What can monkey fossils tell us about early human evolution? New insights from the analysis of molar cusp proportions in fossil cercopithecoids from Laetoli, Tanzania.

Despite obligate bipedalism, early hominins retain numerous upper limb and torso adaptations consistent with the use of arboreal substrates. The continued presence of colobines at Laetoli confirms the presence of closed woodland/forested environments and suggests that Au. afarensis at Laetoli may have potentially exploited a variety of habitats including arboreal substrates.