That’s led some scientists to suggest that our common ancestor was actually more like a monkey, allowing humans to retain some of these primitive features – like a spine more suited for looking down at the tools than for hanging from branches – while evolving, by chance and by nature of our similar habitats, some of the same advanced adaptations as apes. It all started six (6) or seven (7) million years ago when the human lineage started to diverge from chimpanzee lineage. Yet certain human traits resemble the more distantly related orangutan or even monkeys. The only conclusion that could be inferred from the study of the various instances of the shoulder blades is that modern humans are similar to the African apes and gorillas.

The scientists found that the shoulder shape of anatomically modern Homo sapiens is unique in that it shares the lateral orientation with orangutans and the scapular blade shape with African apes; a primate in the middle.

Young added that it appears that the change in the shape of the shoulders can be due to the increase in the use of tools and reduced climbing of trees.

The findings reveal a bit more about human evolution, and also show a bit more about human shoulders today.

Researchers give so much importance to the evolution of shoulders because they are tied to a lot of important changes in behavior in the evolution of the human lineage. While there is enough evidence to prove that humans evolved from apes, researchers have but little knowledge on the common ancestors that made the transition from apes to humans.

The data was then compared with 3D models that other researchers have developed with regard to ancient, extinct relatives of modern humans, including Australopithecus afarensis, Australopithecus sediba, Homo ergaster and Neanderthals.

After analyzing the shoulder spectrum of a number of species, researchers concluded that the Australopithecus species was the intermediate between African apes and humans.

Based on previous studies, our primitive ancestor was an exemplar that preserved apelike characteristics, while new human traits evolved.

Nather Young claimed that shoulder blades were odd, distinct from all the apes.

According to PhD Professor, Zeray Alemseged from the California Academy of Science, all these discussions remain mere hypotheses in absence of an ancient fossil that can confirm them. [See Images of Our Closest Human Ancestor]. The Australopithecus afarensis was more like an African ape than a human, while Australopithecus sediba was closer to humans than apes. However, the human shoulder possesses a unique combination of features that makes it hard to reconstruct the body part’s history. “How did the human lineage evolve and where did the common ancestor to modern humans evolve a shoulder like ours?” “With that information, we hope that one day doctors can diagnose and help prevent shoulder injuries years before they happen, simply by rubbing a cotton swab on a patient’s cheek to collect their DNA”.