ANTH 3-5

Question 1

Hominins

Answer 1

All who are on the
human lineage (Homo,
Australopithecus, etc.)

Question 2

obligate bipedalism

Answer 2

the ability and necessity of walking only on the lower limbs

Question 3

Hypotheses to explain bipedalism

Answer 3

postural feeding

Thermoregulation

Constructing and Carrying Weapons

transporting food

carrying altrical babies

Expansion of savanna

vigilance

threat display

efficient energetics

terrestrial food gathering

Question 4

problem with postural feeding

Answer 4

Other terrestrially
adapted primates retain
quadrupedalism.

Question 5

Problem with Thermoregulation

Answer 5

There are quadrupeds that occupy
open areas with a lot of sun exposure.

Question 6

problem with Expansion of savanna

Answer 6

• Early hominins often associated with
  forest-dwelling animals (kudu, colobus)
• Significant grasslands began well before hominin lineage
• Severe aridity and associated grassland expansion began AFTER earliest bipeds

Question 7

problem with vigilance

Answer 7

• Vigilance bipedalism is rare among chimpanzees
• Other mammals haven’t adopted bipedalism due to predation pressure

Question 8

problem with threat display

Answer 8

Threats are more effective when they are rare as opposed to the usual behavior.

Question 9

problem with efficient energetics

Answer 9

No consensus; energy savings from bipedality are debated

Question 10

problem with terrestrial food gathering

Answer 10

USOs are also accessible to quadrupedal primates, so bipedality may not have been necessary for their
exploitation