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George Washington University Researcher Settles Debate Over Early Human Origins; Fossils Show Upright Walking as Early as Six Million Years Ago

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March 20, 2008: George Washington University Professor Brian Richmond and Stony Brook University Professor William Jungers have discovered that humans’ early ancestors were adapted to walking upright on two legs almost six million years ago, settling scientific debate over fossils discovered in 2000. This finding shows that the fossils belong to very early human ancestors and that upright walking is one of the first human characteristics to appear in our lineage, just after the split between human and chimpanzee lineages.

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