That's how long we've been...walking on two legs. Sahelanthropus, the oldest known hominid, appears to have walked on two legs when not climbing in trees. They were about the same size as a chimpanzee, but had a more human-like face (did we lose our muzzle because it made it harder to see our feet when navigating difficult terrain?). They had chimp-like arms, with powerful forearm muscles.
We now think that a primarily bipedal gait is the thing which separates hominids from apes. But at the same time they could still climb trees, something adult humans find challenging.
(Young children, as we all know, have retained the ability and desire to climb trees. No doubt this helped keep them safe from predators during our lower tech history).
No comments:
Post a Comment