Posted on 05/26/2013 8:51:35 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
A study suggests that rocky landscapes in East and South Africa could have pushed our apelike ancestors toward bipedalism.
Being four-legged has its perks. As a quadruped, your center of gravity is lower, there's less wind resistance when you're running, and, best of all, you can use your hind foot to scratch your ear.
All of this raises a big question: What were our apelike ancestors thinking when they started walking upright?
A prevailing hypothesis is that they were prompted by climate change. As African forests declined due to temperature fluctuations some 2.5 million years ago, the hypothesis goes, our australopithecine ancestors descended from the trees and ventured out into the open savanna, an environment thought to be friendlier for those standing on two feet.
The savanna hypothesis has its critics, however. There is some evidence that bipedal primates evolved before the biggest temperature swings kicked in, that some australopithecines ancestors lived in forests, and that they were adapted to both tree-climbing and upright walking.
Now a new study suggests that walking on two legs was a result of geology, not climate. In a study published in this month's issue of the archaeological journal Antiquity, a team of archaeologists makes the case that our forebears' transition to bipedalism was prompted by volcanoes and shifting tectonic plates in East and South Africa, which produced rocky outcroppings and steep gorges...
This development would have conferred benefits that extend far beyond locomotion. Walking on two legs frees up the hands, allowing for the use of tools and, eventually, bigger brains. And the complex landscape could have made our ancestors smarter, says Dr. Winder.
(Excerpt) Read more at csmonitor.com ...
Some of us still can. Not that it's easy--just that it's possible.
re: the bipedalism. I'd have to read the study they were referring to here. It sounds high on speculation and low on evidence. Asking "why" we became bipedal is asking the wrong question, anyway. "How" is a much better question. "Why" implies that there was a conscious decision to head down that path at some point along the way, and, of course, there wasn't.
I've seen some of the pictures of skeletons from hominids 2 million years old. They always appear bipedal. I wonder what was the last fully quadriped ancestor?
Have the authors never seen baboons in action?
Seriously. sounds like a bunch of hooey to me. Pure conjecture. These people should be ashamed for trying to pass off such “studies” as science.
Maybe your ape ancestors were on all fours, mine were upright humans with a soul.
Thanks for your personal remarks directed at me.
Only because you posted it, not because you believe it.
> Wanna know why we created beer?
No challenge, the explanation is self-evident. ;’)
Actually, you haven’t said if you believe it.
Since you associate with me every chance you get, you’re lying.
They probably had too much talent back then to come up with the Chevy Volt. ;’)
:’) Thanks.
Figures that thing spread so fast, being a ‘mono’lith and all.
A key piece of the puzzle always overlooked is how the spine attaches to the head in apes and man are very different. An upright ape would be looking at the sky. Full down tilt might get to level, but then it would trip over everything.
Unlikely that the hips and spine would change at the same time.
http://blog.corewalking.com/lower-back-pain-and-posture/
By the way. How do you post a picture with the words?
Because they had to carry their pointed sticks.
[[“Christian” Science Monitor?]]
Yes, they want ot have hteir cake and eat it to- They are ‘Christians’ but ONLY on their own terms- not on God’s terms- they’ve got a big surprise waiting for them when they meet their Creator and discover that man doesn’t actually save himself
[[These people should be ashamed for trying to pass off such “studies” as science.]]
The left have no shame- just look at global warming ‘scientists’- they have so few answers that even remotely begin to support their theory that they have to declare ‘The debate is over- man is causing climate change’ then they stick their fingers in their ears and walk away content i nthe fact that they’ve duped unsuspecting peopel ignorant of the truth-
I started walking upright at about one year old.
Because if you’re a democrat it’s easier to hold your hand out for freebies if you can stand on two feet.
If you're living of freebies, you aren't standing on your own two feet.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.