From Crawling to Upright: Was this Humanity’s Once-and-for-all Choice?: Humankind Has Been Restless about it for Millions of Years

Shuai Li ()
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Shuai Li: University of Oulu

Chapter Chapter 3 in Bridging the Innovation Gap, 2026, pp 27-34 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract When we discuss human evolution, bipedalism undoubtedly stands as a milestone leap. It liberated our hands, opening the door to tool-making and fine manipulation, which in turn accelerated the development of the brain, ultimately enabling humans to become the rulers of the Earth. We tend to regard this remarkable achievement as a divinely granted, perfect choice, assuming its benefits are pure and limitless. However, a closer examination of millions of years of human evolutionary history reveals that the path to upright walking was fraught with hardship and trade-offs. Humans are still paying the price to adapt to this posture and continue to engage in a long and profound “struggle” with the accompanying negative consequences. This was far from a once-and-for-all decision; rather, it is an ongoing, dynamic process that continues to this day.

Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:innchp:978-3-032-22652-5_3

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-22652-5_3

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