Walking on all fours...

[Keith_Beef]

A scribble on the BBC news site caught my eye, and after digging a bit, I found this.


K.

 

[lardbloke]

I saw this on the beeb yesterday morning and caught my attention. At first I thought, "what a load of old tosh". So I read the proper news report as outlined above on the BBC website and draws some rather interesting conclusions. It would be fascinating to say this condition (if that is what it is) is a throw back to our dim and distant past when we walked on all fours rather than bipedal, but I really do not know. The children in the study must be incredibly fit. If you try and move in this fashion for more than a few meters at a time, I bet you will be shortly out of breath. Our bodies have changed over time to adapt to walking upright.
I havent read the paper on the subject as yet, as I need to sit down and disect this scientifically.
All in all a really fascinating case and look forward to the up and coming doc on the beeb...

BBC Two's The Family That Walks On All Fours is broadcast on Friday 17 March at 2100 GMT

 

[Toddy]

I remember a lecturer in forensic anthropology discussing the change in human locomotion from four legs to two legs/two arms and the change from four feet to fully opposable thumbed hands. He discussed bear walking as a model that had not been investigated thoroughly enough though he felt that a greater change would have been seen in the radius', ulnas and carpals of pre historic skeletons if that were so. That said, those little bones are as rare as hens teeth in the archaeological record.
Interesting; and isn't the father's attitude to his children humbling? They are there to be loved, for him to show he can love and care for them......I've gone all maudlin'

Cheers,
Toddy