With a new discovery in Ethiopia, scientists are one step closer to understanding the missing link between human beings and gorillas.
During his keynote address at the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s “Origin of the Species,” hosted Penn’s chapter of the international social sciences honor socity Pi Gamma Mu,Penn professor Theodore Schurr revealed that 50 to 70 percent of the skeleton of Ardipithecus Ramidus, famously known as “Lucy,” has recently been discovered in Ethiopia.
Schurr explained that the Ardipithecus is the last common ancestor scientists have seen so far. The discovery of its previous existence in Ethiopia is just one more step to help us “put together the tree of life, the tree of humanity,” he said.
For the majority of the lecture, Schurr compared slides of human, ape and Ardipithecus bone structures. He pointed out evident similarities and differences between the three species.
“What we’re finding basically,” Schurr explained, “is an interesting mosaic of primitive and derived characters.”
Alterations in dental structures, for example, differ in humans because we eat meat and have thicker enamel, Schurr explained. He added that studying linguistic and tool maneuvering capabilities has allowed scientists to make unprecedented progress in understanding human evolution.
Schurr concluded that he and his colleagues are trying to discover more about the process of evolutionary change in order to better understand humans today. The more we learn about the evolution of the human body, Schurr emphasized, the more we will understand how we are affected by diseases such as HIV.
Audience members expressed appreciation for the lecture.
“I thought it was really valuable to learn insight about the origins of man,” said College senior and Pi Gamma Mu Vice President for Student Affairs Sheyla Medina.
Anthropology graduate student Hayley Germack agreed.
“I’m not learning about this in my anthropology classes or even in evolutionary biology,” she said. “I really appreciated learning more about this missing link.”
