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Critical Turning Point In Human Evolution

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I think that walking erect was the first critical turning point in human evolution. Bipedalism appears early in hominid history and in recent years the dates have been pushed back even further. The discovery of Sahelanthropus tchadensis which lived 6-7mya indicates it was bipedal. Computer simulations show that the foramen magnum, the hole through which the spinal cord attaches to the head, sat beneath the cranium like bipeds. This was a timeframe close to what scientists believe was a possible human chimpanzee divergence. We then see Australopithecusafarensis displaying the first true skeletal features of bipedalism before the arrival of a fully bipedal hominid in H. erectus 1.89 million years ago.

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