why DID we evolve into humans?

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why did we need to evolve into humans (if you believe that we did). what do apes NOT have that they needed to become humans - and if it is they needed ability to talk - why did they just not have voice boxes as they are now - if it is because they wanted to walk upright - why?!

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Thought I'd pick up on this. As others have pointed out, there is no "intent" driving evolution, it is merely random accident, more or less.Humans are a "plains ape". There are apes that live in forests and jungles etc; we just happened to come from a line specialised for savannahs, probably (which coincides nicely with the Out Of Africa hypothesis). It was a good and useful developement; putting the sight organs as high as possible extends the range of vision and alertness. Vertical walking is quite efficient over long distances, and quite useful over short distances becuase we can shift our balance point. [ A human can beat a horse over 100 meters, if its broken into two 50m stretches; the horse loses time taking the corner]Communication is just plain Useful among any socially structire animal. Gelada baboons exchnage a hell of a lot of vocalisation, and show some other interesting features; becuase they spend a lot of time parked on their butts pulling up grass, sexual displays appear to have moved to the chest, in a manner analogous especially with human females.The cetaceans, of course, are famous for large volumes of communications. I heard some orcas in a fjord in Norway last year by hydrophone - the sheer volume of data they are exchanging is absolutely staggering, there is a non-stop layer of continual chatter.Communication is evolutionarily beneficial; it is independantly "invented" by many organisms. Our upright stance is odd, but we can understand the evolutionary benefits. And we know that there were benefits, becuase humans come 3rd on the European carnivore guild, after cave bears and lions (in that order) and before wolves. Thats not bad going considering we have so few natural weapons.

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If you cut the tails off of rats, it doesn't matter how many rats you do it to, for how long - none of their offspring are born without tails.

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Do we know that for sure? Lets do it for a thousand years and then see.

Fair point.Although, wheat is a grass that has been substantially modified by its coexistance with humanity. Now, I'm not suggesting that Lamarckism is right, I guess the case can be made that the human intervention merely creates a probabalistic space into which evolution can design, as it were.This message has been edited by contracycle, 08-12-2004 08:39 AM

This "muscle memory" is also a major factor in martial arts; well, its present in all physical activities but martial artists are conscious of it. Dancers are too to a lesser extent. I'm wary of thinking this is a high-level intellectual function, though, becuase I'd expect it to be part of ther learning process of nearly all animals.