By using computer technology to analyze the fossil remains of the earliest known human-like creature, a Pittsburgh mechanical engineer has added fuel to the scientific debate about when humans started walking on two legs. In 2000, a pair of French paleontologists unearthed remains from deep in the heart of Africa's Great Rift Valley in the Tugen Hills of Kenya. The fossil bones of this so-called Millennium Man -- known in anthropological circles as Orrorin tugenesis -- are thought to be about 6 million years old. Until they were found, the oldest human-like fossils discovered were dated at 4.5 million years old. A well-preserved femur (thigh bone) from Orrorin suggests this chimpanzee-sized creature had strong back legs and possibly walked upright. Karol Galik, a mechanical engineer at Allegheny General Hospital's Orthopedic Biomechanics Laboratory on the North Side, has found strong evidence to support this theory by analyzing X-ray scans of cross-sections of the fossil bone. "We started the project two years ago, and I had some experience with medical imaging and bones from my Ph.D. work," Galik said. "I looked around for software to make it easier." Galik's findings, published Sept. 3 in the journal Science, suggest that Millennium Man is indeed the earliest known hominid to be bipedal -- to walk on two legs. Hominids include humans and extinct near-humans.
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