Fred Spoor is at the Centre for Human Evolution Research, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK, and in the Department of Human Origins, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, ...

With the help of newly identified bones, an enigmatic 3.4-million-year-old hominin foot found in 2009, is assigned to a species different from that of the famous fossil Lucy providing further proof ...

Scientific evidence from the last decade continues to correct the classical model of human origin. Australopithecus Afarensis, the species to which the legendary Lucy belonged, discovered in 1974, was ...

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Sixteen years ago, paleoanthropologists stumbled upon an errant foot ...

In 2009, Yohannes Haile-Selassie and his team were combing the desert landscape of Burtele, a paleontological site in the Afar Region of Ethiopia, when Stephanie Melillo found something remarkable: an ...

Researchers have finally assigned a strange 3.4-million-year-old foot to Australopithecus deyiremeda, confirming that Lucy’s species wasn’t alone in ancient Ethiopia. This hominin had an opposable big ...

Stephen has degrees in science (Physics major) and arts (English Literature and the History and Philosophy of Science), as well as a Graduate Diploma in Science Communication. Stephen has degrees in ...

Scientists have solved the mystery of 3.4 million-year-old fossils called the "Burtele Foot" discovered in Ethiopia in 2009, finding they belonged to an enigmatic human ancestor that lived alongside ...

When studying how fossil hominids moved, researchers usually analyze the morphology of bones—which is crucial for understanding the evolution of bipedalism—focusing mainly on muscle insertion sites.

When a partial fossil foot emerged from Ethiopia’s ancient sediments, it carried a quiet but profound implication: Lucy, the famous Australopithecus afarensis skeleton, may not have walked her ...

Recent fossil finds could mean that "Lucy" wasn't our direct ancestor, some scientists say. Others strongly disagree.