Comparisons of the foot and ankle of Chimpanzees and Homo sapiens sapiens show several distinct changes. These changes developed mainly due to the transition from quadrupedal to bipedal movement and becoming more terrestrial rather than arboreal. When researching different hominids in chronological order, it is clear that each change in our foot morphology occurred at a different time in our evolutionary history, and not all traits are exhibited in extinct lines of Homo and other hominid relatives.
When investigating the evolution of the modern human foot, it is important to understand what it was evolving from. Chimpanzees exhibit a great deal of midfoot flexibility, used for their semi arboreal lifestyle, and had a longer, opposable hallux. …show more content…
While research shows that the navicular and talus are ape-like, the calcaneocuboid articulation resembles that of a modern human (Harcourt-Smith et al., 2004). This is a very distinct morphological change in the foot of a chimpanzee to the foot of Homo sapiens sapiens, and reinforces that chimpanzees are a proxy for pre-hominin ancestors. The medial column is ape-like, with no arch like in modern humans, showing that the arch discovered in A. afarensis continued in other Homo species rather than H. habilis. However, the lateral column does appear human-like to an extent. Unlike modern humans, H. habilis had an opposable toe. (Harcourt-Smith et al., 2004). With this in mind, researchers propose that the lateral side of the modern human foot evolved first, with the medial side following. Researchers argue that the lateral side evolved first to stabilize flexibility due to becoming more terrestrial rather than …show more content…
H. floresiensis exhibits primitive traits in their entire skeleton, but especially their foot, again showcasing that chimpanzees are proxies. In looking at the feet of H. floresiensis, there is a proportional difference between the foot and long bones of the leg (Jungers et al., 2009). This proportion is similar to that of apes, not that of modern humans. H. floresiensis is lacking the hourglass shape seen in the proximal pedal phalanges of modern humans. The talus shows both primitive and modern human traits. Similarities between the H. floresiensis and modern human talus include the slightly wedge-shaped body, a shallow dorsal trochlear groove, and neck angle. H. floresiensis also exhibits primitive traits like a low degree of talar head torsion (Jungers et al., 2009). The geometric morphology of the H. floresiensis talus is in between that of an ape and modern humans. This shows that while H. floresiensis was bipedal, not all the adaptations apparent in modern human morphology had evolved 60,000 to 100,000 years ago. Additionally, researchers argue that the adaptations seen in the foot of modern humans evolved within the last 100,000 years, not 1.5 million years ago with Homo ergaster or Homo erectus.
Ultimately, each species of hominid played a part in the evolution of the foot presently seen in Homo sapiens sapiens. While some traits developed nearly three million years ago and skipped Homo
When investigating the evolution of the modern human foot, it is important to understand what it was evolving from. Chimpanzees exhibit a great deal of midfoot flexibility, used for their semi arboreal lifestyle, and had a longer, opposable hallux. …show more content…
While research shows that the navicular and talus are ape-like, the calcaneocuboid articulation resembles that of a modern human (Harcourt-Smith et al., 2004). This is a very distinct morphological change in the foot of a chimpanzee to the foot of Homo sapiens sapiens, and reinforces that chimpanzees are a proxy for pre-hominin ancestors. The medial column is ape-like, with no arch like in modern humans, showing that the arch discovered in A. afarensis continued in other Homo species rather than H. habilis. However, the lateral column does appear human-like to an extent. Unlike modern humans, H. habilis had an opposable toe. (Harcourt-Smith et al., 2004). With this in mind, researchers propose that the lateral side of the modern human foot evolved first, with the medial side following. Researchers argue that the lateral side evolved first to stabilize flexibility due to becoming more terrestrial rather than …show more content…
H. floresiensis exhibits primitive traits in their entire skeleton, but especially their foot, again showcasing that chimpanzees are proxies. In looking at the feet of H. floresiensis, there is a proportional difference between the foot and long bones of the leg (Jungers et al., 2009). This proportion is similar to that of apes, not that of modern humans. H. floresiensis is lacking the hourglass shape seen in the proximal pedal phalanges of modern humans. The talus shows both primitive and modern human traits. Similarities between the H. floresiensis and modern human talus include the slightly wedge-shaped body, a shallow dorsal trochlear groove, and neck angle. H. floresiensis also exhibits primitive traits like a low degree of talar head torsion (Jungers et al., 2009). The geometric morphology of the H. floresiensis talus is in between that of an ape and modern humans. This shows that while H. floresiensis was bipedal, not all the adaptations apparent in modern human morphology had evolved 60,000 to 100,000 years ago. Additionally, researchers argue that the adaptations seen in the foot of modern humans evolved within the last 100,000 years, not 1.5 million years ago with Homo ergaster or Homo erectus.
Ultimately, each species of hominid played a part in the evolution of the foot presently seen in Homo sapiens sapiens. While some traits developed nearly three million years ago and skipped Homo