Alll right we jumped the gun with the rest of the media. Ardi did evolve from ape ancestors.
You can read the whole argument at the Origins Blog at Science Magazine. Here's an excerpt below.
Ardi is a primate descended from more ancient apes, as are all humans and human ancestors. Apes in turn are descended from monkeys. Chimpanzees are our closest living relatives— we share 96% of our DNA with them, and our lineages shared an ancestor sometime between 6 million and 8 million years ago, possibly earlier. The authors’ point is that the last common ancestor we shared with chimpanzees didn’t look like a chimp—which means that chimpanzees also have been evolving since the two lineages diverged. Finally, Ardi confirms rather than refutes Darwin’s prediction in 1871 that our progenitors lived on the African continent, as well as providing another link in the evolutionary chain from primitive apes to humans.
None the less this is still very exciting news and still pushes bipedal hominids back a previous 1million years than previously thought.
Learn more about Ardi
Learn more about Lucy
And dont forget about the Discovery Channel Ardi Site
