Endurance running and the evolution of Homo
sraj
Nature, 01 Nov 2004, 432(7015):345-352
DOI: 10.1038/nature03052 PMID: 15549097
Striding bipedalism is a key derived behaviour of hominids that possibly originated soon after the divergence of the chimpanzee and human lineages. Although bipedal gaits include walking and running, running is generally considered to have played no major role in human evolution .......
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/11/041123163757.htm
How
running made us human: Endurance running let us evolve to look the way we do
Bramble and Lieberman argue that our genus, Homo, evolved from more ape-like human ancestors, Australopithecus, 2 million or more years ago because natural selection favored the survival of australopithecines that could run and, over time, favored the perpetuation of human anatomical features that made long-distance running possible.
"We are very confident that strong selection for running – which came at the expense of the historical ability to live in trees – was instrumental in the origin of the modern human body form," says Bramble, a professor of biology. "Running has substantially shaped human evolution. Running made us human – at least in an anatomical sense. We think running is one of the most transforming events in human history. We are arguing the emergence of humans is tied to the evolution of running."
That conclusion is contrary to the conventional theory that running simply was a byproduct of the human ability to walk. Bipedalism – the ability to walk upright on two legs – evolved in the ape-like Australopithecus at least 4.5 million years ago while they also retained the ability to travel through the trees. Yet Homo with its "radically transformed body" did not evolve for another 3 million or more years – Homo habilis, Homo erectus and, finally, our species, Homo sapiens – so the ability to walk cannot explain anatomy of the modern human body, Bramble says. .....
Hello List,
The above research is interesting - the role of running in shaping out bodies. All of us may not agree with the thesis that ''endurance running' shaped our bodies; yet let us ask the question, which activity, more than any other activity defines the shape of our bodies? The myriad shapes that we assume when we sit, can it define the shape of our bodies? What about our sleep postures, can they define the shape of our bodies? The various shapes we assume when we stand stationary, can these shapes define the natural shape of our bodies?
It seems logical to assume that either walking or running, which engage the whole body in dynamic movement, can best define the natural shape of the body. What the above researchers are arguing is that not walking, rather running (or could it be sprinting), which actually defines the natural shape of the body....... something to chew on.
Regards,
Selvaraj
P.S. Keith, Noel, sorry to bother you, please let me know whether you have received this message, which I am posting from the Group site.