Homo naledi, the ancient human ancestor whose fossils have been retrieved from a South African cave, may have been handy with tools and walked much like a person, according to scientists who examined its well-preserved foot and hand bones.

Its foot and hand anatomy shared many characteristics with our species but possessed some primitive traits useful for tree climbing, the researchers said yesterday.

Scientists last month an-nounced the discovery of this previously unknown species in the human lineage in a cave near Johannesburg. The new research offers fresh insight into a creature that is providing valuable clues about human evolution.

Paleoanthropologist Tracy Kivell of Britain’s University of Kent said it boasted a hand "specialised for fine, powerful manipulation”.

Its wrist bones and thumb showed features shared with modern people and Neanderthals and indicated powerful grasping and the ability to employ stone tools.

Its strongly curved fingers, rather than the straight ones of people and Neanderthals, suggested it also regularly used its hands for climbing. Its foot was largely like ours, particularly in the ankle joint anatomy, the presence of a non-grasping big toe and the proportions of the region from the ankle to toes.

Dartmouth College anthropologist Jeremy DeSilva said it was well-adapted for long distance walking and perhaps running.

“The legs are long, the knees are like ours, the feet are human-like. Homo naledi walked a lot like us,” DeSilva said.

It possessed some primitive foot features: a flatter arch, curved toes and a heel less robust than ours.

Paleoanthropologist William Harcourt-Smith said Homo naledi would have been more proficient than modern humans in the trees based on its curved finger and toe bones.