What have been the most significant physical adaptations of home sapiens and why

have these taken place?

This piece of research includes the journey of our ancestors physical structure from millions
of years ago into millions of years into the future to our offsprings physical structure. The
topic I will be exploring is to do with the anatomy of humans and how selection pressures of
the environment causes it to change over time. For my end result I want to find out what the
average human physical structure will look like in a million years and the reasons we will
appear like this. Personally I take an interest into this topic as in the future I want to pursue a
career as a physiotherapist, which will require me to understand how our muscoskeletal
structure has changed and could potentially change without suitable treatment. In society
this research may be useful if we discover our anatomy is heading in a dangerous direction
we can develop therapies and techniques to highlight this danger and prevent it from
occurring. For example as people tend to be more sedentary in current day it may cause
them to slouch and for their spine to curve causing scoliosis , by highlighting this danger we
may be able to convince them to go to do exercises to prevent their spine from curving
Many ideas surround what the future of humans could be, many believe we will be the same
as are now, as the hunt for survival and natural selection does not occur anymore, others
believe our whole anatomy will change, because they believe selection pressures still exist.
Before we look at what humans will be like in 100 years, we should explore what humans
are like today.
Compare the skeleton of humans millions of years ago to the skeleton of humans
today.
Darwins theory of evolution and recent mapping of the human genome compared to other
organisms suggests all organisms belong to a single species.

For example the pentadactyl limb is evidence for evolution as it shows that organisms from
various classes of animals share similar bone structure, conveying we all have originated
from the same organisms we have all just evolved in different ways. Scientists have looked
back into the evolution of all the animals shown in the photo and discovered they all
originally started with 5 phalanges coming off of their limb.
Changes in the way organisms are, is due to the process of natural selections. If a mutation
of a gene occurs within an organism, the mutated gene may create an advantageous or
disadvantageous allele of that gene which aids that organism in survival. For example in the
past giraffes used to have shorter necks and would struggle to reach leaves on the tall tree,
one giraffe will have had a mutation causing that gene to have an allele which provides the

What have been the most significant physical adaptations of home sapiens and why
have these taken place?
giraffe with a long neck. Therefore this long necked giraffe can reach the leaves and survive
to reproduce passing the long necked allele to their offspring which will most likely survive.
Humans are from the primates family which includes apes, monkeys, lemurs, bushbabies
and lorises, totalling over 400 species. For example we have so much in common with
chimps- a remarkable 98.8% of our genome.
Chimpanzee
Chimpanzees are our closest
living relatives, sharing more
than 98 percent of our
genetic blueprint. Humans
and chimps share a common
ancestor who lived some four
to eight million years ago.

Australopithecus Africanus
By late Plipcene times, the
Australopithecus members of
family split into several species
and take up different lifestyles
as they adapted to changing
African environments. They
were still very chimp like, but
walked upright.

Homo Sapiens
By late Pleistocene times around 200,000
years ago, a new species evolved in tropical
Africa. Tall, dark skinned, large brained and
armed with tools and language, this social
species spread within Africa and into the
Middle East. Then between 80,000 and
60,000 years ago they moved to Asia,
Australia, America and Europe.

HipsAs you can see the bones of their pelvis, or hip region, were shortened from top to bottom
and bowl-shaped. The evolution of human bipedalism, which began in primates
approximately four million years ago, has led to morphological alterations to the human
skeleton including changes to the arrangement and size of the bones of the hip size, the
foot, and shape, knee size, leg length, and the shape and orientation of the vertebral
column. This adaptation of a shorter pelvis allows the weight of the primate to be spread
onto the feet in a stable manner when moving bipedally. The longer ape pelvis is adapted for
quadrupedal locomotion as weight is spread across the pelvis more diversely.
Chimpanzee

Australopithecus Africanus

Homo Sapiens

What have been the most significant physical adaptations of home sapiens and why
have these taken place?
Foot
Our foot is specialized as a weight-bearing platform, with an arch that acts as a shock
absorber . Early hominin leg and foot bones were also much more similar to ours than to
those of apes.
HandsChimpanzee

Australopithecus
Africanus

Homo Sapiens

LegsThe surfaces of the joints in our legs and between our vertebrae are enlarged, which is an
advantage for bearing weight.
In humans, the thigh bone slopes inward from the hip to the knee, placing our feet under our
centre of gravity. We also have well-developed muscles (called gluteal abductors) on the
side of our hips that contract to prevent our bodies toppling to one side when all our weight is
on one foot in mid-stride. Chimps have thigh bones that do not slope inward to the knee like
ours, so they stand and walk with their feet wide apart. Their gluteal abductors are also
much weaker than ours, so they have to rock their whole body from side to side during each
step, in order to move their centre of gravity over whichever leg is bearing their weight.
Chimpanzee

Australopithecus
Africanus

Homo Sapiens

What have been the most significant physical adaptations of home sapiens and why
have these taken place?

