If stone tools had indeed damaged the
A. anamensis remains, that would raise the possibility of cannibalism — a difficult behavior to confirm with fossils.
In humans — and
in anamensis — says Walker, the tibia is thicker and designed to bear the stress of an upright stance.
About 4 million years ago, Ardi may have given rise to the chimp - size australopithecines, including
A. anamensis.
Incisions and pits on arm bones from an ancient hominid, Australopithecus
anamensis, and similar marks on a horse's leg bone likely resulted from crocodile bites and not stone - tool use, as initially suspected, the investigators say.
anamensis was present in Kenya and Ethiopia from 4.2 to 4.0 million years ago, but its skeleton is not well known.
Added data on Australopithecus
anamensis.