Human ancestor Lucy ‘had knee joints that allowed her to walk fully upright’

A digitisation of the muscle attachment areas used to build the model of Lucy’s muscles, next to the completed 3D muscle model (Dr Ashleigh Wiseman/University of Cambridge)

Lucy, the world’s most famous early human ancestor, had knee joints that allowed her to walk fully upright as well as strong leg and pelvic muscles suited to living in trees, research suggests.

For the first time, scientists at the University of Cambridge digitally reconstructed the lower limb muscles of the extinct ape-like relative who lived in Africa more than three million years ago.