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Humans Were Born to Run, Scientists Say
Reuters ^ | 11/17/2004 | Patricia Reaney

Posted on 11/17/2004 11:06:41 AM PST by ElkGroveDan

LONDON (Reuters) - Humans were born to run and evolved from ape-like creatures into the way they look today probably because of the need to cover long distances and compete for food, scientists said on Wednesday.

From tendons and ligaments in the legs and feet that act like springs and skull features that help prevent overheating, to well-defined buttocks that stabilize the body, the human anatomy is shaped for running.

"We do it because we are good at it. We enjoy it and we have all kinds of specializations that permit us to run well," said Daniel Liberman, a professor of anthropology at Harvard University in Massachusetts.

"There are all kinds of features that we see in the human body that are critical for running," he told Reuters.

Liberman and Dennis Bramble, a biology professor at the University of Utah, studied more than two dozen traits that increase humans' ability to run. Their research is reported in the science journal Nature.

They suspect modern humans evolved from their ape-like ancestors about 2 million years ago so they could hunt and scavenge for food over large distances.

But the development of physical features that enabled humans to run entailed a trade off -- the loss of traits that were useful for being a tree-climber.

"We are very confident that strong selection for running -- which came at the expense of the historical ability to live in trees -- was instrumental in the origin of the modern human body form," Bramble said in a statement.

AGAINST THE GRAIN The conventional theory is that running was a by-product of bipedalism, or the ability to walk upright on two legs, that evolved in ape-like human ancestors called Australopithecus at least 4.5 million years ago.

But Liberman and Bramble argue that it took a few million more years for the running physique to evolve, so the ability to walk cannot explain the transition.

"There were 2.5 million to 3 million years of bipedal walking without ever looking like a human, so is walking going to be what suddenly transforms the hominid body?" said Bramble.

"We're saying 'no, walking won't do that, but running will."'

If natural selection did not favor running, the scientists believe humans would still look a lot like apes.

"Running has substantially shaped human evolution. Running made us human -- at least in the anatomical sense," Bramble added.

Among the features that set humans apart from apes to make them good runners are longer legs to take longer strides, shorter forearms to enable the upper body to counterbalance the lower half during running and larger disks which allow for better shock absorption.

Big buttocks are also important.

"Have you ever looked at an ape? They have no buns," said Bramble.

Humans lean forward when they run and the buttocks "keep you from pitching over on your nose each time a foot hits the ground," he added.


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: anthropology; archaeology; crevolist; evolution; ggg; godsgravesglyphs; history
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To: DennisR
Been jogging for oh, nearly 30 years,/i>

You sure you've been "jogging" and not "running"? Jogging is an unnatural act, more like marching really fast than it is like anything else, and very few people actually do it. Fortunately. It'll really muck up your legs ... running, in which up-and-down movement is minimized, is a whole different sort of thing. We're pretty good at it, and optimized for endurance. We're predators; our running is for chasing prey, not for evading predators.

21 posted on 11/17/2004 11:25:34 AM PST by ArrogantBustard
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To: ElkGroveDan

I love running. Funny thing, the eliptical machine actually has improved my form and is helping to make me faster.


22 posted on 11/17/2004 11:25:53 AM PST by Porterville (IT'S GOOD TO BE REPUBLICAN- ASK ME HOW)
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To: SBprone

Just finished my second marathon, and have never had shin splints or a stress fracture. And there is no evidence that "jogging" causes spine problems.


23 posted on 11/17/2004 11:26:00 AM PST by Taliesan (The power of the State to do good is the power of the State to do evil.)
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To: ElkGroveDan

"Humans were born to run..."

Humans were meant to be born.


24 posted on 11/17/2004 11:26:40 AM PST by diamond6 (Everyone who is for abortion has already been born. Ronald Reagan)
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To: ElkGroveDan
"We do it because we are good at it. We enjoy it and we have all kinds of specializations that permit us to run well," said Daniel Liberman, a professor of anthropology at Harvard University in Massachusetts.

Bull puckey. I hate running. It kills my knees and ankles. Only pointy-headed fitness freaks think running is good for you.

25 posted on 11/17/2004 11:27:35 AM PST by Junior (FABRICATI DIEM, PVNC)
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To: Rytwyng
Any quadruped can outrun us -- even quadrupedal apes.

Humans are distance runners, not sprinters. As such they can run almost any quadruped on the planet quite literally into the ground. The article doesn't mention the major reason for this, which is that the human ability to shed body heat is one of the most efficient of any animal.

The Bushmen and other "primitive" hunters routinely run down antelopes and other speedy animals simply by continuing to track the animal and not allow them to rest and cool down. The result is that the animal eventually drops due to heat stress, essentially cooking itself from the inside out. The Bushman trots up, puts a poison arrow in from a safe distance and waits for the animal to die, or anyway get weak enough that butchering can safely begin.

