Hominids in the African Region

¶ … hominids in the African region 4.5 to 5.5 million years ago in terms of survival relative to the environment of Africa at that time. Further to provide a reason why a species of the bipedal would have advantages over a quadruped and to name those advantages. Finally to discuss whether there was only one or possibly many advantages to this feature.

In the African region approximately 4.5 to 5.5 million years ago two type individuals existed in the increasingly arid grassland environment of Africa. One of the individual types had larger canines and smaller molars with thinner enamel while the other had smaller canines and molars with thicker enamel. The individual with smaller canines and smaller molars with thicker enamel had the advantage in that as the arid grasslands grew and the forest shrank this individual would have adapted to eating green things such as grass like substances. The individual, with the larger canines and molars, would be a meat-eater. The meat-eater would have a harder time locating sustenance as many of the animals would move away from the dryer grasslands to where moisture was easier found as well as the lack of some species to adapt to this environment and simply die out and become extinct.

A biped species would have a better chance at survival because having use of the hands would grant many freedoms such as the making of and use of tools and weapons as well as the ability to climb trees while holding weapons or food in the hands and the ability to learn the art of weaving and cultivation. In comparison the quadruped species would be limited and more animal like in movement and in capacity to protect themselves as well as the limitation to shape their environment. Furthermore, the bipedal species had advantage in attaining a faster gait in their movement through balance gained in bipedal locomotion and could run from whatever threatened their lives and use weapons at the same time.