New evidence shows that the common ancestor of human apes and chimpanzee apes was less-chimp-like than thought.

The common ancestor of people and our chimpanzee cousins was not like today's chimps. The differences are described at Human ancestor was less-chimp-like than thought.

The last common ancestor, whose identity remains uncertain, most likely walked around on all fours like today's apes, but leaning on its palms instead of front knuckles, said Almecija.

Like the Miocene apes, it would have had smaller hands and shorter, straighter fingers than modern chimps, and probably did not swing through the trees hanging from branches—instead shuffling about the canopy on all fours, sometimes upright, grabbing onto branches for support.