There's lots to quibble with in that paper, to be honest -- the first being that hominids never had that type of locomotion before (flat palm on the ground.) Arguments have been made about when the transition took place from knucklewalking to a bipedal gait which seems to have taken place some 9 million years ago or so (Dryopithecus.) Knucklewalkers also have a different shape than human beings -- this includes a rigid spine and a different distribution of the muscle energy.

These are simply humans with congitive and physical birth defects, who preferentially walk quadrupedally with flat palms. They are nothing like a more primitive ancestor. From the answers they give on the IQ test, I would wonder if they were perhaps autistic.

I would also have to quibble with the conclusions posted by the photos ... that they sit like chimpanzees. Chimps are perfectly capable of sitting up like I do and of holding their heads in the same position. They do stand with a flexed forward head because their spines don't have the double curve in them that ours do.

Further, I don't particularly like the implication that earlier hominids are somehow mentally retarded compared to modern man -- but that's just me. They certainly were capable of passing along elements of culture such as spearmaking and rock shaping and fire building, which implies more sophisitcation and intelligence than these individuals have.

I hope the paper gets tossed in front of a pack of paleontologists... my quibbles are those of a reader only, but the paleontologists will have at it tooth and nail.



(there's an interesting discussion of knucklewalking in hominids over here: [forum.lowcarber.org] )