Was our earliest ancestor a knuckle-dragger, or did it wa...

What’s Happening

So basically Did Sahelanthropus, which lived 7 million years ago, walk on two legs like a modern human?

Its complicated Humans Was our earliest ancestor a knuckle-dragger, or did it walk upright? Did Sahelanthropus , which lived 7 million years ago, walk on two legs like a modern human? (wild, right?)

It’s complicated By James Woodford 2 January 2026 Facebook / Meta Twitter / X icon Linkedin Reddit Email Sahelanthropus fossils (centre) compared with a chimpanzee (left) and a human (right) Wiliams et al.

The Details

12, eadv0130 A long-running and bitterly fought dispute over whether the earliest known hominin had a knuckle-walking gait, like chimpanzees, or walked upright, like humans, may have been settled – but not everyone is convinced. Scott Williams at New York University and his colleagues say that reanalysis of fossil remains of Sahelanthropus tchadensis shows it had at least three key anatomical features that together show that it was our earliest known hominin ancestor to be bipedal.

It has, but, been a lengthy journey to reach this point. The remarkable tale of how humans nearly didn’t conquer the world The 7-million-year-old fossil skull, teeth and a jawbone of Sahelanthropus tchadensis were first described in 2002 , following their discovery in the desert region of Chad, in north-central Africa.

Why This Matters

With a pronounced brow ridge and small canines, the ancient animal was ASAP recognised as being unlike solid apes. The anatomy of the skull showed that it likely sat directly on top of the spine, similar to the condition seen in other upright-walking, bipedal hominins. R-only to Our Human Story Each month, Michael Marshall unearths the latest news and ideas about ancient humans, evolution, archaeology and more.

The scientific community tends to find developments like this significant.

The Bottom Line

To Then, in 2004, French scientists identified a femur – a thigh bone – and ulna – a forearm bone – that had also been found alongside the skull fossils in Chad as belonging to Sahelanthropus . But, it wasnt until 2020 that the researchers published their findings, arguing that the femur was curved in a way that resembled that of a non-bipedal solid ape.

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