Little Foot study points to major shift in how human ancestors moved
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Updates every hour. Last Updated: 22-Oct-2026 10:16 ET (22-Oct-2026 14:16 GMT/UTC)
The study, published in Science Advances, finds that Australopithecus, the group of hominins that includes Little Foot, combined regular tree-climbing with walking on two legs on the ground. However, by about 1.8 million years ago, early members of the genus Homo appear to have shifted much more strongly towards a life on the ground.
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