Walking

Walking is a mode of locomotion, in which there is no flight phase as opposed to running. The body thus has in each phase of the movement cycle of contact with the floor on legs and feet. During bipedal walking there instead of the flight phase a double support phase, which is about 20 percent of the total cycle takes time in humans. An average person goes at a speed of 1.4 m / s (5 km / h).

Gaits

After the movement The following are the gaits

• Bipedalism, bipeder transition ( "Go " in the true sense of human locomotion, in some other animals )
• Amble of the quadrupeds ( Quadropoden )
• Cloister of the quadruped

Bipedalism

Technology

From an initial level beidfüßigen one foot is lifted and placed by one step ahead of the others. The actual change in position is done basically by a " who is prevented from falling " on the ground at times non-contacting side.

Walking is one of the automatisms. It is a behavior that is triggered automatically by the central nervous system ( without external stimulus effect ). Other examples of such automatisms are the fins of fish movement or flapping its wings in birds.

The upright gait in humans

→ Main article: hominisation How did humans to the emergence of the mandatory walking upright, is not finally resolved until today. It is clear only that the ancestors of humans have 5 million years ago went over to the upright. Furthermore, the earliest evidence for bipedal Hominini from soil layers that today's gallery forests were similar in their creation time, so come from a habitat in which woodland, wet grasslands and lakeside alternated come. From this it is deduced that the bipedalism has been developed as an adaptation to certain ways of moving on the trees.

The change from quadrupeder locomotion bipedalism was accompanied by numerous changes in the human skeleton. The foot is in people - unlike even the 4.4 million year old fossil " Ardi ," a Ardipithecus - no gripping tool; " Ardi ", however, was able to abduct the big toe and so use to touch. Infants do not have but a grasp reflex in both the palms and on the soles of the feet, but that disappears with time. The basin of the people is broadened and is used in the upright posture as a " bowl " for the intestines. The spine is double S- shaped ( sigmoid ) swinging and carries back and head, the occipital foramen is located below the skull and not (as in quadrupeds ) relatively far behind the skull.

However, the upright gait also leads to stress on the lower part of the body. Thus, the person tends to age:

• Abdomen fractures,
• Herniated discs
• Lowering and flat feet,
• Varicose veins due to the Blutanstauung in the legs,
• Hip joint arthrosis.

In relating to the emancipation of man texts of philosophy of culture is " walking upright " has become a metaphor for the uniqueness of human beings, to look himself sovereign and to form his judgment.

Upright gait in chimpanzees and gorillas

Chimpanzees and gorillas can move on the ground at times on two legs forward. Their so-called knuckle-walking was, until the discovery of the fossil " Ardi " as a feature, which was also attributed to the early Hominini. However, the analysis of his hand bones showed no evidence of knuckle-walking, it was concluded that the knuckle-walking is a relatively late special matching of the two great apes.