The ancient human species Australopithecus afarensis may have been the earliest hominin to run on two legs. Although it had relatively short, ape-like legs, A. afarensis may have had a long Achilles’ tendon just like modern humans do – a feature that helps us to run more efficiently. Image: Noeluap
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Monty Python’s Minister of Silly Walks has been making audiences laugh for 50 years, and now we have a sense of just how silly his walking style is. An analysis shows that John Cleese’s iconic walk is about 6.7 times more variable – sillier – than standard human walking. Image: iT@c
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As well as being brightly coloured in normal light, some dinosaurs may have had ultraviolet, fluorescing horns, frills or feathers – and a few species might even have used this glow to attract a mate. Image: Brian Engh/dontmesswithdinosaurs.com
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Excavations at the Denisova cave in Siberia have uncovered almost 80,000 stone artefacts that extinct humans left over a 150,000-year period. Collectively, they seem to show how technology developed by Denisovans evolved through the Stone Age, culminating with the production of spectacular bracelets, beads and tiaras about 50,000 years ago. Image: loronet
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As recently as 110 years ago, Aboriginal Australian hunters enlisted help from an unlikely source. They used dingoes, difficult-to-train canines halfway between wolves and dogs, to help trap and kill kangaroos and emus. This might provide us with new insights into how and why humans domesticated dogs thousands of years ago. Image: esia_one
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