The foot from a 3.3 million-year-old child skeleton discovered in 2002 in Ethiopia by University of Chicago professor Zeresenay Alemseged. (Zeresenay Alemseged / University of Chicago)

New analysis of a child’s foot from an ancient fossil shows that human ancestors had adaptations that allowed them to climb trees, similar to their apelike cousins.

University of Chicago professor Zeray Alemseged discovered the most complete spinal column of any early human relative. (Zeray Alemseged / DRP)

What the nearly complete skeleton of a 2 1/2-year-old child tells researchers about the history the human spine – and human evolution.