#bipedalism

#bipedalism

The ilium is the big, flared part of the pelvis that anchors the powerful gluteus maximus muscles that humans use to stay upright. Differences in the illum between humans and other apes are a defining evolutionary difference. "The most important impact of the paper is that it shows us how changes to the formation of the ilium contributed to bipedal gait in humans," said Prof Nowlan, who began this research after meeting Dr Terence Capellini, a Harvard University anthropologist, at a scientific meeting.

Now, researchers have mapped the key structural changes in the pelvis that enabled early humans to first walk on two legs and accommodate giving birth to a big-brained baby. The study, published in Nature on 27 August, compared the embryonic development of the pelvis between humans and other mammals. They found two key evolutionary steps during embryonic development - related to the growth of cartilage and bone in the pelvis - which put humans on a separate evolutionary path from other apes.