Elastic energy storage in the shoulder and the evolution of high-speed throwing in Homo.

ABSTRACT: Some primates, including chimpanzees, throw objects occasionally, but only humans regularly throw projectiles with high speed and accuracy. Darwin noted that the unique throwing abilities of humans, which were made possible when bipedalism emancipated the arms, enabled foragers to hunt effectively using projectiles. However, there has been little consideration of the evolution of throwing in the years since Darwin made his observations, in part because of a lack of evidence of when, how and why hominins evolved the ability to generate high-speed throws. Here we use experimental studies of humans throwing projectiles to show that our throwing capabilities largely result from several derived anatomical features that enable elastic energy storage and release at the shoulder. These features fi

SUBMITTER: Roach NT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3785139 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature