Oldest hominin infant

The oldest possible human ancestor infant is "Dikika", who died from unknown causes aged about three and whose skeletal remains were discovered 3.3 million years later on 10 December 2000 by a team led by paleoanthropologist Zeresenay Alemseged (Ethiopia) in Dikika in the Afar Depression of Ethiopia. The fossilized remains of the hominin infant include a skull, a complete torso, fingers and a foot, and is the most complete skeleton of her species, Australopithecus afarensis, which is the same species as the well-known "Lucy", a 3.2-million-year-old adult female skeleton that was discovered only 10 kilometres (6 miles) away in 1974.

Studies of Dikika's skeleton suggests that from the waist down, she was bipedal and resembled current humans, however her small brain-size, some facial and finger features are like those of a chimpanzee; her shoulder blades are similar to a young gorilla, meaning it is likely that Dikika climbed trees.