Hypothesis, emergence, obligate bipedalism, bipedalism, mammals, hominines, bipedal animals, evolution, evolutionary process, survival instinct, bipedal habits, adaptation, savannah hypothesis, bipedal walking, bipedal ability, extinction, ape family, locomotive function
Bipedalism is one of the evolutionary processes that hominines went through to reach the development of walking on their two lower limbs. Like any other mammal, the human biped system has evolved differently as compared to other mammals that utilize bipedalism in locomotion. However, humans are the only bipedal animals in the primate family, since this unique feature allows them to completely walk on their two feet. Theories and hypotheses have been suggested on the evolution of bipedalism.
[...] (2010). Morphological integration and the evolution of knuckle-walking. Journal of Human Evolution, 432-440. Green, A., & David, Z. (2017). Australopithecus afarensis Scapular Ontogeny, Function, and the Role of Climbing in Human Evolution. Science (6106) - 517. Harcourt-Smith, W. H. (2010). The First Hominins and the Origins of Bipedalism. Evolution: Education and Outreach pages333 - 340. [...]
[...] Kivell, T., & Schmitt, D. (2009). Independent evolution of knuckle-walking in African apes shows that humans did not evolve from a knuckle-walking ancestor. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America pp - 14246. Kwang Hyun, K. (2015). Origins of Bipedalism. Brazilian Archives of Biology and Technology, 58(6) - 934. Maslin, M. A., Shultz, S., & Trauth, M. H. (2015). [...]
[...] The Wading Model Hypothesis This hypothesis has been based on the fact that large primates move quadrupedally on dry land and switch to bipedal motion when in waist-deep water. This hypothesis suggests that the bipedal ability is related to the waterside environments that forced the hominines to walk on their two feet. This gave them a better advantage in this environment since they were able to move easily (Ylvester, 2006). The role of the aquatic food environment was to provide richer nutrients like fish which were not on dry land. [...]
[...] Naturwissenschaften, 97(3) - 263. Niemitz, C. (2010). The evolution of the upright posture and gait a review and a new synthesis. Naturwissenschaften, 97(3) - 263. Roberts, C. S. (2012). Comments on Darwinism. Proceedings (Baylor University. Medical Center). Stanford, C., Allen, J. [...]
[...] However, the major weakness of this hypothesis is the lack of a clear distinction between making tools and bipedal walking. For example, the hypothesis lacks the exact timeline on which event preceded the other. The fact that the making of tools necessitated hunting means that the humans were making tools while walking on their four. This challenges the ability of the forelimb to make the tools since it was not well adapted for this function. Toolmaking and even use became easy when the humans were bipedal since the forelimb moved away from locomotive functions to other roles. [...]
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