5. Conclusion
A provisional idea is presented that the origin of bipedality preceded the great ape-human divergence, i.e., the hominoid ancestral to the humans and African apes was a “generalized biped.” The idea, however, is based on a series of assumptions which are largely speculative. While these assumptions have to be validated in the light of forthcoming findings, several points specifically should be clarified. First, could the supposed hyper-muscularization of Late Miocene hominoids, associated with arboreal living and up-sizing, account for the emergence of generalized bipeds on the ground? Second, could the generalized bipeds survive ground living in woodland environments? Third, did the return arboreality in the great ape lineage really occur? Fourth, what caused the human lineage to expand into open habitats?
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Okada, M. (2006). The Prehominid Locomotion Reflected: Energetics, Muscles, and Generalized Bipeds. In: Ishida, H., Tuttle, R., Pickford, M., Ogihara, N., Nakatsukasa, M. (eds) Human Origins and Environmental Backgrounds. Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects. Springer, Boston, MA . https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-29798-7_17
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