Vanetsi Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 Human quadrupeds discovered in Turkey Tue Mar 7, 7:56 AM ET The discovery of a Turkish family that walks on all fours could aid research into the evolution of humans. Researchers believe the five brothers and sisters, who can walk naturally only on all fours, may provide new information on how humans evolved from four-legged hominids to walk upright. Nicholas Humphrey, evolutionary psychologist at the London School of Economics, told The Times the discovery opened "an extraordinary window on our past". "I do not think they were designed to be quadrupeds by their genes, but their unique genetic make-up allowed them to be," he said. "It has produced an extraordinary window on our past. It is physically possible, which noone would have guessed from the [modern] human skeleton." The siblings, the subject of a new BBC documentary to be aired on March 17, suffer from a genetic abnormality that may prevent them from walking upright. Instead, they use their palms like heels with their fingers sticking up from the ground. The BBC said the documentary would contribute to fierce scientific debate and raised profound questions about what it is to be human. Humphrey, who has contributed to the documentary, believes the style of walking may be a throwback to a form of behaviour abandoned by humans more than three million years ago. Two sisters and one son have only ever walked on two hands and two feet, while another daughter and son occasionally walk on two feet. All five are mentally retarded and have problems with language as a result of a form of underdevelopment of the brain known as cerebellar ataxia. However Humphrey told the Times their behaviour may be partly the result of their parents tolerating the behaviour in childhood. They are aged between 18 and 34 and live in southern Turkey, athough the makers of the documentary have not disclosed their exact location. "They walk like animals and that's very disturbing at first. But we were also very moved by this family's tremendous warmth and humanity," Jemima Harrison of Passionate Productions told the Times. www.yahoo.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sip Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 (edited) One couldn't make up a better story even if one tried!!!! PS: It'll be rather entertaining to watch all the creationists dismiss this too as just "will of God". Edited March 7, 2006 by Sip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maral Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zartonk Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 (edited) Man, what a story... Edited March 7, 2006 by Zartonk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gamavor Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 The discovery of a Turkish family that walks on all fours could aid research into the evolution of humans. no further questions.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 So fitting that these people live in Turkey as if they don't have enough four legged ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arpa Posted March 8, 2006 Report Share Posted March 8, 2006 So, finally they are rediscovering their true ancestry. Calling them "chorqotani" all these years has finally hit the target. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skhara Posted March 10, 2006 Report Share Posted March 10, 2006 (edited) I just had to come back and laugh at this some more. http://www.worldlandtrust.org/images/photos/gorillas.jpg Edited March 10, 2006 by skhara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DominO123 Posted March 10, 2006 Report Share Posted March 10, 2006 (edited) This is a scientific fraud, it is total BS, those kids are retarded, I have seen with my own eyes trisomic featuring traits kid that will walk quadrupedic at age 7 or 8. This is simply due to the parents lazzyness to try showing those retarded kids how to walk on two legs and as they ages their colums will be drformed which is pretty much known. who the hell is this psychologist? Another Rushton or what? What sort of falacy is this, human legs anatomy has evolved in the past 2 million years with the continual reshape of humans colums that are specific fields of studies in evolutionary biology only dedicated on that and also strategy K parental involvement. Edited March 10, 2006 by QueBeceR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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