Monday, April 2, 2012

Why do Humans Walk Upright?

Walking upright on two legs with a distinctive human primates. Recent research suggests the seizure of natural resources become scarce since the trigger man walked upright 6 million years ago. Conclusion The combined group of researchers from the United States, Britain, Japan, and Portugal obtained after studying the behavior of chimpanzees when fighting for scarce resources. The study was conducted at the Forest Bossou, Guinea
Champanzees in West Africa. (Picture from: http://abcnews.go.com/)
"Chimpanzees provide a model of how environmental conditions affect the human bipedal," said the researcher, evolution of George Washington University, Brian Richmond. 
Chimpanzees - our closest relative - usually walk on four feet, but rise to two feet when fighting for food, leading researchers to speculate that our ancestors could have evolved the stance to steal food. (Picture from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/)
Their initial suspicion is a simple activity that is done every day, such as carrying goods, capable of forcing humans to walk upright. This allegation was proven in chimpanzees that became the object of research. 
A sculptor's rendering of the hominid Australopithecus afarensis: The creature is thought to have been one of man's earliest ancestors to walk upright on two feet - and may have evolved the trait to hold on to food. (Picture from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/)
At the residence of chimpanzees in Bossou forest, palm kernel provided a readily available and coula seeds are scarce. Aware of the availability of two types of seeds, the chimps are scrambling to get coula seeds and forget palm kernel. 

African primates began to walk upright on two feet and carry more coula seeds. They have monopolized the limited resources in their habitat.

Over time, the activity of walking upright led to changes in anatomy. Species that could not carry a lot of stuff eventually eliminated by natural selection. In another study in the same forest, the researchers found 35 percent of chimpanzees to walk upright in order to bring more rare items. 

Walking upright also aims to save energy. Study three years ago by researchers of University of Arizona and University of California showed the chimpanzee that walked on four legs require four times more energy than people who walk on two legs. *** [SCIENCEDAILY | ANTON WILLIAM | KORAN TEMPO 3834]
Note: This blog can be accessed via your smart phoneEnhanced by Zemanta

No comments:

Post a Comment