SpineOur spines have a characteristic double curve, which brings our head and torso into a
vertical line above our feet.
Chimpanzee

Australopithecus
Africanus

Homo Sapiens

HeadThe hole through which the spinal cord enters the skull, called the foramen magnum, is near
the centre of the cranium in humans, allowing our heads to balance easily on our spines
rather than toward the back of the cranium as in chimps.
For the last two million years there has been a trend toward a bigger brain that has affected
many species in our family tree. However our own species have brains that are now the
smallest they have been at any time in the past 100,000 years. Most of this decrease
occurred in the last 6,000 years. Our brains now average about 100-150 cubic centimetres
less than when our species first appeared.

100,000 years ago: average brain size: 1500cc

12,000 years ago: average brain size: 1450cc

Today: average brain size: 1350cc

This explains why our cranium is smaller than our ancestors.

What have been the most significant physical adaptations of home sapiens and why
have these taken place?

While the late australopithecines were similar to humans anatomically below the neck, their
heads were significantly different from ours in several key features. Their adult brain size
was about 1/3 that of people today. As a result, the widest part of the skull of these early
hominins was below the brain case. For modern humans, it usually is in the temple region.
Early hominin faces were large relative to the size of their brain cases. They had
comparatively big molar teeth with thick enamel. By comparison, their front teeth were
small. They had large jaws, and powerful jaw muscles. The size and shape of these
muscles is indicated by flaring zygomatic arches, or cheek bones, behind which the major
jaw muscles pass and the presence of a sagittal crest, which is a jaw muscle attachment
ridge of bone on top of the skull in the robust species (paranthropoids). In modern humans,
the jaw muscles are much smaller and attach onto the skull in the temple region. From the
side view, early hominin faces were concave or dish-shaped and projecting forward at the
bottom due to their relatively small brain cases and huge teeth and jaws. In contrast, our
teeth and jaws are relatively small, and our faces are nearly vertical.
Arms
Chimpanzees and all of the other apes have longer arms than legs and lack arches on the
bottoms of their feet. In addition, their big toes are divergent from their other toes much like
human thumbs.
Teeth and jaw.
The trend toward smaller jaws and teeth that was seen in our ancestors has continued in our
own species. In fact, some people today do not have enough space in their jaws to fit their
3rd molars or wisdom teeth. Overall, these changes have occurred in proportion with a
decrease in body size. However, over the last 10,000 years dietary changes and technology
have played a major role.
A decrease in size has occurred in the jaws and teeth of Homo sapiens over the last 30,000
years. However, there has been a very slight reversal in this trend in the last century as teeth
have increased in size. This is partly related to the introduction of fluoride, which thickens
dental enamel, so making teeth a little larger.

What have been the most significant physical adaptations of home sapiens and why
have these taken place?
Height.
Average height of Homo sapiens over the last 40,000 years.(This information is based
on the average heights of European males because better statistics exist for this
population, but the general trend is worldwide.)

40,000 years ago: European males 183 cm (6 feet). They were homo sapiens
which inhabited Europe. These hunter-gatherers lived a physically demanding
lifestyle that would have required greater body strength than the average human
today. Their recent African ancestry may have also affected their height, as tall, longlimbed builds are useful adaptations to the warmer African climate.

10,000 years ago: European males 162.5cm (5 ft 4 inches). A dramatic reduction in

the size of humans occurred at this time. Many scientists think that this reduction was
influenced by global climatic change and the adoption of agriculture. Agricultural
communities suffered from malnutrition as a result of failed crops and a more
restricted diet. Furthermore, a close association with domestic livestock introduced
new diseases into human populations.

600 years ago: European males 165 cm (5 ft 5 inches). Poor diet and health were
the main causes for the shorter stature at this time.

Today: European males 175 cm (5ft 9 inches). There has been an increase in
height over the last few hundred years. In part, this increase is due to improved diet
and health care. There may also be a genetic link as industrial expansion and
urbanisation has brought together genetically isolated people and reduced the
impacts of inbreeding due to a greater mixing of populations and their genes.

