Why Do Humans Use Primate Tools

Back in the Stone Age, the early man created tools to help them do everyday tasks they needed to survive. In document #2, figure 2 shows a variety of tools and weapons created by early man such as bows, arrows, and spear throwers and so on. The materials needed to make these include bones, antlers, and teeth because they were durable. Some types of tools that early man made was sharper blades for hunting, fishhooks for fishing, and needles for sewing. In document #5, a picture shows a group of people doing tasks to help out with the community. One woman is crafting fur/skin into clothes, another woman is taking care of a child and the men are hunting for food. Without tools, these tasks would take a longer time to accomplish and would be even harder to do. Depending on the group, the cultures could be different, which could effect on how they make a

We share almost 99 percent of our genetic material with chimpanzees. Yet we have several traits that are very different. Two legged walking, or bipedalism seems to be one of the earliest of the major hominine characteristics to have evolved. To

I have to assume that the skulls that were closest to walking on four legs lived in environments with a lot of trees and high grounds. That being said, now I have to assume that our ancestors eventually found it easier to live in long plains and migrated which made them lose the need to be efficient on all fours, thus leading to bipedalism.

The Australopithecine are some of the earliest known hominids and they embody many characteristics that are associated with bipedalism. Bipedalism is a highly specialized and unusual form of primate locomotion that sets modern humans apart from all other living primates as we are the only extant obligate bipeds. Many evolutionary biologists and paleoanthropologists have devoted innumerable research hours to attempting to understand this unique form of locomotion and how it evolved. A number of interdependent morphological adaptations occurred over a long period of time to solve challenges posed by habitual bipedalism. As a result, there are obvious differences that exist between early and late hominin species.

First, evidence from the hominid fossil Ardy and archaeological evidence from the same area where Ardy was found points to the evolution of bipedalism in a woodland environment. This goes against the previous assumption that bipeds adapted to a more desolate environment. Additionally, it was also previously believed that bipedalism started with organisms that walked on two legs and their knuckles as a today’s chimp walk. However, there is no evidence in Ardy’s bones that it ever walked using its knuckles. On the other hand, Ardy possesses a short, broad hipbone which allows for bipedalism, but also a much longer lower half of the pelvis which would be more useful for climbing. Consequently, while Ardy could walk on two legs, it could not walk as well as future bipeds such as the fossil Lucy or modern humans. Lucy is often described as “the ape who stood up” and is further down the evolutionary track toward modern humans. This evolutionary adaptation to stand and walk on two legs opened great doors for humankind. Most important was the fact that walking on two limbs rather than four freed up our very special hands and empowered humankind to build tools and reshape the world as no creature could

In human history, several oppressed human groups have campaigned for equality, demanding for an expansion on the moral view of life, and to be treated fairly and have consideration. This means that when an issue concerns this group, their voices are heard, and treated with value. This equality should not be determined by that group’s collective intelligence level, the colour of their skin, or the physical stren¬¬gth of their bodies. Peter Singer brings up a similar idea in his essay: “All Animals Are Equal”, that non-human animals should have equal consideration with humans when an issue concerns them (Singer, quoted in Williston, p. 29-36). Going into a specific set of non-human animals known as primates, I argue that primates should have

Bipedalism was the first evolutionary change to define the hominid lineage. It was a major evolutionary change that changed the way we move. Bipedalism is the condition of using two feet for standing and walking. Before bipedalism emerged we were walking on all fours just as many animals do presently. Bipedal locomotion dates back to 7 million years ago with one of the candidates which is Sahelanthropus tchadensis. The other two candidates for the earliest bipedal hominid are Orrorin tugenesis, and Genus Ardipithecus. This evolutionary change brings about several benefits such as being better adapted to live on savannas, having freed hands, more efficient for travel, and better regulation of body temperature. However, similar to many evolutionary changes, Bipedalism comes with “costs” or disadvantages. These disadvantages include our loss of speed, and more stress on lower body joints including the spine.

