Editing Homininae (section)

===Evolution of bipedalism===
{{more citations needed|section|date=April 2022}}
{{see also|Human skeletal changes due to bipedalism}}
Recent studies of ''[[Ardipithecus ramidus]]'' (4.4 million years old) and ''[[Orrorin tugenensis]]'' (6 million years old) suggest some degree of bipedalism. ''[[Australopithecus]]'' and early ''[[Paranthropus]]'' may have been [[bipedal]]. Very early hominins such as ''[[Ardipithecus ramidus]]'' may have possessed an arboreal type of bipedalism.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Kivell TL, Schmitt D | title = Independent evolution of knuckle-walking in African apes shows that humans did not evolve from a knuckle-walking ancestor | journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America | volume = 106 | issue = 34 | pages = 14241–6 | date = August 2009 | pmid = 19667206 | pmc = 2732797 | doi = 10.1073/pnas.0901280106 | bibcode = 2009PNAS..10614241K | doi-access = free }}</ref>

The evolution of [[bipedalism]] encouraged multiple changes among hominins especially when it came to [[bipedalism]] in humans as they were now able to do many other things as they began to walk with their feet. These changes included the ability to now use their hands to create tools or carry things with their hands, the ability to travel longer distances at a faster speed, and the ability to hunt for food. According to researchers, humans were able to be bipedalists due to Darwin's Principle of [[natural selection]]. Darwin himself believed that larger brains in humans made an upright gait necessary, but had no hypothesis for how the mechanism evolved.

The first major theory attempting to directly explanation the origins of [[bipedalism]] was the [[Savannah hypothesis]] (Dart 1925.) This theory hypothesized that hominins became bipedalists due to the environment of the Savanna such as the tall grass and dry climate. This was later proven to be incorrect due to fossil records that showed that hominins were still climbing trees during this era.

Anthropologist [[Owen Lovejoy (anthropologist)|Owen Lovejoy]] has suggested that [[bipedalism]] was a result of [[sexual dimorphism]] in efforts to help with the collecting of food. In his Male Provisioning Hypothesis introduced in 1981, lowered birth rates in early hominids increased pressure on males to provide for females and offspring. While females groomed and cared for their children with the family group, males ranged to seek food and returned bipadally with full arms. Males who could better provide for females in this model were more likely to mate and produce offspring.<ref>{{cite web|website=NOVA|title=Origins of Bipedalism|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/allfours/bipe-nf.html|access-date=2023-06-25}}</ref>

Anthropologist Yohannes Haile-Selassie, an expert on ''[[Australopithecus anamensis]]'', discusses the evidence that Australopithecus were one of the first hominins to evolve into obligate bipedalists. The remains of this subfamily are very important in the field of research as it presents possible information regarding how these primates adapted from tree life to terrestrial life. This was a huge adaptation as it encouraged many evolutionary changes within hominins including the ability to use their hand to make tools and gather food, as well as a larger brain development due to their change in diet.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Haile-Selassie |first=Yohannes |date=2021-12-01 |title=From Trees to the Ground: The Significance of Australopithecus anamensis in Human Evolution |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/716743 |journal=Journal of Anthropological Research |volume=77 |issue=4 |pages=457–482 |doi=10.1086/716743 |s2cid=240262976 |issn=0091-7710}}</ref>