). "'Ardi' may rewrite the story of humans: 4.4 million-year-old primate helps bridge evolutionary gap". Washington Post. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help); Unknown parameter|day=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ a b Amos, J (2009). "Fossil finds extend human story". BBC. Retrieved October 6, 2009.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help); Unknown parameter|day=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ "Online extras: Ardipithecus ramidus". Science. Retrieved October 6, 2009.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Shreeve, J (2009). "Oldest "human" skeleton found — disproves "missing link"". National Geographic. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help); Unknown parameter|day=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ Gibbons, A (2009). "Ancient skeleton may rewrite earliest chapter of human evolution". ScienceNOW. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|day=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ a b White, TD; et al. (2009). "Ardipithecus ramidus and the paleobiology of early hominids". Science. 326 (5949): 75–86. doi:10.1126/science.1175802.
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