The common ancestor of ape and man : man-like, ape-like, or neither?

Scientists have expected the common ancestor of man and the African apes to have an ape-like morphology. New evidence from biochemistry, allometry, and biomechanics suggests that the common ancestor may be more similar to man than previously thought. It is possible that the morphology of the hominids is in many ways ancestral, and that some morphological characteristics of the African pongids, such as knuckle walking, are derived.