Ardi

skeleton of “Ardi”

Ardi, nickname for a partial female hominid skeleton recovered at Aramis, in Ethiopia’s Afar rift valley.

Ardi was excavated between 1994 and 1997 and has been isotopically dated at 4.4 million years old. She is one of more than 100 specimens from the site that belong to Ardipithecus ramidus, a species considered by most scientists to be a very ancient hominid. Ardi possesses a small cranial cavity comparable to that of a chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) and has long arms and fingers, opposable great toes, and relatively small canine teeth that do not project and sharpen like those in apes. Her pelvis and foot exhibit many features characteristic of later bipedal hominids. Ardi walked upright on the ground, and her foot structure suggests at least a partially arboreal existence in a woodland habitat. She weighed about 50 kg (110 pounds) and stood about 1.2 metres (3.9 feet) tall.