baby we were born to run

Esav Benyamin

Esav Benyamin

MidniteSuperMod
Joined
Apr 6, 2000
Messages
90,915
Maybe Bruce Springsteen should have been an anthropologist?

Humans Were Born to Run, Scientists Say
By Patricia Reaney
Humans were born to run and evolved from ape-like creatures into the way they look today probably because of the need to cover long distances and compete for food, scientists said.

From tendons and ligaments in the legs and feet that act like springs and skull features that help prevent overheating, to well-defined buttocks that stabilize the body, the human anatomy is shaped for running.

"We do it because we are good at it. We enjoy it and we have all kinds of specializations that permit us to run well," said Daniel Lieberman, a professor of anthropology at Harvard University in Massachusetts.

"There are all kinds of features that we see in the human body that are critical for running," he told Reuters.

Lieberman and Dennis Bramble, a biology professor at the University of Utah, studied more than two dozen traits that increase humans' ability to run. Their research is reported in the science journal Nature.

They suspect modern humans evolved from their ape-like ancestors about 2 million years ago so they could hunt and scavenge for food over large distances.

But the development of physical features that enabled humans to run entailed a trade-off -- the loss of traits that were useful for climbing trees.

"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," Bramble said in a statement.

AGAINST THE GRAIN
The conventional theory is that running was a by-product of bipedalism, or the ability to walk upright on two legs, that evolved in ape-like human ancestors called Australopithecus at least 4.5 million years ago.

But Lieberman and Bramble argue that it took a few million more years for the running physique to evolve, so the ability to walk cannot explain the transition.

"There were 2.5 million to 3 million years of bipedal walking without ever looking like a human, so is walking going to be what suddenly transforms the hominid body?" said Bramble.

"We're saying 'no, walking won't do that, but running will."'

If natural selection did not favor running, the scientists believe humans would still look a lot like apes.

"Running has substantially shaped human evolution. Running made us human -- at least in the anatomical sense," Bramble added.

Among the features that set humans apart from apes to make them good runners are longer legs to take longer strides, shorter forearms to enable the upper body to counterbalance the lower half during running and larger disks which allow for better shock absorption.

Big buttocks are also important.

"Have you ever looked at an ape? They have no buns," said Bramble.

Humans lean forward when they run and the buttocks "keep you from pitching over on your nose each time a foot hits the ground," he added.
Click to expand...
 
Wow. My science book says we were "created in His image". I think I'll stick with my brand of science!! :D
 
I love it when "science" discovers something that's been around for years and years. I learned this a long time ago. Just look at a human compared to any other ape, and the salient characteristic isn't the head or the hairlessness, it's the legs. But then science isn't always a matter of stating the obvious as much as figuring out what to do with it.
 
Heard this report on NPR yesterday afternoon- Made the Springsteen connection & even hummed a few bars of BTR in the car... :cool:
 
I think the same conclusion could be drawn by making behavioral observations. Did you ever watch young children move around? They rarely walk. They run everywhere, even if it's just across the room. It's only as they get older and larger that they slow down (usually at the insistence of adults who keep telling them "Walk - don't run").
 
Hehe- I wonder what happened to me? If I was forced to jog across the savannahs of Southern Africa in pursuit of game, I'd make a good vegetarian.
 
I read this. I found particularly interesting the theory that buttocks have evolved as "counterbalances" to prevent us from falling forward when running at high speed.

From photos I've seen of Americans from the rear, you must all be capable of 3-minute miles...

;)

maximus otter
 
maximus otter said:
From photos I've seen of Americans from the rear, you must all be capable of 3-minute miles...
Click to expand...
Didn't the Telegraph recently run a story on the UK planning on banning fast food ads to keep from tempting your kids to get any more out of shape than they already are? :)

Here we go: TV advertising ban on junk food

Advertising junk food on television before 9pm could be banned if proposals in the Government's Public Health White Paper, to be published tomorrow, become law.

Dr John Reid, the Health Secretary, had been expected to propose banning such advertising during children's programming, in response to the increasing incidence of obesity in Britain.

But figures from Ofcom, the communications watchdog, showing that 70 per cent of television watched by four- to 15-year-olds is between 6pm and 9pm, mean that Dr Reid is likely to propose harsher restrictions and, unless food manufacturers agree to a voluntary code, they could face legislation.

