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Posted by duddy   February 2, 2016   14013 views

What sets Homo sapiens apart from other animals? Among other things, our chins do. That piece of bone sticking out from your jaw is somewhat of a mystery - one that's inspired a diversity of wild theories to explain its purpose, according to a paper published this month in Evolutionary Anthropology.

The author of the paper dismisses a number of these explanations, such as the possibility that the chin serves as a sexual signal (such traits usually only appear in one sex - like the mane of a male lion). Another proposal is that the chin acts to protect your throat - an idea the paper's author also shoots down, because for this to be a substantial advantage, humans would have to be constantly punching each other in the face.

So the mystery remains, why did chins beat no-chins. It could be as uninteresting as chins were more aesthetically pleasing (and hence, more likely to attract a breeding partner). While evolutionary success often correlates with some attribute that better enables the organism to survive in its environment, the real decisive factor is reproductive success.

anatomy chin face head question
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2 Comments | Write Comment
1
Maybe because it is esthetically pleasing to the eye?
Posted on Feb 4, 2016 by bio_man
2
interesting
Posted on Feb 15, 2016 by lizzy1
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