The diagram shows the skeletal systems of two ancestors of h

umen beings

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main

features and make comparisons where relevant.

The picture depicts skeletons belonging to two ancestral species of modern

humans, Australopithecus afarensis and Homo erectus, and highlights
their physiological differences.

Overall, while both skeletal systems are of the same height and have the
same number of limbs, many of their parts show opposite characteristics due
to the former being a walker and tree climber and the latter being a walker
and endurance runner.

The initial impression is that Australopithecus afarensis is a robust skeleton

with a larger upper body that is adaptive to both walking and tree climbing. It
has a large skull and long snout resulting in an unbalanced head. Its chest is
wide, and its shoulders high and narrow. The long forearms and finger bones
lead to their fingers being almost at knee level. Its waist is short and wide with
relatively few spinal bones. The lower body contains short robust femurs with
a long femoral neck. The joints at the hip, knee and ankle are small. The flat
foot with a small heel bone is attached to other bony structures by the short
Achilles tendon.

Compared to Australopithecus afarensis, Homo erectus’ skeleton is smaller

with a longer lower-back that is specialized for walking and endurance
running. The skull is significantly smaller which shows the neck bones. The
narrow chest and rib cage resemble that of modern humans. With much short
forearms and finger bones, their fingers are at mid-thigh level. The tall and
narrow waist also contains more spinal bones. Its lower body has a thinner
and slightly longer femur with a short femoral neck. However, the heel bone is
enlarged and connected to other bones by a long Achilles tendon. The foot
arch is pronounced.