She Was Half Ape, Half Human — and May Reveal the Secret of Who We Are

A 4.4-million-year-old skeleton from Ethiopia has returned to the centre of a debate about human origins. Nicknamed Ardi, the female belonged to Ardipithecus ramidus and combined features associated with climbing, quadrupedal movement and early upright walking.

Ardi was not a hybrid. Her importance lies in her mosaic anatomy, which may preserve clues to the ancestor from which the human lineage developed and the steps that made walking on two legs possible.