Dr. Henry Gee

might have been bipedal, but it died out. But this particular mark of bipedality, the hole, where the position of the hole in the skull is really what marks a hominin, something that is on the human line, as it were, in the human family.

Well, the hominin fossil record being very scant, an awful lot of nothing for another two or three million years. The record picks up again about five, between five and four million years in East Africa. There is a creature called Ororin tuganensis from Kenya. That's not known from the skull at all, but it's known from leg bones, which show a bipedal hominin.

Well, the hominin fossil record being very scant, an awful lot of nothing for another two or three million years. The record picks up again about five, between five and four million years in East Africa. There is a creature called Ororin tuganensis from Kenya. That's not known from the skull at all, but it's known from leg bones, which show a bipedal hominin.

Well, the hominin fossil record being very scant, an awful lot of nothing for another two or three million years. The record picks up again about five, between five and four million years in East Africa. There is a creature called Ororin tuganensis from Kenya. That's not known from the skull at all, but it's known from leg bones, which show a bipedal hominin.

And there is another creature from Ethiopia called Ardipithecus cadaba, which is about nearly five million years ago. And slightly more recently, Ardipithecus ramidus, which is about four and a half million years old. Ardipithecus ramidus has most of the skeleton. And that's quite interesting. I mean, it's a hominin in that it shows that the move to bipedality wasn't a simple linear thing.

And there is another creature from Ethiopia called Ardipithecus cadaba, which is about nearly five million years ago. And slightly more recently, Ardipithecus ramidus, which is about four and a half million years old. Ardipithecus ramidus has most of the skeleton. And that's quite interesting. I mean, it's a hominin in that it shows that the move to bipedality wasn't a simple linear thing.

And there is another creature from Ethiopia called Ardipithecus cadaba, which is about nearly five million years ago. And slightly more recently, Ardipithecus ramidus, which is about four and a half million years old. Ardipithecus ramidus has most of the skeleton. And that's quite interesting. I mean, it's a hominin in that it shows that the move to bipedality wasn't a simple linear thing.

Ardipithecus was clearly a hominin and clearly a biped, but not quite as bipedal as you or I. It was probably much better up a tree. It would have been a better climber than us. And it probably, like modern chimps and gorillas do, is they make nests in the lower branches of trees, even though they spend a lot of time on the ground.

Ardipithecus was clearly a hominin and clearly a biped, but not quite as bipedal as you or I. It was probably much better up a tree. It would have been a better climber than us. And it probably, like modern chimps and gorillas do, is they make nests in the lower branches of trees, even though they spend a lot of time on the ground.

Ardipithecus was clearly a hominin and clearly a biped, but not quite as bipedal as you or I. It was probably much better up a tree. It would have been a better climber than us. And it probably, like modern chimps and gorillas do, is they make nests in the lower branches of trees, even though they spend a lot of time on the ground.

There are some, even as late as three and a half million years ago, there are a range of different hominins, the bipedal chimp phase. Some were more bipedal than others. There is a series of footprints at a place called Laitoli in Tanzania, discovered by Mary Leakey, this was the great Louis Leakey's wife, back in the late 60s. Did they discover the famous fossil Lucy, Mary Leakey?

There are some, even as late as three and a half million years ago, there are a range of different hominins, the bipedal chimp phase. Some were more bipedal than others. There is a series of footprints at a place called Laitoli in Tanzania, discovered by Mary Leakey, this was the great Louis Leakey's wife, back in the late 60s. Did they discover the famous fossil Lucy, Mary Leakey?

There are some, even as late as three and a half million years ago, there are a range of different hominins, the bipedal chimp phase. Some were more bipedal than others. There is a series of footprints at a place called Laitoli in Tanzania, discovered by Mary Leakey, this was the great Louis Leakey's wife, back in the late 60s. Did they discover the famous fossil Lucy, Mary Leakey?

No, they didn't. That was discovered by other people in Ethiopia, but it's generally thought that Lucy's species, Australopithecus afarensis, was the same species that created the footprint at Laetoli. And certainly from what we know about Lucy's anatomy, that looks... perfectly reasonable.

No, they didn't. That was discovered by other people in Ethiopia, but it's generally thought that Lucy's species, Australopithecus afarensis, was the same species that created the footprint at Laetoli. And certainly from what we know about Lucy's anatomy, that looks... perfectly reasonable.

No, they didn't. That was discovered by other people in Ethiopia, but it's generally thought that Lucy's species, Australopithecus afarensis, was the same species that created the footprint at Laetoli. And certainly from what we know about Lucy's anatomy, that looks... perfectly reasonable.

And what we can see from Lucy, because we have a lot of a skeleton of Lucy, what we see from Lucy and these footprints is that these creatures walked as bipedally as you or I, but there are other footprints at Laetoli. What happened in Laetoli was three and a half million years ago, there was a volcanic eruption, as there often are in the Rift Valley, and it rained some ash all over the landscape.

And what we can see from Lucy, because we have a lot of a skeleton of Lucy, what we see from Lucy and these footprints is that these creatures walked as bipedally as you or I, but there are other footprints at Laetoli. What happened in Laetoli was three and a half million years ago, there was a volcanic eruption, as there often are in the Rift Valley, and it rained some ash all over the landscape.

And what we can see from Lucy, because we have a lot of a skeleton of Lucy, what we see from Lucy and these footprints is that these creatures walked as bipedally as you or I, but there are other footprints at Laetoli. What happened in Laetoli was three and a half million years ago, there was a volcanic eruption, as there often are in the Rift Valley, and it rained some ash all over the landscape.

And then there was actual rain. So the ash became kind of a bit gloopy and muddy and everything walked all over it. It looked like the Victoria Station at rush hour. There was footprints of all sorts of creatures all over it. So there are antelopes and pigs and And then there's this famous line of Australopithecus afarensis footprints. But there were also some footprints of another creature.