Bipedalism and Encephalization; How Our Ancestor Came to Be. PDF

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This essay is about bipedalism and Encephalization. It uses example from the general psychology book written my psychologist Philip Zimbardo. This goes into detail about what bipedalism and encephalization is and gives examples of real world....

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Castellanos 1 Selena Castellanos Corigliano AP Psychology 19 September 2021

Bipedalism and Encephalization: Its Effects on Human Civilization Sonali Bendre once said, “The point of human evolution is adapting to circumstances. Not letting go of the old, but adapting to it is necessary.” The human body has changed so much over the years, and we can thank natural selection for that. The theory of natural selection is the forces of nature select the organism that will survive, reproduce, and pass their advantageous traits to the next generation (Zimbardo). However, the theory of natural selection favored 2 adaptations: Bipedalism and Encephalization. Bipedalism is referring to the ability to walk upright on two legs. This allowed our ancestors to better explore and relocate. However, one of the biggest advantages was seen in the hominids. Bipedalism allowed them to entirely free their arms, allowing them to quickly produce and utilize tools, stretch for fruit in trees, and use their hands for social display and communication. They could also see farther across the savannah grass, which could have been a disadvantage because predators would have been able to notice them more easily. Encephalization refers to the increase in brain size. This is responsible for almost all major advances in human evolution, for example, cultural development. The increase in brain size affected and improved complex thinking, reasoning, remembering, and planning is among those developments. Both adaptations made it possible for our ancestors to evolve into the people we are today. Bipedalism had several advantages for our ancestors, including the ability to use one's hands for labor and less rigorous physical movement. Walking upright provides for better long-distance travel and hunting, as well as a larger range of view and less skin exposure to the sun. It also flourishes in a savannah habitat. Legs, knee and ankle joints, spinal vertebrae, toes, and arms all changed as a result of bipedalism. With encephalization, social learning and

Castellanos 2 language were achievable because the human brain could continue to expand after birth. It's probable that a diet consisting of meat and cooking allowed for brain development. The two together slowly continued to evolve as civilizations continued to rise. In conclusion, the theory of natural selection has played a big part in identifying what past life was like for our ancestors. Bipedalism and encephalization played a major part in the development and adaptation of our ancestors and will continue to have a major impact on future generations....