From Newsgroup: sci.anthropology.paleo
Pandora wrote:
Ardipithecus ramidus ankle provides evidence for African ape-like
vertical climbing in the earliest hominins
Abstract
The origin of the human lineage was catalyzed by bipedalism, but how
this locomotor mode evolved is debated. We investigated the evolutionary context of human bipedalism by analyzing the morphology of the 4.4 million-year-old hominin talus attributed to Ardipithecus ramidus (ARA-VP-6/500-023). Our results demonstrate that ARA-VP-6/500-023 bears similarities to the tali of chimpanzees and gorillas, who are adapted to vertical climbing and terrestrial plantigrade quadrupedalism.
Additionally, we identify the presence of derived features in ARA-VP-6/500-023 consistent with previous suggestions of an enhanced push-off mechanism in the foot of Ar. ramidus. Our observations of the
human and ape fossil record are inconsistent with recently proposed
models of human origins, which envision the last common ancestor of
humans and chimpanzees as a generalized arboreal ape. Instead, our
results strongly imply that humans evolved from an African ape-like ancestor, which directly narrows the range of explanations for the
origin of our lineage.
Open access:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-025-08711-7
Hmmm. "ape-like" the operative term
"Overall, we interpret the mosaic morphology of the
ARA-VP-6/500-023 talus to reflect a combination of
African ape-like vertical climbing as part of a
varied positional repertoire that included orthograde
posture, forelimb-dominated suspensory locomotion,
and an early form of bipedalism"
"Therefore, the African ape-like foot of Ar. ramidus,
including the morphology of the talus, suggests that
the Homo-Pan LCA had a positional repertoire that
included terrestrial plantigrade quadrupedalism and
vertical climbing"
"Therefore, climbing hypotheses, and hints of a
climbing ancestry in the functional anatomy of
hominins and apes, are not mutually exclusive with
the hypothesis of an African ape-like ancestor of
humans and chimpanzees"
"The phylogenetic position of humans within the
African ape clade implies evolution from an
ancestor that used terrestrial plantigrade
quadrupedalism, vertical climbing, and
below-branch suspension. The functional
morphology of Ar. ramidus hands and feet,
including the ARA-VP-6/500-023 talus, is
consistent with this hypothesis, while also
displaying features plausibly associated with
an early form of bipedalism."
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