We continue with our exploration into hominin history by introducing one who once walked the earth six million years ago – the Orrorin tugenensis. It was bipedal, a mix of ape-like and human-like traits, and may be a direct ancestor… of us!

 

Evolution Talk is also a book! You can find links to Amazon, Barnes & Noble and others on the front page of EvolutionTalk.com, or call your local bookstore and ask them to order a copy.

Works Cited

  • Almécija, Sergio. “The Femur of Orrorin Tugenensis Exhibits Morphometric Affinities With Both Miocene Apes and Later Hominins.” Nature, 3 Dec. 2013, www.nature.com/articles/ncomms3888?error=cookies_not_supported&code=869a5edf-a9f8-4e5d-9abf-22f275af5115.

  • Casina Pio IV. “WHO WAS WHO Day 1 04 Senut.” YouTube, 24 June 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXoB8NYhZFM.

  • Evolution: Humans: Origins of Humankind. www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/humans/humankind/a.html.

  • Gierliński, Gerard D., et al. “Possible Hominin Footprints From the Late Miocene (C. 5.7 Ma) of Crete?” Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association, vol. 128, no. 5–6, Elsevier BV, Oct. 2017, pp. 697–710. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pgeola.2017.07.006.

  • Kindy, David. “New Research Suggests Human-Like Footprints in Crete Date to 6.05 Million Years Ago.” Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Oct. 2021, www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/oldest-human-like-footprints-dated-to-605-million-years-ago-180978889.

  • Oldest Footprints of Pre-humans Identified in Crete | University of Tübingen. 11 Jan. 2023, uni-tuebingen.de/en/university/news-and-publications/newsfullview-news/article/oldest-footprints-of-pre-humans-identified-in-crete.

  • “Orrorin Tugenensis.” The Smithsonian Institution’s Human Origins Program, 7 July 2022, humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/orrorin-tugenensis.

  • Sawada, Yoshihiro, et al. “The Age of Orrorin Tugenensis, an Early Hominid From the Tugen Hills, Kenya.” Comptes Rendus Palevol, vol. 1, no. 5, Elsevier BV, Dec. 2002, pp. 293–303. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1631-0683(02)00036-2.

  • UNKNOWN, Alison. “Orrorin Tugenensis and the Origins of Bipedalism :” BioBlog, 6 Apr. 2008, blog.waikato.ac.nz/bioblog/2008/04/orrorin-tugenensis-the-origins.

  • Washingtonpost.com: Live Online. www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/liveonline/02/tv/tv_secretsofdead051002.htm.

  • Welker, Barbara Helm. “7. Orrorin Tugenensis – the History of Our Tribe: Hominini.” Pressbooks, 13 June 2017, milnepublishing.geneseo.edu/the-history-of-our-tribe-hominini/chapter/orrorin-tugenensis.

Music in this Episode

Testimonials

What People are Saying

“Easy to understand”

"Even experienced scientists will still find the historical anecdotes and material interesting"

Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology news

"I will be using some of these podcasts for my high school students. "

Apple Podcast Review

“Great podcast”

"Intelligent, informative, & insightful."

Apple Podcast Review

"Yum"

"Bite size moresels of evolutionary goodness."

Apple Podcast Review