Smithsonian's Human Origins Program

Two hominins living at Sterkfontein in South Africa at the same time had different posture and locomotion. Marine Cazenave from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and colleagues describe the bone structure of a recently discovered 𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑢𝑠 𝑟𝑜𝑏𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑠 femur (thigh bone) and tibia (shin bone). Compared with its neighbor 𝐴𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑐𝑢𝑠 𝑎𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑢𝑠, 𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑢𝑠 lower limbs were built for more frequent hip, knee, and ankle flexion. This could indicate that thy were climbing more often, or engaging in other behaviors like squatting.

Swartkrans Paranthropus and Sterkfontein Australopithecus  had different locomotor repertoires Paranthropus robustus from southern Africa combined upright walking and more frequent climbing than the older Australopithecus in the same region

Humans use their hands and arms differently from any other primate, so did we evolve from ape ancestors that used their hands more freely, like orangutans, or ones that knuckle-walked, like modern chimps and gorillas? Laura Hunter at The University of Chicago, also a former predoctoral Fellow at Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, and colleagues looked at wrist bones of humans and apes - and concluded that our wrists are more similar to chimps and gorillas than any other primate, suggesting that we share a knuckle-walking ancestor.

New study strengthens idea that humans evolved from knuckle-walking ancestors Analysis charts evolution of the joint that made our species so nimble

"Waste not, want not" said Neanderthals… probably. A new study by Alicia Sanz-Royo at Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle and colleagues looked at the use of rhino remains in Middle Paleolithic sites, not for meat consumption or using their hides, but using the rhino's teeth to shape stone tools. A combination of microscopy and experimental archaeology suggests that the hard and flat surfaces of rhino teeth were ideal for shaping and sharpening stone tools.

Neandertals used rhinoceros teeth as tools Finds at sites in Spain and France suggest that Neandertals used the teeth of ancient rhinos for heavy-duty fabrication.