Endurance in Homo Sapiens: An Evolutionary and Modern View
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58445/rars.3360Keywords:
Endurance, Homo Sapiens, Psychology, Physiology, EvolutionAbstract
The endurance of Homo Sapiens has been a subject of discussion and curiosity, both from the perspectives of the past and the present. Multifaceted information is needed to further investigate the origins and future implications of this idiosyncratic ability, from anatomy to psychology. This literature review presents five major factors impacting the endurance of H. Sapiens: locomotion(bipedalism), muscle mechanics, energy expenditure, thermoregulation, and psychological perseverance. In addition, several comparisons between primates and H. Sapiens are presented to provide an evolutionary perspective: exploration of body composition, sense of self, and skeletal & muscular anatomy are presented to illustrate the difference. Generally, H. Sapiens’ endurance abilities seemed to derive from interconnection between advantageous anatomy and psychology – the greater depots of energy-storing fat tissues enables sustained efforts of repetitive locomotion, and heat produced from the expenditure of energy is regulated by temperature regulation enhanced by hairlessness; the unique psychological consciousness and diverse personalities tolerate extreme physical stress. These findings could suggest that not only H. Sapiens’ anatomical and psychological characteristics are fit for endurance, but are helpful to predict the future of endurance abilities in the world of recreational and competitive running.
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