The skeleton presents a small skull akin to that of non-hominin apes, plus evidence of a walking-gait that was bipedal and upright, akin to that of humans (and other hominins); this combination supports the view of human evolution that bipedalism preceded increase in brain size.

Apes can stand on their hindlimbs, but they cannot do so for long periods of time without getting tired. This is because their femurs are not adapted for bipedalism. Apes have vertical femurs, while humans have femurs that are slightly angled medially from the hip to the knee, thus making human knees closer together and under the body's center ...

Nov 2, 2015 · Researchers discovered part of an 11.6-million-year old skeleton that carries some ape-like characteristics, including a large braincase, but a muzzle like that of a lesser ape such as a...

Apes have prehensile (grasping) feet with a sideways facing big toe. Humans have a forward facing big toe to provide extra final thrust when walking. The phalanges (toe bones) are curved in apes to aid grasping.

The gibbon–human last common ancestor is the last common ancestor of the superfamily Hominoidea (apes), dating to the split of the Hylobatidae (gibbons) and Hominidae (great apes) families. It is dated to the early Miocene , roughly 20 to 16 million years ago .

Australopithecus afarensis is one of the best-known early hominins thanks to an extraordinary skeleton known as Lucy. Find out what we've learned about this species and important fossils. How do we know that Lucy and her species walked upright? How do we know Lucy was female? How did she die?

Oct 29, 2015 · With a muzzle like a gibbon but a large brain for its body size, the ancient primate has traits that link it to all apes and humans—yet it weighed only 4 kg to 5 kg, according to a report today in Science. The ancient skeleton was found near Barcelona, Spain.

Sep 8, 2011 · Two fossil skeletons of early humans appear to mark a halfway stage between primitive “ape-men” and our direct ancestors. A year of detailed study has revealed that the skeletons are a hodgepodge...

Complete 3D common chimpanzee skeleton generated from CT scan data. CT image series sourced from MorphoSource. The Visible Ape Project is funded by NSF grant #1856329.