Australopithecus, an extinct hominid genus, lived in Africa from 4.2 million to 1 million years ago. It is uncertain if they were direct ancestors of humans. They were bipedal, but not very intelligent, with small brains and a primitive tool industry. They were adapted for both tree climbing and bipedal locomotion. The first complete skull was discovered in 1994, and the “Lucy” specimen of A. africanus was discovered in 1974. Australopithecines are often referred to as the first hominin genus to develop bipedalism. Creationists have called them another kind of chimpanzee, but this view has been rejected.
Australopithecus is a genus of extinct hominids that lived in Africa from about 4.2 million to about 1 million years ago. It is still uncertain whether Australopithecines were a direct ancestor of man or whether the genus Homo (to which humans belong) branched off from an even more ancient genus of hominids. Australopithecines were more chimpanzee than human, standing 1–1.2 m (3.3–3.9 ft) tall, with small brains measuring between 370–515 cubic centimeters (146–203 in). This is only about 35% of the size of the modern human brain. Australopithecines were mostly bipedal but not very intelligent, possessing only a very primitive tool industry.
Australopithecines were thought to have been adapted for both tree climbing and bipedal or semi-bipedal locomotion. Species of Australopithecines include A. afarensis, A. africanus, A. anamensis and A. garhi. P. boisei, P. robustus and P. aethiopicus were considered part of the genus Australopithecines, until they were reclassified into the genus Paranthropus.
It wasn’t until 1994 that the first complete australopithecine skull was discovered. In 1974, the “Lucy” specimen of A. africanus was discovered in the Afar Depression in Ethiopia, a 40% complete fossil that was one of the first to become a household name. The discovery of this fossil and its surrounding history has become part of many middle and high school curricula, being cited as key evidence that humans evolved from chimpanzees.
Australopithecines are often referred to as the first hominin genus to develop bipedalism. This allowed the animal to stand upright and get a better view of its surroundings, allowing it to spot predators in tall grass. This was an important stepping stone in moving the hominin line from life in the jungle to life in the savannah. Australopithecines lived mainly in the Pliocene epoch, which spans from 5.3 million to 1.8 million years ago.
For many decades, creationists have called australopithecines just another kind of chimpanzee, although most of the educated world have long rejected this view. Australopithecines possess anatomical features typically associated with both chimpanzees and humans, and are one of the most studied fossil groups in hominin paleontology. One of the features most frequently cited as human-like is the shape of the teeth of Australopithecines.
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