BIPEDALISM MODEL EVALUATOR		Home
Evaluative Framework
4 "Epistemological"
4.1 Extended Expalanatory Power	This evaluation assesses if the model goes further than just attempting to explain hominin bipedal origins. Ideally, the model should also parsimoniously explain other aspects of human evolution too. Models grouped inder the umbrella of "waterside hypotheses of human evolution" (aka "the aquatic ape theory") were judged best here because, despite their controversy they do, at least in theory, explain a whole set of human unique charcteristics, not just bipedalism. Lovejoy's "Provisioning hypothesis" was also rated highly here.
Models ranked by this criterion	Code Name EEE s4.1.4 River Apes / Habitat Compulsion 9 s4.1.1 Coastal foraging / Habitat Compulsion 9 s1.2.4 Male Provisioning / Forelimb pre-emption (carrying) 9 s4.1.2 Aquarboreal Model / Habitat Compulsion 9 s6.1.1 Thermoregulatory Hypothesis / Thermoregulation 7 s3.4.2 Specific Hunting / Feeding 7 s5.5.1 Endurance Running / Locomotor efficiency 7 s9.1.1 Multi-factorial / Combination 7 s1.3.1 Female driven infant carrying / Forelimb pre-emption (carrying) 7 s3.1.1 Seed Eating / Feeding 7 s2.1.1 Nuptial Gifts / Behaviour 6 s1.2.3 Migration-carrying hypotheses / Forelimb pre-emption (carrying) 6 s1.2.2 Carrying and scavenging / Forelimb pre-emption (carrying) 6 s1.1.1 General freeing of the hands / Forelimb pre-emption (carrying) 6 s1.5.1 Tool carriage / Forelimb pre-emption (carrying) 6 s4.3.1 Variability Selection Hypothesis / Habitat Compulsion 6 s4.1.3 Amphibische Genalistheorie / Habitat Compulsion 5 s3.4.3 General scavenging/hunting / Feeding 5 s3.2.1 Postural feeding hypothesis / Feeding 5 s5.1.1 Slow, long-distance walking / Locomotor efficiency 5 s3.1.3 Other gathering / Feeding 5 s1.5.2 Weapon wielding / Forelimb pre-emption (carrying) 5 s4.1.5 Wetland USO foraging / Habitat Compulsion 5 s3.4.1 Stalking / Feeding 4 s5.3.1 Efficiency of moving from tree to tree / Locomotor efficiency 4 s1.2.1 Carrying food back to gallery forest bases. / Forelimb pre-emption (carrying) 4 s3.1.2 Terrestrial squat feeding on the forest floor / Feeding 4 s2.3.1 Intra-specific threat displays / Behaviour 4 s2.4.1 Sentinel behaviour / Behaviour 4 s2.2.1 Threat displays directed at other species / Behaviour 4 s1.4.1 Weapon Throwing / Forelimb pre-emption (carrying) 4 s2.5.1 Phallic Display directed at females / Behaviour 4 s5.4.1 Locomotor de-coupling / Locomotor efficiency 3 s2.6.1 Copied Gimmick Idea / Behaviour 3 s7.1.1 Iodine deficiency / Dietary Factors 3 s3.3.1 Arboreal predation / Feeding 2 s4.4.2 Arboreal "upwardly mobile" hypothesis / Habitat Compulsion 0 s4.4.3 Orang-utan-like hand assisted bipedalism / Habitat Compulsion 0 s8.1.1 Evo Devo mutation / Random Genetic Factors 0 s4.4.1 Descent from arboreal Hylobatian locomotion / Habitat Compulsion 0 s5.2.1 Biomechanical inevitability / Locomotor efficiency 0 s4.2.1 Walking on Snow or mud / Habitat Compulsion 0