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Early human ancestor 'Lucy' was a bad runner, and this one tendon could explain why

Live Science
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Lucy , a 3.2 million - year-old hominin relative, couldn't run very fast, a new study says.

Researchers modeled the skeletal and muscular anatomy of Lucy to determine her maximum running speed.

Lucy 's top speed was 11 mph ( 18 km /h) and her energy costs were higher than modern humans.

The study is the first time researchers have directly estimated running ability in Lucy 's species using musculoskeletal modeling.

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