Human evolution is a subject that has excited and will continue to excite scientists. In their efforts to find out where we've come from and why, the experts have found some quite curious and remarkable facts. Here are some of them, published in the online Russian Factroom.
The human face is designed to withstand blows
Until recently, scientists estimated that the human face formed between about 4-5 million years ago so that our ancestors could chew food more easily. However, a new study by American scientists has proven that the daily lives of the first humans on Earth were filled with violence and that male faces formed such that injuries would be minimal if they were hit. The facial bones of males are built so that they won't break during a fist fight.
Our hands evolved so that we can hit better
In past studies of these same scientists, it became evident that our upper limbs developed so that we can form our palm into a solid and powerful fist and then be able to strike hard.
The experts do not rule out the possibility for our hands to have developed from the genes that are responsible for us having shorter toes and a longer big toe when we began walking upright. According to anthropologists, because of the aggressiveness of human nature, our bodies gradually transformed into true weapons of combat.
Humans had herpes before they became consciously aware of their existence
Herpes is an infectious disease, which many people probably believe is due to the stressful modern-day conditions in which we live. However, it was "given" to us by monkeys. The virus of herpes simplex appeared in humans before they even separated from chimpanzees (about 6 million years ago).
Type 2 herpes was given to us by monkeys about 1.6 million years ago. Scientists believe that the study of such viruses is extremely crucial, since this type of information will surely be useful for treating serious diseases.
The size of our teeth decreases as our brain size increases
It turns out that man is the only primate in which such a paradoxical phenomenon is observed. Usually, in evolution, when brain size increased, the teeth also became larger, since with time, the body had need of ever more energy and therefore, more food. According to experts, the fact that we began eating more meat, which fuels the brain more effectively, could be a reason for this paradox.
We live longer because of our grandmother
Anthropologists reached this unusual conclusion, keeping in mind the fact that once, in primates, grandmothers didn't take care of the kids, as some do today. Most primates began to feed themselves as soon as their parents separated from them. Of course this assumes that sometimes their mission was unsuccessful and they did not survive.
