The first members of the human lineage lack many features that distinguish us from other primates. Although it has been a difficult quest, we are closer than ever to knowing the mother of us all.

The skeleton of Ardipithecus ramidus, an ancient fossil dubbed "Ardi," is radically changing our ideas about mankind's origins. Kent State University's C. Owen Lovejoy says Ardi shows our ...

Ardipithecus ramidus may have walked upright. Other fossils discovered with A. ramidus suggest that the species lived in the forest. Exhibiting some chimp-like characteristics, A. anamensis' jaws ...