ARDI – THE MISSING LINK

Scientists may, at last, have found the missing link in our evolution. For more than a century, experts have discussed whether or not we evolved from ancient apes, without any strong proof. The story of evolution has found a new chapter after the discovery of the world’s oldest skeleton of our ancestors. The remains of 100 bones were found in an Ethiopian village. They belong to a species called Ardipithecus ramidus. The skeleton has been given the nickname Ardi. Scientists say fossilized bones are 4.4 million years old. This is a million years older than Lucy, a skeleton found in the 1970s. Ardi is important because she shows an unknown stage of our evolution that happened six million years ago.

Ardi was a 50-kilogramme female. She had a brain smaller than ours and had long arms and short legs. Her teeth are more like ours than those of chimpanzees. Scientists are excited because she walked upright, on two legs, not on all fours. She did not have an arched foot, which means she could not walk for long distances or run too far. Her long fingers and big toes meant she could easily climb trees. Experts say discovery is one of the most important finds ever. Professor Owen Lovejoy of Kent State University in the United States was very excited at seeing Ardi. He said, ‘This was like discovering a time capsule from a period and a place that we knew nothing about.’ Ardi is sure to unlock a few secrets to how we evolved.