When did our ancestors decsend from the trees and walk on two legs instead of four?  How exactly did bipedalism develop?  We have some ideas but that’s all they are – ideas.  We may never know, but we can certainly have some fun hypothesizing!

Evolution Talk is also a book! You can find links to Amazon, Barnes & Noble and others on the front page of EvolutionTalk.com, or call your local bookstore and ask them to order a copy.

Works Cited

  • “Ancient Ape Offers Clues to Evolution of Two-legged Walking.” Nature, 6 Nov. 2019, www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-03418-2?error=cookies_not_supported&code=d43577d9-7824-4735-81da-30fd6835fe59.

  • biointeractive. “The Evolution of Bipedalism — HHMI BioInteractive Video.” YouTube, 24 Apr. 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4-HJURXIxM.

  • DeSilva, Jeremy. “Fossils Upend Conventional Wisdom About Evolution of Human Bipedalism.” Scientific American, 1 Nov. 2022, www.scientificamerican.com/article/fossils-upend-conventional-wisdom-about-evolution-of-human-bipedalism/?error=cookies_not_supported&code=1f64f427-1c19-4e40-ac41-45acad6911a1.

  • DNA Learning Center. “Species Shorts: Australopithecus Afarensis.” YouTube, 20 Apr. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyBAgz7SJKU.

  • Harcourt-Smith, William. “The First Hominins and the Origins of Bipedalism – Evolution: Education and Outreach.” BioMed Central, 17 Aug. 2010, evolution-outreach.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1007/s12052-010-0257-6.

  • Museum of Science, Boston. “First Steps: How Upright Walking Made Us Human (4/21/21).” YouTube, 21 Apr. 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=tY5olTu8B60.

  • “Sahelanthropus Tchadensis.” The Smithsonian Institution’s Human Origins Program, 7 July 2022, humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/sahelanthropus-tchadensis.

  • Timeless Music – Best Christmas Songs. “Put One Foot in Front of the Other –  Santa Claus Is Coming to Town (Lyrics) [4K HD].” YouTube, 7 Nov. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRNiOpoZHV4.

  • Wayman, Erin. “Becoming Human: The Evolution of Walking Upright.” Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Aug. 2012, www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/becoming-human-the-evolution-of-walking-upright-13837658.

Music in this Episode

  • Light in Branches by Podington Bear, License (CC BY 3.0): Artist website: soundofpicture.com

  • Moving On Up by Podington Bear, License (CC BY 3.0): Artist website: soundofpicture.com

  • Pick Up The Tempo by Podington Bear, License (CC BY 3.0): Artist website: soundofpicture.com

  • The Falls by Podington Bear, License (CC BY 3.0): Artist website: soundofpicture.com

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