Last night I watched a documentary on Discovery that detailed the discovery of Ardipithecus ramidus, a hominid that is more clearly human that it is ape. Like us, it has small canine teeth, and interestingly, the Ardipithecus ramidus is BIPEDAL. The great majority of the animal kingdom are quadrupeds, so this is significant. Bipedality can be seen as a disadvantage — you can’t run as fast, so you might die out quicker. A few theories as to why homo sapiens have evolved into bipedal creatures: You can rise up and look more menacing to your enemies, you can raise your head higher to look for danger, and you can use your hands and arms to carry more food, thus providing more for your family. The latter point seems to be the most significant, as no other bipedal creature has this particular use for their upper limbs.
The relation to the canine teeth is also quite interesting. Big canines indicate fierce competition between males, while smaller canines indicate a more domesticated male who have shifted his focus toward the family rather than competition. Somehow, somewhere along the way, females tended to choose the males with smaller canines who are more bipedal. Which makes sense. These males can contribute more for the family and aren’t as aggressive. So instead of relying on a more ape-like societal structure of fierce aggression and competitiveness, the females opted for a more peaceful, more family-oriented community.
Clearly, “Ardi” is one of the evolutionary stepping stones leading to the homo sapien. It is also a sign that we didn’t evolve *from* chimpanzees — chimpanzees have large canines and are not bipedal. Chimps are our closest living relatives, with a common ancestor, but that’s about it. “Ardi” suggests that somewhere along the line, the evolutionary tree split, with one branch leading to the chimp, and another branch leading to us.
I’m probably getting some facts wrong, so I strongly encourage you to read this article and watch the Discovery documentary discussing Ardipithecus ramidus. This is fascinating mind-blowing stuff. Oh, and creationists can suck it, as far as I’m concerned.
PS. I would also be remiss if I didn’t recommend reading Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species (Amazon affiliate link; hope that’s OK). Everyone knows about it, but few people actually read it. If you know me IRL, I’ll gladly lend you my copy.
