The evolution of human arms and legs probably happened at the same time

The evolution of human arms and legs probably happened at the same time
The evolution of human arms and legs probably happened at the same time
Anonim

The development of the grasping hand in our ancestors, according to an international group of scientists, could proceed in parallel or immediately after the appearance of bipedal locomotion.

The results of the work were published in the journal Science Advances. Ardipithecus lived 4.4 million years ago and with a high probability was already upright, or at least approached this mode of movement. At the same time, ardipithecus at that time had not yet lost the ability to deftly climb trees. They still had very long arms, reaching up to the knees, and a big toe set far to the side, with which this ancient genus of hominids could grab onto something. In addition, they had curved phalanges of the fingers.

These primates weighed about 50 kilograms, and their growth was about 1, 2 meters. The brain volume was small - only 300-350 cubic centimeters. Due to the fact that ardipithecus combined both "progressive" (upright walking) and "primitive" features (long arms, structure of fingers and toes), they can be called a fairly suitable model for studying the transition from one form of functioning of ancient hominids to another.

Two types of Ardipithecus are described - Ramidus and Kadabba, both lived in East Africa. Scientists from the Universities of Texas and New York (USA), as well as Liverpool (UK), Oslo (Norway) and the Witwatersrand (South Africa) studied the remains of Ardipithecus ramidus. In particular, his brush is 4, 4 million years old, which is very well preserved.

Researchers compared the hand of the Ardipithecus to the hands of people and ancient ancestors scattered in museums around the world. The task of paleoanthropologists was to compare the type of locomotor behavior that was inherent in ancient hominids.

Even Charles Darwin expressed the idea that the use of hands in our distant ancestors could have developed in connection with direct walking, because they were free - and now it was possible to make tools. Research by an international group of scientists confirms this thesis.

Changes in the anatomy of the arms of the Ardipithecus and later hominids occur between 4, 4 and 3, 3 million years ago. These numbers coincide with the earliest evidence of ancestral loss of the grasping big toe and the earliest tools of labor. Probably, the grasping hand developed at the same time or immediately after our ancestors got on two legs.

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