Publication details
Nosit hlavu vysoko. Úvaha o lidské bipedii.
| Title in English | Keep you head upwards. Reflections on human bipedy |
|---|---|
| Authors | |
| Year of publication | 2014 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Živa |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Archaeology, anthropology, ethnology |
| Keywords | bipedy; hominins; evolution; artifacts |
| Description | For 4,5 million years, the raised head, upright stature, and bipedal locomotion differentiates us from the majority of other mammals. This paper evaluates the reasons for this evolutionary change (such as environmental pressure), its well-known advantages but also its risks. Compared to animal predators and prey, the bipedal hominin was slower, his dentition less usable as a tool or weapon, and liquids needed to be transported. However the raised stature made the hand free for production of artifacts – tools. Technology, which enabled a survival at the beginning, stimulated a steep demographic growth during later evolution, which in turn calls for additional technological and organisational innovations. Today, humans as middle-sized mammals with high level of consumption and waste production could not otherwise survive in number of miliards. |