Yunnan Province, China – Recent research on a fossilized ape’s inner ear structures is shedding light on the evolutionary steps towards human bipedalism, providing new insights into the significant roles played by the inner ear and climate change in this journey. The inner ear of a 6-million-year-old fossil ape, Lufengpithecus, has revealed clues about the development of human locomotion in a groundbreaking study.
Scientists have long been intrigued by the question of how humans’ bipedal stance and movement evolved from a quadrupedal ancestor, but previous studies and fossil records have not provided a clear and definitive history of the early evolutionary stages that led to human bipedalism. However, a new study focusing on the recently discovered evidence from the skulls of Lufengpithecus offers important clues about the origins of bipedal locomotion through the analysis of its bony inner ear region using three-dimensional CT-scanning.
The research points to a three-step evolution of human bipedalism, with the earliest apes moving in tree-like styles similar to gibbons, followed by the last common ancestor of apes and humans exhibiting a locomotor repertoire similar to Lufengpithecus. The study also provides a unique record of the evolutionary history of ape locomotion, offering an invaluable alternative to the traditional study of the postcranial skeleton.
Technological advancements in fossil examination have played a significant role in illuminating previously unanswered questions about the evolution of locomotion. The use of three-dimensional scanning technologies allowed scientists to create a virtual reconstruction of the inner ear’s bony canals, providing a unique record of the evolutionary history of ape locomotion. By studying the rate of evolutionary change in the bony labyrinth, the international team proposed that climate change may have been an important environmental catalyst in promoting the locomotor diversification of apes and humans.
Overall, the study provides a groundbreaking insight into the evolutionary steps towards human bipedalism, shedding light on the significant roles of the inner ear and climate change in this journey. The findings from the research on Lufengpithecus’s inner ear structures mark a significant advancement in our understanding of the development of human locomotion, opening up new avenues for further exploration in this field.