26 posted on 11/17/2004 11:28:20 AM PST by Restorer (Europe is heavily armed, but only with envy.)
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To: ElkGroveDan
They suspect modern humans evolved from their ape-like ancestors about 2 million years ago so they could hunt and scavenge for food over large distances. But the development of physical features that enabled humans to run entailed a trade off -- the loss of traits that were useful for being a tree-climber.

I find Elaine Morgan's Aquatic Ape Theory to be the most credible.

27 posted on 11/17/2004 11:28:56 AM PST by Maceman (It's no longer a blue world, Max!!)
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To: mike182d
To the best of my knowledge, there is absolutely no proof of evolution occuring at the macro- level.

Define "macro-evolution." Posit the mechanism by which "micro-evolution" ceases before becoming "macro-evolution." Once you've done this, we'll entertain your comments on the matter.

28 posted on 11/17/2004 11:29:55 AM PST by Junior (FABRICATI DIEM, PVNC)
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To: ElkGroveDan

Sounds to me this researcher has a bum fetish


29 posted on 11/17/2004 11:29:55 AM PST by HamiltonJay ("You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.")
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To: PatrickHenry
Heads up.
30 posted on 11/17/2004 11:30:18 AM PST by Fatalis
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To: DennisR
"Shin splints, stress fractures and spine problems are the reward for splitting the difference between running and walking, and then doing it for years on end." "Been jogging for oh, nearly 30 years, and have none of the problems you mention."

Probably has the wrong shoes and is running too much. I weigh 195-200 pounds and cannot run more than every other to every third day. I run between 7-8 miles each time. It is a lot of stress because of my large frame so I allow ample time to heal and make sure that the shoes I am wearing are not worn out (past 250 miles or over 4 months old) and that they are the correct shoes for my foot type. Also, I exercise (between runs) cardiovascularly on machines. I also lift weights and eat somewhat well. I find juices and fruits give me an extra boost of long sustaining energy.

31 posted on 11/17/2004 11:31:19 AM PST by Porterville (IT'S GOOD TO BE REPUBLICAN- ASK ME HOW)
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To: kjenerette

See Kate Run. Run Kate Run.


32 posted on 11/17/2004 11:31:55 AM PST by Van Jenerette (Our Republic - If we can keep it!)
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To: Junior
Watch who you're calling pointy headed, buster. Them's fighting words in my household.


33 posted on 11/17/2004 11:33:06 AM PST by ThinkPlease (Fortune Favors the Bold!)
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To: Taliesan
I'm training for my second marathon, and I finally got shin splints from incorrectly training during a 19 miler (bad shoes and pavement==disaster).
34 posted on 11/17/2004 11:34:19 AM PST by ThinkPlease (Fortune Favors the Bold!)
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To: orionblamblam

True. About the only animals that can beat us over long distances are sled dogs -- and they don't do well over 60 degrees F.


35 posted on 11/17/2004 11:34:27 AM PST by old3030 (Religion would not have enemies if it were not an enemy to their vices.-- Massillon.)
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To: ElkGroveDan

I stand erect and have an opposable thumb so that I can get the beer off of the top shelf at the liquor store.


36 posted on 11/17/2004 11:34:37 AM PST by zygoat
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To: ElkGroveDan

No mention of our knees.....the first thing to go under the pounding of running.


37 posted on 11/17/2004 11:34:53 AM PST by 1Old Pro
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To: Junior
You'd be wise to also establish a definition of "proof."
38 posted on 11/17/2004 11:35:42 AM PST by Fatalis
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To: orionblamblam
We can run down critters that can outrun us. Humans have been known to run down and exhaust animals such as gazelles and the like.

And one of the advantages that we have in doing this is that we can carry a certain amount of food and/or water to sustain us, which the animal cannot.

39 posted on 11/17/2004 11:35:48 AM PST by FairWitness
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To: ElkGroveDan
If this theory is true, then why haven't the other apelike critters that run evolved into our physical structure? Why is there still a difference?

Answer: because G-- created all critters. And he created us with the ability to evolve -- BUT ONLY WITHIN THE LIMITS OF OUR GENETIC CODING.

We are separated genetically from the other primates. Always have been, always will be.

The fact that these evolutionists have to keep citing assumed behavior as a reason for evolving proves that they acknowledge that environmental circumstances trigger our evolving within our limits and that we never can evolve beyond our limits. If we could, we'd all be able to run as fast as a leopard all day long because that would have provided the most assured success in hunting. But leopards can't run fast for very long. And we can't run very fast at all. We've had enough time to evolve to perfection, but we haven't. We're limited by our genes.
40 posted on 11/17/2004 11:41:02 AM PST by Ghost of Philip Marlowe (I'm fresh out of tags. I'll pick some up tomorrow.)
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