Humans as long-distance runners.
Nov. 26th, 2004 04:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
swestrupI've been saying for years that humans are better long-distance runners for horses, but I've had precious little evidence to back up this claim when challenged. Searching via Google never did any good, but suddenly it a hot topic and I found a list of notable references today:
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01. Faster Than a Hyena? Running May Make Humans Special , Science
Excerpts: To identify adaptations for running, the researchers have put people and animals on treadmills and measured the activity of various muscles and ligaments, along with the forces a running body generates. (...) "It's an elastic band that has repeatedly evolved in animals that run. Apes don't have it," says Bramble. He and Lieberman hypothesize that the nuchal ligament helps keep an endurance runner's head from bobbing violently. "Every time your heel hits the ground, your head wants to topple forward," says Lieberman.
* [4] Faster Than a Hyena? Running May Make Humans Special, Carl Zimmer, 04/11/19, Science : 1283
[4] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/306/5700/1283
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01.01. Scientist: Early Humans Ran Wild , The Harvard Crimson
Excerpts: Adaptations designed to make humans better runners were crucial in differentiating humans from other primates.
Their work is so original because most researchers had assumed that humans were relatively bad runners and focused on walking, (...).
"Humans are really poor sprinters, and when people think of running, they think of sprinting," Lieberman said. "A beagle could probably out-sprint a human."
(...) many distinguishing features of the human anatomy, such as our large rear ends (...), were designed for running and have little bearing on walking ability.
* [5] Scientist: Early Humans Ran Wild, Adam M. Guren, 04/11/19, The Harvard Crimson
[5] http://www.thecrimson.com/today/article504623.html
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01.02. Distance Running 'Shaped Human Evolution' , Nature News
Excerpts: Humans may have spent millions of years honing their distance running. c Punchstock
Long-distance running was crucial in creating our current upright body form (...). Our poor sprinting prowess has given rise to the idea that our bodies are adapted for walking, not running, says Lieberman. Even the fastest sprinters reach speeds of only about 10 metres per second, compared with the 30 metres per second of a cheetah. But over longer distances our performance is much more respectable: horses galloping long distances average about 6 metres per second, which is slower than a top-class human runner.
* [6] Distance Running 'Shaped Human Evolution', Michael Hopkin, 04/11/17, Nature News
[6] http://www.nature.com/news/2004/041115/full/041115-9.html
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01.03. The Evolution of Endurance , Science Now
Excerpts: Physiologic adaptations may have made humans better runners Last week's New York City Marathon may have been a demonstration of athletic excellence, but according to a report this week in Nature, it was also a display of a key innovation in human evolution. New research suggests that the ability to run long distances emerged 2 million years ago, possibly enabling our ancestors to become better scavengers. The findings may also help explain why our bodies are so different from those of other primates.
* [7] The Evolution of Endurance, 04/11/17, Science Now
[7] http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2004/1117/3?etoc
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01.04. Evolution Made Humans Marathon Runners , New Scientist
Excerpts: We are born to run. According to new research, our bodies are highly evolved for running long distances, an ability that allowed our ancestors to conquer the African savannahs.
Proponents of the theory say that long-distance running may be an even more significant evolutionary adaptation than bipedal walking, an ability which may
have emerged with the appearance of the first hominids some 6 million years ago.(...)
Our legs are full of tendons that are not present in other primates,?says Lieberman. You dont use your Achilles tendon when you walk,?...).
* [8] Evolution Made Humans Marathon Runners, Jeff Hecht, 04/11/17, New Scientist
[8] http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996681
_________________________________________________________________
01. Faster Than a Hyena? Running May Make Humans Special , Science
Excerpts: To identify adaptations for running, the researchers have put people and animals on treadmills and measured the activity of various muscles and ligaments, along with the forces a running body generates. (...) "It's an elastic band that has repeatedly evolved in animals that run. Apes don't have it," says Bramble. He and Lieberman hypothesize that the nuchal ligament helps keep an endurance runner's head from bobbing violently. "Every time your heel hits the ground, your head wants to topple forward," says Lieberman.
* [4] Faster Than a Hyena? Running May Make Humans Special, Carl Zimmer, 04/11/19, Science : 1283
[4] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/306/5700/1283
_________________________________________________________________
01.01. Scientist: Early Humans Ran Wild , The Harvard Crimson
Excerpts: Adaptations designed to make humans better runners were crucial in differentiating humans from other primates.
Their work is so original because most researchers had assumed that humans were relatively bad runners and focused on walking, (...).
"Humans are really poor sprinters, and when people think of running, they think of sprinting," Lieberman said. "A beagle could probably out-sprint a human."
(...) many distinguishing features of the human anatomy, such as our large rear ends (...), were designed for running and have little bearing on walking ability.
* [5] Scientist: Early Humans Ran Wild, Adam M. Guren, 04/11/19, The Harvard Crimson
[5] http://www.thecrimson.com/today/article504623.html
_________________________________________________________________
01.02. Distance Running 'Shaped Human Evolution' , Nature News
Excerpts: Humans may have spent millions of years honing their distance running. c Punchstock
Long-distance running was crucial in creating our current upright body form (...). Our poor sprinting prowess has given rise to the idea that our bodies are adapted for walking, not running, says Lieberman. Even the fastest sprinters reach speeds of only about 10 metres per second, compared with the 30 metres per second of a cheetah. But over longer distances our performance is much more respectable: horses galloping long distances average about 6 metres per second, which is slower than a top-class human runner.
* [6] Distance Running 'Shaped Human Evolution', Michael Hopkin, 04/11/17, Nature News
[6] http://www.nature.com/news/2004/041115/full/041115-9.html
_________________________________________________________________
01.03. The Evolution of Endurance , Science Now
Excerpts: Physiologic adaptations may have made humans better runners Last week's New York City Marathon may have been a demonstration of athletic excellence, but according to a report this week in Nature, it was also a display of a key innovation in human evolution. New research suggests that the ability to run long distances emerged 2 million years ago, possibly enabling our ancestors to become better scavengers. The findings may also help explain why our bodies are so different from those of other primates.
* [7] The Evolution of Endurance, 04/11/17, Science Now
[7] http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2004/1117/3?etoc
_________________________________________________________________
01.04. Evolution Made Humans Marathon Runners , New Scientist
Excerpts: We are born to run. According to new research, our bodies are highly evolved for running long distances, an ability that allowed our ancestors to conquer the African savannahs.
Proponents of the theory say that long-distance running may be an even more significant evolutionary adaptation than bipedal walking, an ability which may
have emerged with the appearance of the first hominids some 6 million years ago.(...)
Our legs are full of tendons that are not present in other primates,?says Lieberman. You dont use your Achilles tendon when you walk,?...).
* [8] Evolution Made Humans Marathon Runners, Jeff Hecht, 04/11/17, New Scientist
[8] http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996681
