Lecture Week 7
Bipedalism

Piltdown
	Found English gravel quarry associated w/ extinct animals
	1911 found, 1912 published- Charles Dawson   Eoanthropus dawsoni
	Large brain, large ape-like jaw w/ human-like wear pattern on teeth
	Hailed by British scientists as "missing link"
	Other fossils found elsewhere were very different; Neanderthal, Erectus, later on 		  	     Australopithecines
	Became an embarrassing anomaly
	1950 tests done proved fraud;
]		human skull, orangutan jaw w/ filed teeth, of recent origin
		Placed in gravel pit with real fossils from N. Africa; none found in situ
	Why accepted?
		Fit hypothesis- large brain made us human, came first
		Was British fossil- dearer to British scientists than other finds
	But scientific method in end triumphed; truth came out by testing
Bipedalism
	Very inefficient form of locomotion; slow, precarious, & clumsy
	Rare in animal kingdom; birds whose forearms became wings, dinosaurs & 	 	  	     kangaroos who have a tail for balance are exceptions
	Must have some over-riding utility
	Possible origins- What's bipedalism good for?
		Carry things
		See over grass
		Tool-use
		Throwing
		Long-distance movement
		Heat stress
		Food gathering
	Needs re-organization of skeleton to turn a quadruped into a biped
	Skeletal characteristics of bipedalism; all contribute to upright posture & 	 	 	    locomotion
		Foramen magnum placed underneath of skull
		Spinal column has S-curve
		Wide, bowl-like pelvis to carry trunk & for balance
		Angled knee joint to place feet under center of gravity
		In-line big toe and arched foot to provide shock absorbers