Slow motion video of chimps walking on a treadmill reveal how humans got their walk - and flexible feet are key
- Human foot has a longitudinal arch that's long been thought to stiffen the foot
- African apes do not have this arch, giving them highly mobile feet for grasping
- But, researchers have now found humans have greater flexion motion in midfoot
A new study investigating the evolution of human gait has discovered our feet are more mobile than chimpanzees when walking upright – not less, as expected.
Researchers used high-speed motion capture to measure the foot motion of chimps and humans walking at a similar speed.
The findings go in contrast to traditional understanding on the difference between human and chimpanzee feet, suggesting fossil feet from humans’ earliest ancestors may tell a different story than previously thought.
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A new study investigating the evolution of human gait has discovered our feet are more mobile than chimpanzees when walking upright – not less, as expected. Researchers used high-speed motion capture to measure the foot motion of chimps and humans walking at a similar speed
The human foot, unlike all other primates, is equipped with a longitudinal arch.
This spans numerous joints and bones of the midfoot region, and is thought to stiffen the foot.
It’s long been thought that the feature is a critical adaptation for bipedal locomotion – walking on two legs – and allows us to walk long distances more efficiently.
African apes, on the other hand, do not have this arch.
These are our closest living relatives, and it’s been thought that they have highly mobile foot joints that allow them to climb tree trunks and grasp branches.
But, this also would mean they are less effective for bipedal locomotion.
In the new study, researchers investigated these differences, and found that the reality doesn’t line up with previous expectations.
Humans were instead found to have a greater range of flexion in the midfoot region.
‘This finding upended our assumptions about how the feet of both humans and chimpanzees work,’ said Nicholas Holowka, Ph.D., from Harvard University.
‘Based on simple visual observation, we’ve long known that human feet are stiffer than those of chimpanzees and other apes when the heel is first lifted off the ground in a walking step.
‘What surprised us was that the human midfoot region flexes dramatically at the end of a step as the foot’s arch springs back into place following its compression during weight-bearing.
‘This flexion motion is greater than the entire range of motion in the chimpanzee midfoot joints during a walking step, leading us to conclude that high midfoot joint mobility is actually advantageous for human walking.
‘We never would have discovered this without being able to study chimpanzees with advanced motion capture technology.’
African apes do not have the longitudinal arch. These are our closest living relatives, and it’s been thought that they have highly mobile foot joints that allow them to climb tree trunks and grasp branches. But, this also would mean they are less effective for bipedal locomotion
The human foot, unlike all other primates, is equipped with a longitudinal arch. This spans numerous joints and bones of the midfoot region, and is thought to stiffen the foot. It’s long been thought that the feature is a critical adaptation for bipedal locomotion
The researchers say these findings suggest the fossil feet of humans' earliest ancestors might not be indicative of rigidity, as previously thought.
‘The presence of human-like midfoot joint morphology in fossil hominins can no longer be taken as indicating foot rigidity, but it may tell us about the evolution of human-like enhanced push off mechanics,’ said Nathan Thompson, PhD, and assistant professor of anatomy at New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine.
‘One of the things that is really remarkable about this project is that it shows us how much we have still to learn about our closest relatives.
‘It seems like the more we learn about how chimpanzees move, the more we have to rethink some of the assumptions that paleoanthropologists have held onto for decades.’
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