Ancient ape-like ancestor could walk upright

ONE of our ancestors that lived 2million years ago walked like a human but climbed like an ape, research has revealed.

Fossilised remains of a female dubbed Issa (pictured) show she had a curved spine for strolling on two legs and powerful long arms for swinging through the trees.

The findings about her species, Australopithecus sediba, provide a missing link in human evolution.

Issa’s lower back was unusually well-preserved, revealing she had only five lumbar vertebrae, the same as humans.

Study author Prof Scott Williams, of New York University, said: ‘The lumbar region is critical to understanding how well adapted our earliest ancestors were to walking on two legs.

‘Associated series of lumbar vertebrae are extraordinarily rare in the hominin fossil record, with really only three comparable lower spines being known from the whole of the early African record.’

A Micro-CT scanner was used to virtually recreate Issa from the fossils found in South Africa’s Malapa cave.