Final answer:
The Laetoli footprints provide evidence that Australopithecus afarensis was bipedal, displaying a modern striding gait from approximately 3.5 million years ago.
Step-by-step explanation:
The archaeological site of Laetoli provides archaeological evidence that Australopithecus afarensis was bipedal. This evidence comes from a trail of footprints discovered by English paleoanthropologist Mary Leakey in the 1980s. The footprints demonstrate a modern striding gait indicating a bipedal locomotion pattern, a significant marker in human evolution. Furthermore, these footprints, dating back approximately 3.5 million years ago (MYA), are among the earliest indications of bipedalism in hominins, a crucial adaptation that differentiates early human ancestors like Australopithecus and Homo erectus from their quadrupedal primate relatives. The movement to bipedalism allowed our ancestors to adapt to various environments and is a key feature in the story of human evolution.