TIME

First Steps

By ≈ 4 million years ago

Bones of the Ardi skeleton laid out on a grey display table, with arm, leg, hand and foot bones in orange-brown against the dark surface.

Early HumanityFirst Steps

Walking on two legs.

Early human ancestors developed more effective ways to walk on two legs. Upright walking became a defining trait of our lineage.

Ardipithecus ramidus kept a grasping toe for climbing but walked upright. By about 4 million years ago Australopithecus anamensis walked upright regularly.

By ≈ 4 million years ago, placed on the scale of its era on a line leading toward now.

Era
Early Humanity
Period
By ≈ 4 million years ago
Edition
1/1
Status
Not Released
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Background artwork

Cinematic background showing two upright walkers crossing volcanic ground. An illustration generated with an AI image tool for TIME. It is an artistic depiction, not a photograph or a record of the moment. It is inspired by the Laetoli footprints and is not a record of them.