Ardi

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.”  ~ Charles Darwin

I stayed up way too late last night.  I was up working on the baby thingies and watching an amazing show on Discovery Channel called Discovering Ardi.  Now if I had been on top of my game, I would have watched it at 9 pm like a sane person.  Then I could have watched all the interview stuff they had on afterwards with the Anthropologists who found Ardi.  But no, I'm not sane.  I'm Karyl.  So I catch it at 12 am instead.  But I am so glad I stayed up!

This particular new species of bi-pedal people proves we did not descend from a "chimp-like" ancestor.  Which is really huge! It has been thought since Darwin proposed his Theory of Evolution that our common ancestor with great apes (our closest genetic cousins) would be chimp-like.  Ardi isn't chimp-like.  Her canine teeth and the canine teeth of others of her species are smaller then chimps.  She walked upright in a forest with a grasping toe for climbing trees! This is all really cool stuff! And the reason they give for the upright form of locomotion is really cool - food gathering. 

The upright characteristic was selected by females (assuming females choose partners) because upright males could range farther for food and carry it back.  This food gathering was rewarded with children (in the usual way, but this is a G-rated blog) by the males who could walk upright.  Thus insuring we would be an upright species with family relantionships and roles based on food gathering potential! I love this stuff! 

If you are adicted to this stuff like me, I have a link! Discovering Ardi