Early Hominid Fossil Find (broadcast Friday, October 2nd, 2009)

Digital representations of the Ar. ramidus cranium and mandible. Image courtesy of Science/AAAS.

This week, researchers unveiled several studies of an early hominid known as Ardipithecus ramidus. The fossil skeleton of the female homind, nicknamed 'Ardi,' was found in the Ethiopian desert. It has been dated to be 4.4 million years old, 1.2 million years older than the famous skeleton of 'Lucy,' an Australopithecus afarensis. Writing in the journal Science this week, teams of scientists lay out their analysis of different parts of the Ardi find. We'll find out how those studies affect our understanding of human and ape evolution.

Guests

Ian Tattersall
Author, "The Fossil Trail: How We Know What We Think We Know About Human Evolution" (Oxford University Press, 2008)
Curator, Anthropology
American Museum of Natural History
New York, New York

Related Links

• NPR: Move Over Lucy; Ardi May Be Oldest Human Ancestor
• NY Times: Fossil Skeleton Predates Lucy
• Science: Ardipithecus ramidus special issue

Segment produced by:Christopher Intagliata

Image: Digitally rendered composite hand of the “Ardi” partial skeleton.
Image courtesy of Science/AAAS.

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Friday, October 2nd, 2009

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