A controversial new theory claims that many feature of the human face are the resultant of evolved defensive measures against clenched fist fight .
This is not the first time that clenched fist - scrap has been implicated in the development of our physiologies . Back in 2012,scientists made the title that fists change the course of action of human evolution , arguing that “ It is … our most important anatomic arm , used to jeopardize , beat and sometimes kill to resolve conflict . ” The newspaper earned its fair portion of literary criticism , not only because the evidence was circumstantial , but because of its claim that violence underpinned much of human phylogeny — a perspective many now reckon to be outdated , simplistic , and overly male person - oriented ( for example , some facial features could be the result of intimate selection ) . The new possibility about human faces , which has been published in Biological Reviews , threatens to do the same .
Did clenched fist fight alteration the course of human evolution ?
The Protective Buttressing Hypothesis
According to David Carrier and Michael Morgan , our remote human ancestors exhibited a remarkable telephone number of features that can only be described as protective buttress . Indeed , when hominids engage in hand - to - manus combat , the expression is typically the master target . The bone in our human face , say the scientists , suffer the mellow rates of fault — but they ’re also part of the skull that have parade the majuscule increase in robusticity during the course of our evolution as hominid .
Indeed , Carrier and Morgan came to this finish after taking a look at the skull of australopiths . Over time , these hominids developed more and more stronger brow and nasal ridges , nerve bones , and jaws . More technically , and in the Son of the researchers :
Specifically , the drift towards a more orthognathic face ; the bunodont physique and expansion of the postcanine teeth ; the increased robusticity of the orbit ; the increased robusticity of the masticatory system , including the mandibular corpus and condyle , arcus zygomaticus , and anterior pillars of the upper jaw ; and the enlarged jaw adductor musculature are traits that may correspond protective buttressing of the face .
To bolster their typesetter’s case , the researcher also used data point from mod humans ; they analyzed several studies from infirmary emergency wards to see how clenched fist - combat make facial injuries .
Prior to this study , anthropologists believed that these particular facial characteristic were an adaption to a tough dieting , one that include crank , seeds , and smoke . This unexampled theory would seem to be a bit more plausible ( the dieting hypothesis does n’t excuse sexual dimorphism , for instance ) . But like the early fist hypothesis , more evidence will call for to be present to bolster such a title .
The researchers also say this is a manly phenomenon — one that ’s resulted in sound out differences in facial characteristics between the sexes . These reinforcements , say the researchers , develop as male press over female and resource . It also may assist to explain why modern world can accurately evaluate another man ’s strength and crusade ability from facial shape and vocal quality .
Related : development is guide by aggressive competition between female person
Evolution is steered by belligerent competition between females
Interestingly , the human boldness is less robust than those of australopiths . The scientists speculate that there ’s been a minify need over time for these defensive measures as our blazonry and upper physical structure have gotten progressively faint .
register the entire study at Biological Reviews : “ Protective buttressing of the hominin side . ”
anthropologyEvolutionScience
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