1. Evidence suggests that bipedalism arose during a period of hominin history in which there was significant environmental change in eastern Africa.
Discuss the potential adaptive advantage of bipedalism during the late Miocene period (approx 5-4 MYA) in eastern Africa that may have contributed to the development of bipedalism.
2. Humans have evolved to have a very large brain in relation to body mass. This brings with it a high metabolic cost with humans expending about 20% of their metabolic intake on the brain in comparison to 10% in most other primates.
Discuss the relationship between the adaptive cost (metabolic and reproductive) of brain expansion and the adaptive advantage of the large brain.