Question

Advantage of erect posture in man is
A. Bipedal walking
B. Proper vision
C. Extended foot behind ankle
D. All of the above

Answer 1

Hint: Erect posture was first seen in Australopithecus. They lived during the Pliocene and Pleistocene epoch (4.4 to 1.4 million years ago). Lucy is the most famous specimen of Australopithecus. Australopithecus were having bipedal locomotion but their brain size was small.

Complete answer: The erect posture in man is due to an extra curve in the spine. Erect posture also allows bipedal locomotion for bipedal walking. Australopithecus were the first to show bipedal walking. Bipedal walking involves walking on two legs with an erect posture. Erect posture has many advantages; one can see clearly, communicate properly, vision too will be proper and clear. It also frees the forelimbs, which were then used for making tools, writing, painting. etc. Upright walking species of humans that lived on the ground were first evolved in Africa. Modern i.e. Homo sapiens evolved from Homo erectus. It means ‘upright man’. A lot of changes came in ancestors of humans with time, these changes lead to arousal of today’s modern man. Bipedalism, encephalization (development of brain size) and many different morphological, genetic and physiological changes occurred with time or evolution through natural selection, mutation, etc.

Note: In the very first, human ancestors were quadrupedal but as they evolved or adapted according to the environment, they exhibited bipedal locomotion. Bipedal locomotion is actually evolved more for terrestrial feeding posture than walking adaptation.