Clothing (evolution)

[sandy whitelinger]

Why do you suppose man is the only species that evolved to wear clothing?

[ChristineES]

I thought it was because humans had no fur on their bodies.

[Francine]

Originally Posted by sandy whitelinger

Why do you suppose man is the only species that evolved to wear clothing?

Because we evolved on the African savannah, where it was hot, and we chased animals for a living. When the animals keeled over from the heat trying to get away from us, we trotted up to them, finished them off, and dragged them back to the clan to eat.

[Somkid]

Our ancestors (I'm talking about cave people so you can stop reading now if you don't believe in evolution) wore clothing for protection from injury and weather conditions. Being able to make clothing and keep warm is what got us through the ice age. Just think about how many times you would smash your sack if you didn't have any pants on OUCH!!! How many times have you stubbed your toe when you didn't have shoes on?

[Willamena]

Originally Posted by sandy whitelinger

Why do you suppose man is the only species that evolved to wear clothing?

Warmth.

[sandy whitelinger]

Originally Posted by Francine

Because we evolved on the African savannah, where it was hot, and we chased animals for a living. When the animals keeled over from the heat trying to get away from us, we trotted up to them, finished them off, and dragged them back to the clan to eat.

So no other species that evolved on the African savannah wear clothes. why is that?

[sandy whitelinger]

Originally Posted by Willamena

Warmth.

no other species needs to keep warm?

[sandy whitelinger]

Originally Posted by Somkid

Our ancestors (I'm talking about cave people so you can stop reading now if you don't believe in evolution) wore clothing for protection from injury and weather conditions. Being able to make clothing and keep warm is what got us through the ice age. Just think about how many times you would smash your sack if you didn't have any pants on OUCH!!! How many times have you stubbed your toe when you didn't have shoes on?

Moving south would have been an easier evolutionary vehicle.

[Francine]

Originally Posted by sandy whitelinger

So no other species that evolved on the African savannah wear clothes. why is that?

Because no other species discovered that you can run down quicker animals by picking one and chasing it, ignoring all others, until it drops from heat exhaustion. Many generations of this activity led to the development of the human butt (which is larger than all other primates) and other features which lend to long-distance running, such as hairlessness and sweat glands over the entire body. Then when the hairless ape known as man migrated to Europe, he needed to wear the furs from the animals he killed.

[Seyorni]

Primates always been a very decorative taxonomic order. Flamboyant patterns, coifs, colors, swellings and hypertrophic structures are de rigeur among monkeys and apes.

Hominids found they could distinguish themselves and stand out even more by adopting individual decoration -- paints, jewelery, body modification, feathers and other articles of adornment. Some of these "garments" no doubt proved to be more than just cosmetically functional.

When hominids migrated East then North out of Africa they encountered climates that necessitated more insulation than these naked apes possessed naturally. Fortuitously, they were culturally pre-engineered to cope with the new challenge, and the fashion industry was born....