How Running Made Us Human

Brandeis Stories

How Running Made Us Human

Being able to jog steadily over long distances gave early humans a distinct advantage, says bioarcheologist Javier Urcid.

By David Levin
August 7, 2024 • General

With the 2024 Olympics in full swing, US has medaled in six different running events, from the speedy 100 meter dash to the endurance-based 10,000 meter race. While the athletes that took the podium in those events are among the best in the world, their discipline-running-couldn't be more visceral and fundamental, said Javier Urcid, bioarcheologist and Professor of Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies. In fact, our ability to run is a big part of what made us human in the first place.

One of the revolutionary adaptations of early humans like Homo ergaster, which lived 1.5 million years ago, was not just the ability to walk on two feet. Other species have also developed bipedalism, from kangaroos to pigeons, Urcid said. A major factor that let humans thrive and ultimately become Homo sapiens, however, was their talent for running steadily over long distances.

While it's not the flashiest evolutionary adaptation, long-distance running does stand out in the animal world. Some of the fastest animals on the planet, like antelopes and cheetahs, can only run for short distances before they need to stop and catch their breath. By running steadily after them, however, early humans could catch up to their prey while it tried to rest, then send the animal sprinting off again before it fully caught its breath. By repeating this process over and over-a technique called "persistence hunting"-hominids could eventually exhaust their prey, making it easier to catch and dispatch it.

As a result of persistence hunting, humans could dramatically increase their intake of protein, a critical element in growing more complex and efficient brains, Urcid said. Running wasn't the only factor in our evolution, of course-In addition to developing endurance, our ancestors also learned to harness fire and cook food, which let them squeeze more nutrients out of a single meal and to spend less time eating. At the same time changes in their ability to regulate body temperature helped them run long distances even more efficiently.

"Over thousands of years, hair on the body became finer and differentially distributed, letting sweat glands release internal heat," said Urcid, a change that would have helped hominids stay cool while distance running. Their persistence hunting strategy may have helped to transform social structures as well, he added. Hunting as a team and fending off predators, after all, required designated roles for different participants: "You needed have people hunting, people foraging, people watching out on the horizon for immediate threats. It became more of a communal effort."

In other words, as those early fleet-footed hominids continued to adapt and grow, they sowed the seeds for humankind as we know it today. So while you're watching Olympic athletes run at the peak of their ability, think back to those ancient ancestors more than a million years in the past. They probably wouldn't be winning any medals today-but evolutionarily speaking, their ability to steadily plod along ultimately helped to win the race.