Bipedalism, the ability to walk primarily on two legs, is a uniquely human trait among mammals. The cup-shaped human pelvis supports the internal organs during upright walking. The human spine has two curves, resulting n an S shape that allows for upright posture.
In the human foot, the toes are much shorter than those of apes and are aligned with each other. Because humans are the only primates that have this foot structure, we can infer that the shape of the human foot is a specific adaptation to bipedalism.The enlargement of the brain in humans has resulted in a more vertical face than that found in apes. Among other differences, the larger human brain has extensive areas devoted to the production and understanding of speech. Apes have homologous areas in their brains that are important in the production of sounds used in communication, and apes can also be taught to mimic certain forms of sign language. However, apes living in the wild have not developed any complex, flexible set of signals that can compare to those that make up the languages in humans.
How might the acquisition of language account for the very fast cultural and intellectual development that has occurred in the evolution of humans?
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