advantages to open new opportunities for the early primates that allowed to crack up bones and nuts for food. Likewise, these tools were both found with Australopithecus boisei that shared the same terrain during the same time period with the Homo habilis. “If australopithecines were equally skillful, then [the explanation that there is an association with intelligence and tool making would] fail” (Lewin and Foley 293). These tools both found with the Australopithecines and homo species pushed new theories into action about how humans succeeded into what they are currently. Also, one very unusual specimen was found in the island of Flores. A new species that taught that scientific community to reevaluate the human evolution and how they became

But why was bipedalism so critical to human evolution? It is the earliest human feature to have evolved in hominins. Darwin felt that it was to free up the hands for making of tools and weapons. However, the first stone tools don’t appear until approximately 2.5mya, many years after the first evidence of bipedalism in hominids. A more logical explanation may be that bipedalism was selected simply because it is superior to walking quadrupedally. The Efficient Walker theory argues that bipedalism enabled hominids to travel further to locate food and fertile territory which coincided with the disappearance of Miocene forests and emergence of savannas in Africa.

Approximately 4 million years ago a wonderful evolutionary phenomenon was happening in Africa. Early hominids, man’s ancestors, were beginning a giant leap in their evolution. These hominids were moving out of the forest and beginning to walk upright, out on the open plains (Fagan, 98). This change from quadrupedalism was the most significant adaptation that ever happened to these early hominids. It caused many adaptations that make man what he is today. This process occurred in early hominids for many different reasons, each reason helping to perfect the upright walking posture. Bipedalism is thought to have occurred because of changes in environment, feeding habits, thermal regulation, and

There has been much debate concerning the origins of bipedalism. Bipedalism, or the ability to move on two legs (eLucy, 2007) was said to have emerged due to climate change in East Africa, for sexual display purpose, to reduce exposure to sunlight, the need to use weapons and tools and many more (NOVA, 2013). There are numerous arguments associated with bipedalism as no one can be entirely sure as to what constituted to the emergence of this trait, which was first present in hominins Australopithecus Afarensis. Anthropologists claim that there is a missing link in the evolutionary lineage that makes it hard to confirm the real cause of bipedalism emergence. However, there are some models which are widely accepted by scientific world, such

The evolution of hominins first began in African between 10 to 5 million years ago. The adaptation which set hominins apart from hominoids or other primates was bipedalism. Bipedalism is the ability for species to walk on two legs instead of four. Bipedalism is an example of natural selection. While the skeletal structure of primates allows them to stand on their hind legs for short periods, the ability to stand on two legs provided many advantages for early hominids. Bipedalism allowed the hominids to survive and reproduce. Since bipedalism was a practical adaptation, this trait was passed down through the different species of hominins. While the reason hominin became bipedal is unknown various theories have been proposed. Theories suggest the humans became bipedal to adapt to climates affecting our ancestor’s ability to gather food. The theory states that the climate in the caused

Homo habilis is thought to have mastered the Lower Paleolithic Olduwan tool set which used stone flakes. These stone flakes were more advanced than any tools previously used, and gave H. habilis the edge it needed to prosper in hostile environments previously too formidable for primates.

During the Paleolithic era, or “Old Stone Age”, which lasted from approximately one million years ago to 8,000 B.C.E., people had already mastered fire, and had wood and stone tools that could be used for tasks such as hunting ‘Big Game’ for food. As time went on and appliances developed, tools for specialized tasks such as hand axes and needles emerged by the end of the Paleolithic era, and continued to develop well into the Neolithic era, or “New Stone Age”, which lasted from c. 8,000 B.C.E. to the beginning of the Bronze Age, approximately 4,000 B.C.E. (note the dates are an estimate, not precise). Examples of specialized Neolithic tools include the chisel, used to carve hard materials, primarily stone, and the spatula, which is used to help spread, flip, or pick up items. To the average person today, these tools should sound very familiar, because they are all still used in the modern era. Other tools likely used by Neolithic people are early developments of tools used for farming purposes, as this era is when agriculture began to

The usage of stone tools began two million years ago with stone chipping. With stone chipping the early humans, or also known as Homo sapiens wanted to find a way to persist. The Homo sapiens discovered that by chipping the edge of a large stone or a large pebble made a sharp edge. These chipped stone tools were often use for defense, hunting animals, or cutting. Also other tools were made out of bone, ivory, and antlers