What Is Bipedalism?

It has long been believed that humankind owes its survival to bipedalism, which is the ability to walk on two legs. This is the first human characteristic to distinguish human from other primates. It is habitual, meaning that it is their primary form of transportation. This characteristic thrived in a time where forests were shrinking and the environment consisted wide grasslands and sparse woodland. The feature of bipedal locomotion lead hominids to manipulate their surroundings, bypassing their biological features allowing them the ability to live anywhere, and in any environment. Although, by developing into bipedal organisms, hominids were taking a big gamble. With all the benefits of bipedalism, there are also many disadvantages.
Hominids had to travel longer distances to gather food and water. One beneficial adaptation of bipedalism is the locking knee. Having the feature of a locking knee meant that less energy was used when moving from place to place, allowing hominids to travel longer distances without getting tired (Bill 2016). This gave a greater opportunity for survival. Instead of hunting, hominids were able to follow an animal until it tired out, in order to kill and eat it, or walk further distances for better living conditions. Another benefit of the locking knee is that it puts less stress on the joints (Bill 2016). This meant that walking around for a longer period of time wasn't as painful as it would be for other species who didn’t possess this
Bipedalism decreased the speed of hominids, created inconveniences in hunting, and negatively affected child birth. However, bipedalism allowed for hominids to be able to survive in the heat of the African savannah. If they had continued walking quadrupedally while not having the shield of forested landscapes; they risked the chance of dying from hyperthermia or dehydration. By being able to travel around at a time when the sun was at it's hottest they were able to gather more food. This gave them an advantage over other primates that would have to wait until the late afternoon before searching for food. Bipedalism allowed hominids to settle disputes in a peaceful manner, which aided them to help each other survive. Traveling longer distances without getting tired, allowed them to travel to different environments, at some point, even leaving Africa, to improve their standard of living. Bipedalism allowed for technological advancements, which allowed for the proper tools to be able to hunt animals for their meat. This meat fed their brains, and this resulted in bigger brains that developed more complex and intricate thoughts. The complex thoughts eventually transformed into the lives that humans live today. A human can now virtually live and survive anywhere on planet earth and even space. It is safe to say that all the advantages of bipedalism far outweigh the disadvantages, therefore,