For paleoanthropologists, the question of when our ancestors began spending more time walking on flat ground than hanging out in trees is a fascinating one—and one that the new research gives us a better understanding of.
Using 3D modeling software, a scientist has reconstructed the muscles of the 3.2-million-year-old fossil AL 288-1, known as “Lucy.” The models show that Lucy had strong leg and pelvic muscles for clinging to trees and knee muscles that allowed upright walking.
fossil belongs to Australopithecus afarensis Species, early hominins. This tells us a lot about how the species lived, says the researcher behind the work, paleobiologist Ashley Wiseman of the University of Cambridge in the UK.
“Australopithecus afarensis It would have roamed areas of open wooded grasslands as well as denser forests in East Africa some 3 to 4 million years ago,” He says A wise man.
“Lucy’s muscle reconstructions indicate that she was able to exploit both habitats effectively.”
Lucy’s fossil was discovered in the 1970s. While it was already well received A. afarensis It could walk, debate continues as to whether this bipedalism was more of a chimpanzee-style swaying technique or something more like the upright gait we see in modern humans.
Weismann used state-of-the-art computer modeling tools to reconstruct the soft tissues that did not survive from the fossil. Beginning with what we know about living human musculature and bone structures, Weismann worked backwards, digging through evidence for fossil AL 288-1, including its dimensions, structure and muscle traces it left where it attached to bone.
The strong muscles created through the models show that Lucy was able to stand upright. 36 muscles were reconstructed in each leg, the largest of which are larger and occupy more space than their counterparts in modern people.
“Lucy’s ability to walk upright can only be known from a reconstruction of the path and space occupied by a muscle within the body,” He says A wise man.
“We are now the only animal that can stand upright with straight knees. Lucy’s musculature suggests that she was as adept at walking on two legs as we are while also likely being at home in the trees. Lucy likely walked and moved in a way that we don’t see in any kind.” alive today.”
A. afarensis They were shorter than us, with smaller brains and ape-like faces. They also had a much lower ratio of fat to muscle in their legs; The major muscles in Lucy’s thighs and calves were more than twice the size we see in humans.
It is the first time that the soft tissues of early human ancestors have been reconstructed in this way, but it is unlikely to be the last. The same modeling technique could be used on other fossils, and while there is still some conjecture involved, the computational methods researchers now have at their disposal are better than ever.
“Muscle reconstruction has already been used to measure running speeds by t-rexFor example,” He says A wise man.
“By applying similar techniques to human ancestors, we want to reveal the spectrum of physical movement that drove our evolution – including those abilities we’ve lost.”
Research published in Royal Society for Open Science.
