Associated environments were subtropical deciduous woodlands and subtropical evergreen laurophyllous woodland in southern Europe. This body plan was retained in part in some later Miocene apes (10 Ma), some of which also had more elongated limbs and hands (thumb length not known), and hind limbs modified for greater flexibility, analogous with the orang utan. Associated environments were deciduous woodland rather than forest. These adaptations may have been linked with more upright posture, as in the living apes, but unlike them, the hand phalanges were short, robust and less curved, and the thumb remained long. Towards the end of the middle Miocene (12 Ma), some fossil ape species had broadened chests, long clavicles, medial torsion of the humerus and re-positioning of the scapula to the back. ![]() In the early middle Miocene (15–16 Ma), apes were still monkey-like in body plan and posture and were associated almost entirely with non-forest, deciduous woodland habitats, with increasing evidence of terrestrial adaptations. Their hands had long and opposable thumbs, and the phalanges were curved. In the early Miocene (18–20 million years ago, Ma), fossil apes were pronograde arboreal slow climbers, associated mainly with forest environments and deciduous woodland and with some indications of terrestrial behaviour, particularly the larger species. They also occupied a range of habitats, of which tropical forest was only a part, and there is evidence of increasing terrestriality in the fossil record as it is known at present (2019). For much of their history, fossil apes retained many monkey-like features in posture and body structure. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter and on. You can follow LiveScience staff writer Jennifer Welsh on Twitter. The study is published May 18 in the journal PLoS ONE. "Locomotive competition would have been less important, and fighting performance would be more important." "If the biggest threat were other individuals of their own species, which is true for modern humans, then what you have to be good at is competing with other members of your own species," Carrier said. He notes that Australopithicus, a human ancestor, had bodies specialized for this upright fighting stance, most likely between males. He also posits another view: If humans' main competition was each other, then the increased fighting ability of two legs would make up for the decreased locomotion in the trees. ![]() Herman Pontzer, a researcher at Washington University who wasn't involved in the study, notes that the paper is an excellent test of human punching abilities, but is wary about its influence on evolution of bipedalism.Ĭarrier says fighting played a role, and may fit in with other factors pushing humans onto two feet. The human participants in Carrier's study had to punch a bag at set angles, something that's difficult to train chimps to do with or without a fist. ![]() Great apes like chimps, bonobos and gorillas can't make fists with their hands, so they can't actually punch, making it difficult to directly compare our fighting abilities with theirs. Carrier believes that better boxing could have also played a role.įor example, when our closest evolutionary cousins the chimpanzees fight, they stand on two legs and use their arms to hit each other. Theories as to why we do this include use of our arms for holding tools, supplies or babies, or to decrease sun exposure on the savannah. Other animals, including many types of cats, dogs and primates, adopt a two-footed stance when fighting, but humans are the only ones who've kept that standing posture regularly. Our punches also land much harder (about 200 percent harder) when punching downward than up, meaning all else being equal, taller males (who would be hitting their opponent from above) have a fighting advantage. When humans are standing on two feet, they punch about 40 to 50 percent harder than when they are supporting themselves on all fours.
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