No tools have yet been directly associated with Au.
Since our closest living relatives, chimpanzees, as well as other apes and monkeys, have been observed making and using simple tools, it is likely that all hominins made use of tools to some extent. Perhaps a single social group made the two trails, possibly a large male walking with females and children.ĭid Australopithecus afarensis use tools? These were made by two individuals, one of whom was much taller and heavier, walking in the same direction as the original group. Nearly forty years later, another set of footprints was found 150 metres from the original trail. At least one smaller individual was walking behind and stepping into the footprints made by a larger individual. The impressions left in the ash reveal that a small group - with different sized feet - were walking from south to north. Biomechanical analysis suggests the bipedal gait was not entirely modern though, and that the leg may have been slightly more bent at the knee as the foot hit the floor.
Their steps were also similar to those of modern humans, with the heel touching the ground first and weight transferring to the ball of the foot before the toes push the foot off the ground. The prints resemble those of modern humans, with an arch and a big toe aligned with the other toes. However, this conclusion is controversial and many scientists, including Johanson, say there are other plausible explanations for the breakages, such as being trampled by stampeding animals after death.Īccording to the close spacing of the footprints, the hominins who made them had short legs. Based on their evidence, the team suggest that Lucy died falling out of a tree. The researchers believe the injuries observed were severe enough that internal organs could also have been damaged. They also indicated that many of the breaks occurred perimortem, around the time of death, rather than over time as the bones became fossilised.
Researchers studied injuries to Lucy's bones to see whether they offered insights into how she died, publishing their findings in 2016.ĬT scans revealed fractures in her shoulder joint and arms similar to those observed in people who fall from a great height, as if she reached out to break her fall. afarensis was the oldest hominin species known, although far older species have since been found. Only after analysing other fossils subsequently uncovered nearby and at Laetoli in Kenya did scientists establish a new species, Australopithecus afarensis, four years after Lucy's discovery.Īt the time, Au. Johanson thought Lucy was either a small member of the genus Homo or a small australopithecine.
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