The fossil was analysed using 3D muscle modelling. (Representational Pic)
Researchers have always been fascinated by understanding how our ancestors spent their time - by walking over flat ground or hanging on trees. Now, a new research has revealed that one of the early humans, who lived around 3.2 million years ago, could stand and walk upright, according to a report in CNN. The finding is based on 3D muscle modelling of a fossil of Australopithecus afarensis species, an early hominin. The ancestor who AL 288-1 fossil belongs to has been named 'Lucy'. It was found in Ethiopia in 1974, but the analysis was done recently.
The rare fossil represents 40 per cent of a skeleton that belongs to a female, said researchers.
The findings of the study were published in the journal Royal Society Open Science earlier this month.
"The defining aspect of what makes us human is the ability to walk on two legs, but understanding how and why this evolved has been debated for a long time," lead author Dr Ashleigh LA Wiseman, Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellow and Isaac Newton Trust Fellow at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, was quoted as saying by CNN.
"With recent advances in computational modeling, it is now possible to investigate these questions. Of course, in the fossil record we are left looking at the bare bones. But muscles animate the body - they allow you to walk, run, jump and even dance. So, if we want to understand how our ancestors moved, we first need to reconstruct their soft tissues," the expert added.
'Lucy' was shorter than modern-day humans - about 3.3 feet in height - and had an ape-like face. Science Alert said they would also have had a much lower fat-to-muscle ratio in their legs.
The muscle reconstruction showed 'Lucy' had strong leg and pelvic muscles and knee muscles that allowed upright walking, as per Science Alert.