"An international team of more than 70 scientists, including UC Berkeley professors, announced yesterday the reconstruction of skeletal remains of the oldest known ancestor of modern humans.

Nicknamed Ardi, the 4.4-million-year-old partial female skeleton of Ardipithecus ramidus was constructed by the Middle Awash Project, which was co-directed by Tim White, UC Berkeley professor of integrative biology.

The announcement followed years of excavation, study and reconstruction that began with the first discovery of the hominid 17 years ago in Ethiopia. A report on the project's findings is slated to be released Friday."

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Ardi's remains were found next to a gourd with a stick implanted in one end and several gut strings. Scientists are puzzled what the function of this tool might have been.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble