Did humans evolve walking like a gorilla? Study reveals clues

The only primates that walk upright all the time are humans. A study published by the Proceedings of the Royal Society B analyzed that human pulses strongly resemble those of gorillas and chimpanzees, which can be considered as a factor that proves that we evolved from primates.

The researchers examined the anatomy of human wrists in comparison with that of other primates that have different styles of locomotion: gorillas and chimpanzees, which rest on their knuckles, and monkeys and capuchin monkeys, which walk entirely on the palms of their hands.

This research provides important data for studies of wrist anatomy throughout evolution, enabling future studies to map hand movements for manipulating objects, which can then clarify how, when and why this possibility appeared.

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The scientists found that, in most of the bones examined for the research, those of the human wrist looked very similar to those that are equivalent to the bones of African monkeys, which moved around supported on their wrists.

Like those of African monkeys, human wrists also have the characteristics that help stabilize the wrists when walking on the wrists, as well as other primates. These characteristics are present in the fusion of the scaphoid with the central bone.

Differentiating upright locomotion from that supported on the knuckles is crucial because in both, the wrist is not bent backwards. Walking with a flat hand supports the wrist in extension, which requires a different skeletal structure.

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To fully analyze the wrists, a computed tomography and 3D laser scan of the surface of the hand was used to reconstruct the outer surface of 2,037 wrist bones from several living and extinct species, including monkeys and monkeys.

To scale the number of subtle grooves and ridges on each bone, which are responsible for registering the pressure placed on the wrist during movement, the bones were rendered as 3D figures.

Although humans do not walk on their wrists, the study finds that evolution reused this feature that previously stabilized the wrists of our ancestors and used it for our ability to manipulate objects.

*Under the supervision of Thiago Félix

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Source: CNN