First Steps - How Walking Upright Made Us Human (Hardcover)

Humans are the only mammals to walk on two, rather than four, legs. From an evolutionary perspective, this is an illogical development, as it slows us down. But here we are, suggesting there must have been something tremendous to gain from bipedalism. First Steps takes our ordinary, everyday walking experience and reveals how unusual and extraordinary it truly is. The seven-million-year-long journey through the origins of upright walking shows how it was in fact a gateway to many of the other attributes that make us human-from our technological skills and sociality to our thirst for exploration. DeSilva uses early human evolution to explain the instinct that propels a crawling infant to toddle onto two feet, differences between how men and women tend to walk, physical costs of upright walking, including hernias, varicose veins and backache, and the challenges of childbirth imposed by a bipedal pelvis. And he theorises that upright walking may have laid the foundation for the traits of compassion, empathy and altruism that characterise our species today and helped us become the dominant species on this planet.

General

Imprint:	William Collins Publishing
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Release date:	July 2021
Authors:	Jeremy DeSilva
Dimensions:	240 x 159 x 32mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover
Pages:	352
ISBN-13:	978-0-00-834283-8
Categories:	Books > Humanities > Archaeology > Archaeological methodology & techniques Books > Science & Mathematics > Science: general issues > Popular science Books > Sport & Leisure > Natural history, country life & pets > General Books > Science & Mathematics > Biology, life sciences > Life sciences: general issues > Evolution Books > Earth & environment > Earth sciences > Palaeontology > General Books > Health, Home & Family > Family & health > Popular medicine > General Books > Sport & Leisure > Sports & outdoor recreation > Active outdoor pursuits > Walking, hiking, trekking Books > Science & Mathematics > Biology, life sciences > Human biology & related topics > Biological anthropology > Early man
LSN:	0-00-834283-0
Barcode:	9780008342838

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