Recent research into bipedality has focused on the structure of the inner ear. The bony labyrinth of the inner ear, where the sense of balance resides, is different in chimpanzees who rely on quadrupedal movement. Bipedality requires a reorientation of the sense of balance, and subsequently the inner ear structure. Analysis of fossil hominid Australopithecines shows that the inner ear structure is more like that of a chimpanzee, gorillas and orangutans than modern human. This means the early hominids were "sometime" bipedal walkers who couldn't run or jump. It would equally imply that they were comfortable up in the trees.
Further research is slightly more bizarre but equally insightful. Randall Susman and other researchers videotaped volunteers walking around in clown shoes that were much longer than their feet. The researchers found that the hip, knee, and ankle joints move quite differently to accommodate the longer foot. One might wonder why would intelligent researchers do something like this as an experiment. Well, the answer lies in the fact that the foot of Australopithecus Afarensis is about 30 percent longer than the foot of modern humans. The clown shoes simulate this difference. This intriguing research also suggests that early hominids did not walk the way we did.
All in all, this recent look into early hominid physical structure points to a way of life that would have been different than our own. It may point to more reliance on trees and climbing. It clearly indicates that early hominids did not walk with the same gait as we do. The long arms and long, curved fingers also support an ability to exploit tree environments.
Recent finds of a fossil, considered to be a hominid, dated
to about 4.4 million years ago also sheds some light on these findings.
Paleoanthropologists reconstructed the environmental setting of these fossil
finds and discovered that the area would have been forested. If in fact,
these finds, named Australopithecus Ramidus, are even earlier hominids than
the subsequent A. Afarensis, this discovery points to development of bipedality
within a forested setting.