Reports suggest that Dr Reid will also propose food labelling, perhaps a traffic-light system - branding products from green, as generally healthy, to red, for unhealthy.

A television advertising ban would apply to food and drink with high fat, salt or sugar content. This would affect more than the usual suspects of burgers, confectionery, crisps and fizzy drinks. It might also include some soups, breakfast cereals and convenience foods popular with children, such as fish fingers.
Click to expand...
(The entire article is available at the link above.)
 
Esav Benyamin said:
I love it when "science" discovers something that's been around for years and years. I learned this a long time ago. Just look at a human compared to any other ape, and the salient characteristic isn't the head or the hairlessness, it's the legs. But then science isn't always a matter of stating the obvious as much as figuring out what to do with it.
Click to expand...
Brend Heinrich, the natural history author and biologist, wrote an interesting overview of how we are adapted to run and contrasted our adaptations with those of the rest of the animal world in his 2001 work, Why We Run. Interesting takes on how our diet evolved for optimal running, chasing antelope across the Serengetti, muscle types and ratios, camels and ultramarathon endeavors, etc. I'm sure Desmon Morris covered some of these aspects in his 1967 best seller, The Naked Ape as well. Seems like this is more like today's popular science factoid rehashed for people who can spell siantz correctly 4 out of 5 times, maybe.

Your observation is valid but more appropriate today is that maybe more of us need to figure out what science does with us and what it will do if we do not make a more concerted effort to school and involve our young people in learning and appreciating the sciences. I am apalled when I see how little emphasis is placed on elementary science in todays school systems.

Maximus otter said:
I read this. I found particularly interesting the theory that buttocks have evolved as "counterbalances" to prevent us from falling forward when running at high speed.

From photos I've seen of Americans from the rear, you must all be capable of 3-minute miles...
Click to expand...
Then with your theory, having been called a total ass, one could effectively refute the label using Einstein's theories of simple relativity??? :confused:

Regarding your view on we New World speedsters, I do seem to recall a certain sling type bicycle seat invented by a British lad in response to complaints about big buns and pain in the "sit bones" called of all things, The Bummer." What was that implication again??? Maybe y'all should have been running. :D
 
I imagine that before arrows and atlatls, early hominids had to get in close to bring down large game, a very dangerous situation. Maybe it was better to use the same strategy as African Wild Dogs - wound the prey, then follow it relentlessly over long distances until it dropped. Being able to run long distances would also help if they had to follow migrating game or avoid seasonal weather patterns, like droughts. They definitely paid a price for being weak sprinters though. Several species of predators specialized in eating hominids.
 
So, having asthma triggered by running, I suppose I'm useless as a human :eek: Oh well, pass the Chiquita, Ren :D
 
Not useless at all. Somebody has to get caught by the sabertooth cats, allowing the rest of us to get away.

Lagarto
 
Not useless at all. Somebody has to get caught by the sabertooth cats, allowing the rest of us to get away.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the vote of confidence :D Worst comes to worst, I could mace the sabertooth with an inhaler ;)
 
tarsier said:
I imagine that before arrows and atlatls, early hominids had to get in close to bring down large game, a very dangerous situation. Maybe it was better to [...]follow it relentlessly over long distances until it dropped.
Click to expand...

I watched an interesting documentary a few months ago which showed exactly that. The programme was about the Bushmen of southern Africa; the technique is called "persistence hunting." The tracker spots a prey animal, then simply lopes after it relentlessly until it's exhausted. To see the skill the hunter used was humbling. Even when he lost sight of the animal or its spoor, he could use his knowledge and instincts to predict its behaviour and regain the track. The hunt lasted for hours. Awe-inspiring stamina.

As an aside, the Bushmen consume a plant to suppress their appetites under circumstances like these. Scientific research is going on to determine if this plant could be used in the West to deal with obesity:

hoodia-gordonii.jpg


"For thousands of years, the knowledge that a slice of (Hoodia gordonii) cactus can stave off hunger and quench thirst has remained the sole preserve of the San, the hunter-gatherers who today still inhabit the desert regions of Southern Africa. The cactus is now seen as a potential goldmine, as it could be the first plant to give rise to a commercially viable appetite-suppressant drug."

http://216.239.59.104/search?q=cach....PDF+bushmen++hunter+suppress+appetite+&hl=en

maximus otter
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top