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Researchers report that the flexible shoulders and elbows that allow us to throw a football or reach a high shelf may have evolved as a natural braking system that let our primate ancestors get out of trees without dying. The researchers used sports-analysis software to compare the climbing movements of chimpanzees and small monkeys called mangabeys. While the animals climb up trees similarly, the researchers found that the shallow, rounded shoulder joints and shortened elbow bones that chimps have -- similar to humans -- allow them to fully extend their arms above their heads when climbing down, holding onto branches like a person going down a ladder to support their greater weight. When early humans left forests for the grassy savanna, these versatile appendages would have been essential for gathering food and using tools for hunting and defense. The findings are among the first to identify the significance of 'downclimbing' in the evolution of apes and early humans.
Am I the only one that feels talked down to when these articles use phrases like “your arms which allow you to throw a football”, like any of us somehow have any lack of understanding of what ARMS are.
This comment made me chuckle. (An involuntary rhythmic release of air across the vocal chords, generally as a response to stimuli found to be humourous)
Throwing (and hitting what we’re throwing at) is a human superpower. We laypersons may take arms and throwing for granted but to anthropologists and biologists it’s a pretty big deal.
The thing is, a significant part of our brain is tasked with throwing. It’s not just superior eye-hand coordination but our brain knows how to arc the rock / javelin / ball. We also have a mean fastball.
Speak for yourself.
they are written for our alien overlords