Ardi: a look into the early pliocene

Why is Ardi important?

Understanding "Ardi" or Ardipithecus ramidus, is vital because it can tell us why and how we, as modern humans can walk upright or be bipedal. The anatomy of A. ramidus is important to know, but the area that they lived in when they were still alive could tell you many things about Ardi. The environment that Ardi once lived in is important to understand animals that could have preyed on them, things are might have eaten, and the general geography and geology of the area that they lived in as could explain bipedality.

This is the partial skeleton found in the site and what she would of looked like.

Louchart et al. 2009 is an important research paper to understand Ardi biological setting. To understand the context, they were able to recover over 150,000 flora and fauna fossils, and more than 6000 vertebrates specimens. There were animals of all sizes and types, some as big as shrews while others were as big as an elephant. 

Recovering small animals and birds was crucial as they were bioindicators as they were highly sensitive to the environment and any changes.  

Biases were taken into account to see if the fossils were washed from the death site and excavating from two random quarries. The fossils did not have any damage that would have resulted from it being moved around by water. Although there was damage from carnivore and rodent teeth marks from when the bones were still fresh. The more damaged ones were probably from that of a hyena as they usually eat the bone marrow. This tells us why less skull and limb bones end than other parts of the skeleton. Because of this finding, a whole skeleton of a given animal is extremely rare. Fortunately, A. ramidus was the most complete skeleton there as a partial skeleton at the site ARA-VP-6/500. Bird and small mammal bones were also damaged and likely from that of an owl as owl pellets. This helps us to know which animals lived nearby and observing their modern counterparts and the habitats that they live in now. 

But, what if the body of A. ramidus after death was moved by a carnivore or if they died traveling to a water source. Even if the hominid from kanapoi and Allia bay once lived near the areas where their bones are found, it does not mean they preferred to live near the depositional environment. 

The taxa in the drainage basin indicated contained different biotopes. The distribution of fossil and sediments implies that where A. ramidus habitat was wetter. Fossils of porcupines, murids, and emballonurids suggest that forests and or well developed mesic woodlands were present at the basin. 

Based on the biological and geological evidence, it can be said that A. ramidus resided and usually died in a wooded biotope that included closed through grassy woodlands and patches of forest. Their diet consisted mostly of woodland based so nuts, fruits, leaves, tubers, insects, and small mammals. This is from the dental evidence of their enamel was not very thick or thin, and did not have any heavy chewing specialization of later Australopithecus species. Australopiths are not typically found alongside fauna that prefers fully open habitat dry and mist woodlands, scrublands, riverine forests, lake margins, and sometimes wooded grasslands (Behrensmeyer and Reed, 2013). Australopiths could tolerate a wide variety of habitats. 

Ardipithecus ramidus environment had a role in the development of bipedal locomotion, they were exposed to more open environments, which also helped develop the key defining characteristics of hominins.

Biases were taken into account to see if the fossils were washed from the death site. The fossils did not have any damage that would have resulted from it being moved around by water. Although there was damage from carnivore and rodent teeth marks from when the bones were still fresh. The more damaged ones were probably from that of a hyena as they usually eat the bone marrow. This tells us why less skull and limb bones end than other parts of the skeleton. Because of this finding, a whole skeleton of a given animal is extremely rare. Fortunately, A. ramidus was the most complete skeleton there as a partial skeleton at the site ARA-VP-6/500. Bird and small mammal bones were also damaged and likely from that of an owl as owl pellets. This helps us to know which animals lived nearby and observing their modern counterparts and the habitats that they live in now. 

But, what if the body of A. ramidus after death was moved by a carnivore or if they died traveling to a water source. Even if the hominid from kanapoi and Allia bay once lived near the areas where their bones are found, it does not mean they preferred to live near the depositional environment. 

The environment of Ardi is important to study and research because not only do we know how they lived and with whom they co-existed, but it can also tell us their diets or how their environment helped them become bipedal. The place where Ardi stands in the confusing evolutionary can see how we progressed over time.

Cerling, T.E., Wynn, J.G., Andanje, S.A., Bird, M.I., Korir, D.K., Levin, N.E., MacE, W., MacHaria, A.N., Quade, J., Remien, C.H., 2011. Woody cover and hominin environments in the past 6-million years. Nature. 476, 51–56.

Louchart, A., Wesselman, H., Blumenschine, R.J., Hlusko, L.J., Njau, J.K., Black, M.T., Asnake, M., White, T.D., 2009. Taphonomic, Avian, and Small-Vertebrate Indicators of Ardipithecus ramidus Habitat. Science. 326.

White, T.D., Ambrose, S.H., Suwa, G., Su, D.F., Degusta, D., Bernor, R.L., Boisserie, J.R., Brunet, M., Delson, E., Frost, S., Garcia, N., Giaourtsakis, L.X., Haile-Selassie, Y., Clark Howell, F., Lehmann, T., Likius, A., Pehlevan, C., Saegusa, H., Semprebon, G., Teaford, M., Vrba, E., 2009. Macrovertebrate paleontology and the pliocene habitat of ardipithecus ramidus. Science. 326, 87–93.