Advantages Of Bipedalism

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

Have you ever wondered how we speak? How about why our communication is considered a language and other animal’s communication is not considered language? A wide range of beliefs exist on what defines language. Thus, by exploring the definition of language and lexicon, evaluating language’s key features, the four levels of language structure and processing, and the role of language in Cognitive Psychology, an understanding of what language is becomes clear. Let us begin by defining language and a term named lexicon.

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.

In the article “Born to Run” by Adam Summers, who is an assistant professor of bioengineering and ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Irvine, the author states that throughout time bipedalism has evolved to benefit endurance running. Summers also claims that bipedalism modern humans have differs from the one our early ancestors had. The author relies on the research by Dennis M. Bramble and Daniel E. Lieberman that have improved the understanding of human bipedalism and its evolution. According to Summers, the corrections made by Bramble and Lieberman’s research helped to draw a more accurate picture of an early human.

Although bipedalism has these many benefits it is also equipped with some disadvantages. If bipedalism is at the time of the hominid the only form of transportation, then if anything was to happen to either one of their legs, they had no way of getting away from predators or any way of gathering food, and they were pretty much left for dead. Also, they gave up speed and made themselves more noticeable to predators. Finally, the human baby is now born an estimated one year premature compared to other primates in order to hit through the

2 Modern hominins possess extremely large brains relative to body size and are bipedal, however the former trait shows up late

All these parts are associated with evolution of the human component of speech, gestures, and language that is essential for communication because language has developed over time. These developments also insinuate that human beings can

In 1981 Owen Lovejoy suggested that behavioral mechanisms were a factor in the switch to bipedalism. This behavioral mechanism helped hominids in reproductive processes. Having the hands free to carry food and other things to the mate and offspring is seen to be a strong selection factor for choosing a mate. Having a such factor helps with reproductive success in a monogamous mating structure similar to what humans have today (Jacobs, 90). When

The definition of primitive is “relating to, denoting, or preserving the character of an early stage in the evolutionary or historical development of something” (Google definition). In initial stages of human existence, bipedalism was an efficient form of movement across long distances, this allowed the use of hands to carry items or to fight and hunt. Bipedalism might have smoothed the way for other adaptations such as tool use, cognitive skills, even the development of language. “Hominids that came after Lucy, such as Homo habilis from 2.5 million years ago or Homo erectus, from 1.8 million years ago, perhaps exhibited some of these traits. They each certainly possessed a larger skull -- and thus the potential for a larger brain -- than Lucy

       Overtime, the size of the cranium has changed. With that being the case, the size of the cranium changed due to the better nutrition received. On a different note, the width of the pelvis changed. Thus, the width of the pelvis changed due to a genus homo's bipedality. Therefore, a genus homo's bipedality determines their ability to walk, run, and create tools in oder to survive.

These two models provide insights into how bipedalism evolved from quadrupedal type of locomotion. Though the arguments are supported by numerous evidences, there are actually still a lot of things need to be explained, and they all seem to have something in common, which is to ensure the continuity of the

The article Is Language the Key to Human Intelligence? , Written by David Premack a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, explains how humans have displayed their intelligence through language, unlike animals whose language, (any) hasn’t evolved at all. Premack uses examples such as grammar and syntax of the human language and explains the uniqueness and evolution of language over time. He claims humans have humans have six symbols system: “two that evolved- the genetic code and spoken language- and four that we invented: written language, Arabic numerals, music notation, and lab notation (a system for coding choreography)”. One word that he puts emphasis time over time is Recursion (“makes it possible for the words

Language is a cognitive function that most of us take for granted. It starts from early on, some say at conception, and it develops in complexity as we get older. It is an essential part of communication and without it its development would be greatly hindered. This natural process requires complex structures and reasoning, the bringing together of sounds and words to develop concrete ideas and thoughts. In this paper we will discuss the components of language and how it relates to cognitive processes.

If asked which cognitive ability you would miss the most if it were taken away, the majority of people would respond with the obvious choices of sight or hearing, but how many people would think about our sense of language? Language affects our lives in ways that we do not often realize. In the essay “How Language Shapes Thought” Lera Boroditsky argues that many of our cognitive abilities are enhanced, or hindered depending on the fundamental structure of our system of language. I found that Boroditsky used much of her own research in order to support her claims that direction, time and gender are concepts largely affected by the structural system of our language.

The claim, humans are the only animal that can acquire language has been the subject of much debate as scientists have investigated language use by non-human species. Researchers have taught apes, monkeys, parrots and wild children with various systems of human-like communication. Thus, one might ask, what is human language? According to Ulla Hedeager, A universally accepted definition of language or the criteria for its use does not exist. This is one of the reasons for the disagreement among scientists about whether non-human species can use a language. In nature, researchers find numerous types of communication systems, several of which appear to be unique to their possessors, and one of them is the language of the human species. Basically, the purpose of communication is the preservation, growth, and development of the species (Smith and Miller 1968:265). The ability to exchange information is shared by all communication systems, and a number of non-human systems share some features of human language. The fundamental difference between human and non-human communication is that animals are believed to react instinctively, in a stereotyped and predictable way. Generally, human behavior is under the voluntary control,