par4dcourse Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 Of course we know that man was created walking upright 6k years ago, but these scientists persist. Credits to the NY times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/21/science/...hoo&emc=rss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outback Jack Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 Six million years of upright evolution and my feet and back STILL hurt from standing too long. When the hell are we finally going to evolve ourselves out of those problems?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuaiDan Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 Seems to settle the question: Did we originate as small-brained bipeds, or big-brained quadrupeds? This is significant because bipedalism might have kicked off the sequence of events that led to brain development, and the freeing of our hands to be able to use tools and ambulate at the same time emerged as a result, but wasn't the origin of bipedalism. One anthro prof I had, believed bipedalism arose as an adaptation to venture forth from the disappearing forest into the tall grasses in search of food and water, where you had to see above the grass to watch out for big cats. It's also interesting to note that the great apes, humans included, all have eyes set on the front of the head, rather than the side like most herbivorous mammals. This makes us more like predators. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outback Jack Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 Damn good points HuaiDan. I confess that the History and Discovery Channels have hardly been trustworthy lately, but I'd like to think of them as possibly trustworthy anyway. We'll just have to see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Marty Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 It's also interesting to note that the great apes, humans included, all have eyes set on the front of the head, rather than the side like most herbivorous mammals. This makes us more like predators. But not all of the great apes are omnivores, many are herbavores (although our closest relatives like Chimps do hunt). The stereoscopic vision does not need to be tied to predation. It could prove useful in swinging from tree branches, and even in being able to pick out a big cat from the background of brush and grass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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