Research suggests that 'downclimbing' from trees played a pivotal role in early human evolution. The mobility in human shoulders and the flexibility of our elbows, which enable actions like reaching high shelves or throwing a ball, may have originally developed as a safety mechanism for our primate
Dartmouth researchers propose that the ability of humans to freely move their shoulders and elbows, aiding in activities like reaching or throwing, originated as a natural braking system for primate ancestors descending from trees.
“Our study broaches the idea of downclimbing as an undervalued, yet incredibly important factor in the diverging anatomical differences between monkeys and apes that would eventually manifest in humans,” Fannin said. “Downclimbing represented such a significant physical challenge given the size of apes and early humans that their morphology would have responded through natural selection because of the risk of falls.
could use fire to protect itself from nocturnal predators, the human form took on broader shoulders capable of a 90-degree angle that—combined with free-moving shoulders and elbows—made our ancestors excellent shots with a spear . “It’s the template that we came from—going down was probably far more of a challenge for our early ancestors, too,” Fannin said. “Even once humans became upright, the ability to ascend, then descend, a tree would’ve been incredibly useful for safety and nourishment, which is the name of the game when it comes to survival.The researchers used sports-analysis software to compare the climbing movements of chimpanzees and mangabeys .
“If cats could talk, they would tell you that climbing down is trickier than climbing up and many human rock climbers would agree. But the question is why is it so hard,” said study co-author Nathaniel Dominy, the Charles Hansen Professor of Anthropology and Fannin’s adviser.
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