The development and importance of bipedalism in early hominids for human evolution. It is clear that bipedalism is important and plays an important role in human evolution; if it were not of such importance, modern humans (Homo sapiens sapiens) would not be bipedal. There are many vital stages of human evolution that allow humans to successfully adapt to their environments and, by extension, survive; one of these vital evolutionary steps is bipedalism. What is bipedalism? This is the ability to move upright on two legs instead of on all fours. Bipedalism played a very important role in the development of early hominids during evolution. According to Mr. Friedman, “the development of bipedalism was the first significant adaptation that distinguished hominids from other apes.” This quote shows that bipedalism was truly a revolutionary development and had a great influence on human evolution. Dictonary.com explains a hominid as "any of the modern or extinct bipedal primates, including all species of the genus Homo and Australopithecus." The first bipedal hominid would have been Australopithecus anamensis. The Australopithecus anamensis tibia fossils that were found showed strong bipedalism, the tibia found had a right angle between the shaft and the proximal surface and dates back to 4.2 to 3.9 million years ago. Australopithecus aferensis is another species that exhibits bipedalism; they lived approximately 4 to 2.8 million years ago and evolved from Australopithecus anamensis. Lucy, which happens to be one of the most well-known fossils, is a member of the species Australopithecus aferensis. There is substantial information on the early bipedalism found in this species. According to elucy.org 'Australopithecus afere...... middle of paper ......appears larger than other species and probably intimidates them. Another benefit that bipedalism would have provided was thermoregulation (the ability to maintain body temperature in a certain environment), according to elucy.com "a higher upright posture in the hot environment of the savannah allowed more heat to escape." escape from the sides of the body as many more surfaces are exposed to the cooling wind and air. All the developments in bipedalism and the advantages it brought allowed hominids to evolve into Homo sapiens sapiens are the same today. Without bipedalism, we wouldn't be able to walk upright, use our hands that we use for a lot of things, or keep our body at the right temperature in harsh conditions. Bipedalism played an important role in the development of human evolution and, by extension, gave us a greater chance of survival..