Bipedal locomotion may have been an adaptation to living in a mixed woodland and
grassland environment. It has been suggested that bipedalism was selected for because it
made it easier to see long distances when moving over areas covered with tall grasses.
This would have been a useful advantage in scavenging for food and watching for big cats
and other predators in open environments. An upright posture also potentially helps to
dissipate excess body heat and reduces the absorption of heat from the sun because less
skin has a direct exposure to ultra violet radiation during the hottest times of the day. There
is evidence suggesting that bipedal animals usually can walk greater distances because less
energy is expended with their longer strides. This would be useful for scavenging for food
throughout vast areas. However, the legs of bipedal animals need to be sturdy enough to
support at least 2.5 times their body weight while running. Over many generations, early
hominin legs grew longer and much stronger than their arms. Their feet became longer and
developed arches for more efficient support of their bodies. In addition, their hands became
more adept at carrying and manipulating objects such as tools and food. It also made it
easier to hold babies and to tend to their needs. These adaptations to walking bipedally on
the ground made it progressively more difficult to climb and travel through the canopies of
trees. However, they obviously provided many other natural selection advantages.
But we are by no means perfectly adapted to bipedal locomotion. Our spines are a heritage
from distant ancestors who carried themselves horizontally, in water and on land. In those
ancient creatures, as in modern quadrupeds, the spine functioned more like a flexible
suspension bridge, supporting the body's organs -- a role to which it is structurally well

What have been the most significant physical adaptations of home sapiens and why
have these taken place?
suited. The human spine has been transformed into a weight bearing column, putting it
under unprecedented stresses and dooming us to the likelihood of back injuries and pain.

What will the human skeleton be like in a million years.?

Due to climate change which we should expect to increase the temperature of the world will
cause us to grow in height. The increased height should increase the amount of heat lost
through our skin, this is because we will increase our surface area to volume ratio, meaning
more heat can be exchanged through more skin.
A high nutritional will also allow the growth of our body.

What have been the most significant physical adaptations of home sapiens and why
have these taken place?

What factors influence these changes?

Climate change.

What have been the most significant physical adaptations of home sapiens and why
have these taken place?
Hunting for food- not needed
Bibliography

Origins Human Evolution Revealed, Douglas Palmer, published in Great Britain in

2010 by Mitchell Beazley
Ancestors in our Genome, the new science of human evolution, Eugene. E. Harris,
published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/21c_pre_2011/evolution/theoryev
olutionrev2.shtml.
http://anthro.palomar.edu/hominid/australo_2.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_skeletal_changes_due_to_bipedalism

Images

https://www.bing.com/images/search?
q=human+skeletal+evolution&view=detailv2&&id=D45E3461DDFE027A97F7123A36
EB35AE482F1DF5&selectedIndex=164&ccid=ddAcmttj&simid=60804484334728056
5&thid=OIP.M75d01c9adb6353d44a386a3ed7fc12d0o0&ajaxhist=0
https://www.bing.com/images/search?
q=evolution+of+the+spine&view=detailv2&&id=E08DA5FB2E7E9518E3398A4A37E4
4269F8F9242F&selectedIndex=1&ccid=fLeZVMrS&simid=608042777476794058&thi
d=OIP.M7cb79954cad2694b26ad9e7a1fd17dbdo0&ajaxhist=0
https://www.bing.com/images/search?
q=evolution+of+skulls&view=detailv2&&id=9140E10C62D5FD0829299235D207D73
2A79D64D3&selectedIndex=18&ccid=4vCZV7Fx&simid=607986539178755149&thid
=OIP.Me2f09957b171bf2e623c8f2d014b9867o0&ajaxhist=0.
https://www.google.co.uk/search?
q=australopithecus+africanus+skeleton&safe=strict&espv=2&biw=994&bih=626&sou
rce=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwiy2P2eheHNAhWKD8AKHafcCcU
Q_AUIBigB#imgrc=Mfm7fkRsGTHW2M%3A
https://www.google.co.uk/search?
q=spine+of+Australopithecus+Africanus&safe=strict&espv=2&biw=994&bih=626&site
=webhp&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjLz4_DheHNAhXmJcAKHas
PAhAQ_AUIBigB#safe=strict&tbm=isch&q=spine+of+chimpanzee&imgrc=Iv_aemNO
41J5mM%3A

MethodologyA field experiment carried out on the trams in London investigating the posture of the public.
FindingsConclusion-