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Time and Energy: The Ecological Context for the Evolution of Bipedalism

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Primate Locomotion

Abstract

This paper is concerned with explanations for the evolution of bipedalism. Its general point is a very simple one—that the occurrence of bipedalism is context specific. The pattern of hominid evolution, as much as that of any other lineage, reflects the costs and benefits of the way an animal is structured and behaves, and this ratio is entirely dependent upon when and where it is occurring. Historically the context for bipedalism has been the general characteristics of the environment—savanna grasslands, open environments, patchy woodland versus forest. This remains important, but here we shall add a new consideration, that of time budgets, which provides a more specific ecological context for considering the energetics of bipedalism.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Human Evolutionary Biology Research Group, Department of Biological Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3DZ, England

    Robert A. Foley & Sarah Elton

Authors
  1. Robert A. Foley
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  2. Sarah Elton
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. California State University, Sacramento, Sacramento, California, USA

    Elizabeth Strasser

  2. State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York, USA

    John G. Fleagle

  3. National Zoological Park, Washington, D.C, USA

    Alfred L. Rosenberger

  4. University of California, Davis, Davis, California, USA

    Henry M. McHenry

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© 1998 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Foley, R.A., Elton, S. (1998). Time and Energy: The Ecological Context for the Evolution of Bipedalism. In: Strasser, E., Fleagle, J.G., Rosenberger, A.L., McHenry, H.M. (eds) Primate Locomotion. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0092-0_21

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0092-0_21

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4899-0094-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-0092-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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