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Early Evolution of the Foot

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Book cover The Human Foot

Abstract

The history of life can be best understood using the analogy of a tree. All living things, be they animals, plants, fungi, bacteria, or viruses are on the outside of the tree, .but they are all descended from a common ancestor at its base. The evolutionary history of all these living forms is represented by the branches within the tree. Modern humans are at the end of a relatively short twig. There is reliable genetic evidence to suggest that our nearest neighbor on the Tree of Life is the chimpanzee, with another African ape, the gorilla, being the next closest neighbour. The combined chimp/human twig is part of a small higher primate branch, which is part of a larger primate branch, which is just a small component of the bough of the Tree of Life that includes all animals (Figure 1.1).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK

    Leslie Klenerman MBBCh, ChM, FRCS (Emeritus Professor of Orthopaedic and Accident Surgery)

  2. Center for the Advance Study of Hominid Paleobiology, Department of Anthropology, George Washington University, Washington DC, USA

    Bernard Wood MBBS, PhD, DSc

Authors
  1. Leslie Klenerman MBBCh, ChM, FRCS
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  2. Bernard Wood MBBS, PhD, DSc
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Klenerman, L., Wood, B. (2006). Early Evolution of the Foot. In: The Human Foot. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-84628-032-X_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-84628-032-X_1

  • Publisher Name: Springer, London

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  • Online ISBN: 978-1-84628-032-0

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