Bipedalism

“You have to know the past to understand the present.” Many people in everyday situations can relate to this quote by Carl Sagan, such as how you must know what water is to understand why there are hydroelectric dams. In the greater aspect of human existence though, the quote is said to hold even more certainty, because in all truth, the superannuated objects and organisms that archaeologists dig up is what has given the human race even a chance in coming to understand why this particular…

It is clear at this point that early hominids actively hunted early in their emergence and hunting has altered the way in which social interactions developed. The hunting hypothesis became widely supported to explain the origin of bipedalism or to interpret early human adaptation to savannas and the early archaeological record. Apparent confirmation of the hunting hypothesis came with archaeological evidence demonstrating that predation had always been a part of human society. Though with that…

“It’s the first permanent museum exhibit to trace mammal evolution – from the extinction of large dinosaurs to the rise of humans – within the context of epochal changes in the Earth’s geology and climate.” That is the summary Dr. John Harris, lead curator for the Age of Mammals exhibit at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, gives about the exhibit. While to some, this description may seem vague, the museum sees it as a way of focusing on “telling a more complicated, ‘big picture story’…

Before the middle of the twentieth century, most astronomers thought there wasn’t any history to the universe, and how the many features existed today. In spite of that there were disagreements involving this non-evidential theory that was not proven by many. Through all the research/studies, scientists call the first of all, historical dates, “Big Bang” which lasted around 13.7 billion years ago. Although we may not know what happened before the “Big Bang,” Christian provides us with many…

whole new way. They could throw a spear while running and they could jump and catch things to eat. The evolution of the human foot clearly shows that it was built for these kind of activities. There are some tribes in Africa today that still use bipedalism to their advantage in a very strategic way. It is called persistence hunting. It is believed to be one of the oldest forms of hunting on Earth (Liebenberg, 2006). The men track animals for hours to days in an effort to tire the animal out.…

The Pan Troglodytes With a genetic code of 98.4% - 99.4% identical to human beings, and a lineage that matches our own all the way to the family hominidae it comes as no surprise that of all the variety of species and living organisms that chimpanzees would seem the most human-like. Below I intend to discuss the chimpanzee’s taxonomy, morphology, habitat, and social structure. The chimpanzee’s taxonomy, or pan troglodytes (species name for the chimpanzee) hails from the genus: pan, family:…

Primates fall under the the class of mammalia and the mirorder of Primatomorpha, which has two suborders: Strepsirrhini and Haplorrhini. The order Primates includes humans, apes, monkeys, and prosimians. These animals are most commonly found in South America Primates have evolved from arboreal animals, so most monkeys live in trees. They are typically found in rainforest, and some can even adapt to human, modified environments. Almost all primates have prehensile hands and feet, and have five…

Ardipithecus ramidus was around 4.4 mya. They were located in Ethiopia. Their appearances included a skull, teeth postcranial bones found. Although, they still have small brains. Their femur and pelvis made it possible for bipedalism. The shape of their body gives it a helpfully way for them to be bipedal. The centrally placed foramen magnum allows for them to stand a bit straight. Also, the pelvis was bowl shaped and there was a show of lumbar lordosis. Although, they still had longer arms…

distinction of and variation with Homo sapiens across the world in the late twentieth century. Since the emergence of life men have discussed palaeoanthropology and theories regarding the heritage of pre-existing Homo sapiens. It was believed that there were two different theories to the migration, whether or not they are true or just myths. One follows the concept of multiregional continuity and the other that suggests a single origin for modern humans. ’The ‘Out of Africa’ theory believed that…

Stop 1: Chimpanzee, Modern Human, and Neandertal Skeleton 1. The modern human skeleton is much larger in size compared to the chimpanzee and hominid skeleton. The Chimpanzee had longer arms, much narrower rib cage and smaller skull compared to both ancient hominid and human. On the other hand, the hominid had robust bone joints, allowing more flexibility. The skeleton structure of chimpanzee indicates that they moved by using four limbs while both human and hominid walked upright. 2. The…