By any stretch of the imagination, humans are strange animals. Our unique anatomy and talents, including as large minds and opposable thumbs, have allowed us to drastically alter our reality and even jump off the planet. There are also peculiar characteristics that distinguish us from the rest of the animal kingdom. So, what actually makes us unique? Some of the things we take for granted may astound you.
1. SPEECH
Nobody appreciates a good gab session more than humans. But why can’t our nearest living relatives, apes, communicate like us? After all, comparative studies have revealed that the form and function of the larynx and vocal tract are very similar across primates.
Look no farther than the brain to find an answer to this issue.
A 2018 study published in the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience discovered that primates have a larger vocal repertoire when two brain features — the cortical association areas that control voluntary control over behavior and the brainstem nuclei involved in control of muscles governing vocal production — are larger. These features are larger in humans than in other primates.
“To put it simply, primates with larger cortical association areas tended to make more sounds,” study co-author Jacob Dunn, an associate professor of evolutionary biology at Anglia Ruskin University in the United Kingdom, wrote in The Conversation. Other factors, such as genetics and vocal tract structure, are likely to have an impact, and study into their relationship to speech is underway.
2. UPRIGHT POSTURE
Humans are unique among primates in that our primary form of mobility is fully upright walking. This method of movement frees up our hands to use tools. Unfortunately, the adaptations made to our pelvis to allow us to walk on two legs, along with kids with enormous brains, make human birthing exceptionally risky in comparison to the rest of the animal kingdom.
Humans, unlike other primates, have a lumbar curve in the lower back, which helps us keep our balance while standing and walking, but it also makes us subject to lower back pain and strain, as previously reported by Live Science.
3. NAKEDNESS
In comparison to our hairier ape cousins, we appear naked. Surprisingly, a square inch of human skin has the same number of hair-producing follicles as a chimp’s (Pan troglodytes) skin, according to a 2018 study published in the Journal of Human Evolution. It’s only that humans have thinner, shorter, lighter hairs on most of our bodies than most primates, making us appear “naked.”
So, why do humans have short, practically undetectable hair? According to Live Science, some 2 million years ago, one adaptation caused members of the species Homo to miniaturize body hair, while another adaptation boosted the number of eccrine sweat glands, which most mammals only have on their palms and soles of their feet. Because of Homo’s amazing propensity to sweat profusely, these modifications made it easier for him to stay cool while running large distances.
perspiration would coat the hair if humans had thick hair like apes, making it more difficult for the perspiration to evaporate, which is how sweat cools us off. It’s a good thing we have tiny hair; it makes it easy to cool off.
According to a 2011 study published in the journal Biology Letters, even though we don’t appear to have much hair, it appears to assist us discover parasites. Additionally, you can also read about- Embracing the Future: How the Augmented Workforce is Shaping Industries?
4. CLOTHING
Humans are sometimes referred to as “naked apes,” yet the majority of us wear clothing, which distinguishes us from the rest of the animal kingdom. A wild chimp wore a knotted skin “necklace” made from the leftovers of a slain red colobus monkey, according to a 1998 report, and a captive chimp in Zambia began wearing grass “earrings” draped over her ears, a fashion trend that spread to her fellow chimps — but these adornments didn’t protect or insulate the chimps from the elements like human clothes do.
The evolution of human clothes has also influenced the evolution of other species – unlike all other types, body lice (Pediculus humanus humanus) attach to clothing rather than hair.
We’ve also created apparel for animals, who, to be honest, don’t always appreciate dressing up.
5. EXTRAORDINARY BRAINS
Without a doubt, our amazing brain sets us apart from the rest of the animal species. The overdeveloped cerebral cortex is one of the most coveted parts of the human brain; it accounts for more than 80% of our brain mass and is expected to contain 100 billion neurons, according to a 2009 study published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. Decision-making, executive control, emotional regulation, and language are all related with the cerebral cortex. Despite accounting for only around 2% of total body weight, the human brain consumes more than 25% of total body energy, according to a 2018 study published in the Journal of Human Evolution.
Humans do not have the largest brains in the world; sperm whales do. Despite this, the human brain, which weighs just approximately 3 pounds (1.3 kilograms) in adults, allows us to reason and think on our feet in ways that the rest of the animal kingdom cannot.
6. FIRE
The capacity of humans to regulate fire brought a semblance of day to night, allowing our forefathers to see in a dark environment and keep nocturnal predators at bay. The warmth of the flames also assisted people in staying warm during cold weather, allowing us to live in colder locations. It also brought us cooking, which some scholars believe influenced human development because cooked foods are simpler to chew and digest, possibly contributing to decreases in human tooth and gut size.
Although there is evidence that people utilized fire as long back as 1 million years ago, archaeological evidence indicates that it became more ubiquitous in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East around 400,000 years ago, as previously reported by Live Science.
7. BLUSHING
Humans are the only known creature that blush, a trait described by Charles Darwin as “the most peculiar and human of all expressions.” We don’t know why individuals blush, freely disclosing our deepest emotions (though we do know how it works).
From an evolutionary standpoint, perhaps flushing indicates that someone has messed up but is admitting it to avoid a confrontation. Ray Crozier, an honorary professor at Cardiff University’s School of Social Sciences in the United Kingdom, told the BBC that it could also be an indicator of emotional intelligence.
“A prerequisite for embarrassment is to be able to feel how others feel — you have to be empathetic, intelligent to the social situation,” said Crozier.
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8. LONG CHILDHOODS
Humans must stay with their parents for a considerably longer period of time than other surviving primates. Humans, for example, mature roughly twice as slowly as chimps, and it appears that our ancient human relatives, such as the 3.2 million-year-old australopithecine Lucy and a 1.6 million-year-old Homo erectus boy, reached adulthood faster than modern humans, according to Science magazine.
So, why do modern people take so long to mature, when it might make more evolutionary sense to grow as quickly as possible in order to produce more offspring? The explanation could be our enormous brains, particularly our vast number of cortical neurons; other animals with large numbers of neurons in the cerebral cortex, such as some birds and mammals, also have long childhoods and extensive longevity, according to a 2018 study published in the Journal of Comparative Neurology.
“It makes sense that the more neurons you have in the cortex, the longer it should take a species to reach that point where it’s not only physiologically mature, but also mentally capable of being independent,” said Suzana Herculano-Houzel, an associate professor of psychology at Vanderbilt University, in a statement. “The delay also gives those species with more cortical neurons more time to learn from experience, as they interact with the environment.”
9. LIFE AFTER CHILDREN
Most animals reproduce until they die, including the rambunctious marsupials known as dusky antechinuses (Antechinus vandycki), whose males mate in a marathon frenzy until they die, and many octopus species, whose males die shortly after mating and females die after tending to their eggs..
Females, on the other hand, can live for a long time after they stop reproducing. This could be owing to human social relationships – in extended families, grandparents can help ensure the success of their families even after they have passed the age when they can have children themselves. The so-called “grandmother effect” is real; a 2009 study published in the journal Current Biology found that babies had a higher chance of survival if their maternal grandmothers were between 50 and 75 years old, likely because the grandmothers assisted with child rearing.