Remember the iconic image of human evolution? That of a tiny, knuckle-walking primate which gradually enlarges and walks upright, culminating in the human we have today? (image per Icons of Evolution)
From ScienceDaily, Early Apes Walked Upright 15 Million Years Earlier Than Previously Thought, Evolutionary Biologist Argues.
"An extraordinary advance in human origins research reveals evidence of the emergence of the upright human body plan over 15 million years earlier than most experts have believed. More dramatically, the study confirms preliminary evidence that many early hominoid apes were most likely upright bipedal walkers sharing the basic body form of modern humans."
So... what about the find of the century (last), aka Lucy? From the article, "This greatly demotes the importance of the bipedalism of Australopithecus species such as Lucy (Australopithecus afarensis) since we now know of four upright bipedal species that precede her, found from various time periods on out to Morotopithecus in the Early Miocene."
The wonderful, wacky world, of human evolution.
But wait, there's more!
From ScienceDaily, Ape To Human: Walking Upright May Have Protected Heavy Human Babies,
The transition from apes to humans may have been partially triggered by the need to stand on two legs, in order to safely carry heavier babies.
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The author goes on to suggest that the fall in body hair in primates could have brought on bipedality as a necessary consequence, through the strong selective pressure of safe infant carrying, as infants were no longer able to cling to their mother’s body hairs. In the author’s opinion, safe carrying of heavy infants justified the emergence of the biped form of movement. Although an adult gorilla is much heavier than an adult human, its offspring is only half the weight of a human baby.
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