[ad_1]
Selam's foot, a fossil of a child under 3.3 million years old dug up in Ethiopia, revealed that ancient human babies had special toes. Their big toes were curved, which allowed them to hold their mother's body and climb trees. ( Jeremy DeSilva | Science Advances )
Scientists discovered that ancient human babies had special toes that they used to hold to their mothers and climb trees , although they are also able to walk on both their feet
Evidence comes from other studies on Selam, a 3.3 million-year-old fossil that has been unearthed in the Dikika region of Ethiopia in 2002.
Who Is Selam?
In 2002, paleontologist Zeresenay Alemseged discovered the fossil of a tiny toddler. This fossil was 3.3 million years old and was called Selam, meaning "peace" in the Ethiopian Amharic language.
Selam was 3 years old when she died, but more than 3 million years after her death, she gives other scientific insights into the lives of early human ancestors known as Australopithecus afarensis. The almost complete skeleton of the toddler was locked up in sediments dating back millions of years, so researchers took years to carefully extract the fossil.
One of the most recent components of the fossil studied was Selam's foot. on the badysis were published in the journal Science Advances
The foot of Selam reveals the special toe
"For the first time we have an incredible window on this that the walk looked like a year of two years old, over 3 million years ago, "said senior author and Associate Professor of Anthropology at Dartmouth College Jeremy DeSilva in a statement. It is the most complete foot of a former juvenile ever discovered. "
Selam's foot, which is about 2 inches long, has a general anatomy similar to that of modern humans. there is a distinct difference, and that is the big toe of Selam.
The big toe of the old toddler is curved, similar to that of a chimpanzee. However, unlike a chimpanzee who has big toes on the side, his big toe is aligned with the other toes, com me in the foot of the modern man.
DeSilva claimed that Selam used his curved toe to grab his mother's body. it was worn, and also to climb trees for food or to protect oneself, especially at night. The latest inference was based on the absence of evidence of fire or infrastructure in Ethiopia for a thousand years after the time of Selam, which meant that his people survived at night against large predators by climbing on trees.
The special big toe of ancient babies is a significant discovery, but it is far from the only thing that Selam has taught scientists.
Last year, the toddler fossil revealed that the Australopithecus afarensis spine contained 12 pairs of ribs and 12 thoracic vertebrae, which are the same as modern humans.
See Now: 30 Fathers' Day Gifts and Gifts 2018 This Dad Will Think of Being Rad
© 2018 Tech Times, All Rights Reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
[ad_2]
Source link
