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Our ancestors developed the ability to run long distances to hunt prey, evolving a body suitable for prolonged pursuit.
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Humans outperformed faster animals due to sweating and lack of fur, which allowed them to keep their body temperature low.
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Despite the historical and biological evidence, however, the scientific community is divided on the hypothesis that hunting fostered the evolution of human resilience.
Thereare those who run long distances to test themselves, challenge themselves, have fun.
And then there are those who, in the past, ran long distances to chase animals and thus obtain food.
It was our ancestors who started running long distances, handing down to us this ability, or predisposition as it were.
Our ancestors were at first beaten by animals such as cheetahs or antelopes, which were much faster than the human being who, however, was able to catch up and shorten, even cancel, the distance gap, thus succeeding in catching prey.
The activity of hunting allowed the human being’s body to develop and evolve in such a way as to facilitate it in the pursuit of prey.
The scientific community is divided between supporters of this theory and skeptics, who claim there is not enough evidence to support this thesis.
For example, there are those who argue that in the pursuit, running consumes much more energy than simply walking behind prey.
However, while it is true that running requires more energy expenditure, it is also true that the effort is amply rewarded by the amount of time saved.
How do we do it
There is no doubt that some animals are clearly faster than humans over short distances, a speed they cannot, however, maintain when the distance strides.
Their conformation does not allow them to lower their internal temperature.
They are like a Ferrari without a radiator.
For us humans, the problem does not arise because thanks to sweating we can perfectly manage the rise in temperature during physical activity without having to stop.
The absence of fur covering our skin is also a factor that helps us keep our body temperature lower than other primates, giving us a considerable advantage. Dulcis in fundo according to biologists, humans would have skeletal muscles made up mostly of fatigue-resistant fibers.
Another big help in being able to run long distances.
Evidence upon evidence
Endurance running is still a topic of research by the scientific community.
Some researchers have collected and digitized evidence dating back to the 15th century from all parts of the world.
For example, in 1850 Native Americans wrote about their elk-hunting ancestors, pointing out that it was the young people who took up that demanding activity, lamenting the low willpower of modern youth.
Another text mentions the Coahuiltecan people who chased deer and elk in what is now California.
Interest in studying and researching these stories waned as the first weapons were built, overshadowing the activity of hunting, which is catalogued as something belonging to the past even though for some peoples it is still the main source of livelihood.
Such is the case of the San people in Botswana, who chase antelopes to exhaustion.
Despite numerous studies there continue to be misgivings about the theory of the development of human resilience through the activity of hunting by some insiders, who dispute the new evidence and research by pointing out that the issue on which the theory is based would be mentioned in only two percent of the texts and evidence analyzed by the researchers.
(Via phys.org)