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Researchers say new examinations of arm and leg fossils support existing evidence that an identified species could be our earliest known ancestor.
研究人员表示，对手臂和腿化石的新检查证实了现有的证据，即一个确定的物种可能是我们已知的最早祖先。
The fossil bones were found near a skull that was discovered in 2001 in the African nation of Chad.
这些骨骼化石是2001年在非洲国家乍得发现的一个头骨附近发现的。
The scientists who found the skull have suggested that it belonged to a being who walked upright and could be our earliest known ancestor.
发现头骨的科学家表示，它属于一种直立行走的生物，这种生物可能是我们已知的最早的祖先。
Now, researchers say a study involving the arm and leg fossils strengthens that argument.
现在，研究人员表示，一项涉及手臂和腿化石的研究加强了这一论点。
The team looked for signs that the species walked on two feet instead of four.
研究小组寻找了该物种用两只脚而不是四只脚行走的迹象。
The move toward upright walking is a main division between human and ape development.
直立行走是人类和类人猿发育的主要区别。
The fossil species, called Sahelanthropus tchadensis, walked upright while still being able to climb and move around in trees, the team said.
研究小组表示，这一化石物种叫做乍得沙赫人，它们可以直立行走，同时还能在树上爬来爬去。
The species dates back to around seven million years ago, which makes it by far the oldest known human ancestor.
该物种可以追溯到大约700万年前，这使它成为迄今为止已知的最古老的人类祖先。
That is about a million years older than other early known hominins.
这比其他早期已知的原始人年长约一百万年。
Hominin is a group that includes modern humans and species closely related to humans.
原始人是一个包括现代人类和与人类关系密切的物种的群体。
Researchers – including scientists at the University of Poitiers in France – closely examined the fossil skull, teeth and jaw.
研究人员——包括法国普瓦提埃大学的科学家——仔细检查了这块化石的头骨、牙齿和下巴。
They argued that the animal must have walked on two feet and held its head upright.
他们认为这种动物肯定是用两只脚走路的，并且头是直立的。
This argument was based on the placement of a hole in the skull where the spinal cord connects to the brain.
这一论点的依据是在头骨中脊髓与大脑连接的地方有一个洞。
Other experts, however, have not been persuaded, or convinced, by the early evidence.
然而，其他专家并没有被早期的证据说服。
The latest work includes a thigh bone that was not linked to S. tchadensis at first and went unstudied for years.
最新的研究包括一块大腿骨，一开始并没有发现它与乍得沙赫人有关，多年来也没对其进行过研究。
Other researchers at the French university found the bone in the laboratory’s collection and realized it probably belonged to the fossil species.
该法国大学的其他研究人员在实验室收集的骨骼中发现了这块骨骼，并意识到它可能属于该化石物种。
Compared to bones from other species, the thigh was linked closer to upright-walking humans than apes who used their feet and arms, the study found.
研究发现，与其他物种的骨骼相比，它的大腿更接近直立行走的人类，而不是使用脚和手臂行走的类人猿。
The new findings were recently reported in the publication Nature.
这项新研究结果最近发表在《自然》杂志上。
Study co-writer Franck Guy recently spoke about the fossil examinations to reporters.
该研究的合著者弗兰克·盖伊最近向记者谈到了化石检查。
“There is not one feature. There is just a total pattern of features," he said.
他说：“没有一个特征。这只是一种特征的整体模式。”
The debate over the species is likely to continue.
关于该物种的争论可能会继续下去。
Ashley Hammond is a scientist at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
阿什利·哈蒙德是纽约自然历史博物馆的科学家。
She said more research is needed to find the being’s rightful place on the evolutionary tree.
她说，需要更多的研究来找到这种生物在进化树上的正确位置。
“I'm not fully convinced yet," Hammond told The Associated Press. "This could still also be a fossil ape."
哈蒙德告诉美联社：“我还不完全相信。这也可能是类人猿化石。”
Another researcher at the University of Poitiers, Roberto Macchiarelli, examined the thigh bone in the past and decided the species was probably an ape.
普瓦提埃大学的另一名研究人员罗伯托·马基亚雷利过去曾检查过这块大腿骨，他认为这个物种很可能是类人猿。
Looking at the new study, Macchiarelli said he still does not believe the species was a hominin, though it might have walked on two legs at times.
在这项新的研究中，马基亚雷利说，他仍然不相信这个物种是原始人，尽管它可能有时会用两条腿走路。
Rick Potts is with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and directs the organization’s Human Origins Program.
里克·波茨就职于史密森国家自然历史博物馆，负责该组织的人类起源项目。
He said the thigh bone puts the species on “better footing” as a possible early human ancestor.
他说，这块大腿骨使该物种作为可能的早期人类祖先有了“更好的立足点”。
But he added that the real confirmation will come down to a common saying in the field: “Show me more fossils.”
但他还说，真正的证实将归结为该领域的一句俗语：“给我看更多化石。”
I’m Bryan Lynn.
布莱恩·林恩为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
