image: The tiny right fossil shoulder blade of a 3-year-old Australopithecus afarensis female discovered in Dikika, Ethiopia who died 3.3 million years ago is held by lead author David J. Green of Midwestern University. The left blade (not pictured) is also preserved and both fossils display evidence that this early bipedal species maintained adaptations to climbing trees. This image relates to a paper that appeared in the Oct. 26, 2012, issue of Science, published by AAAS. The paper, by David Green at Midwestern University in Downers Grove, Ill. and Zeresenay Alemseged at California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, Calif. was titled, "Australopithecus afarensis Scapular Ontogeny, Function, and the Role of Climbing in Human Evolution." view more
Credit: [Image courtesy of David J. Green]