5 remarkable adaptations that allowed humans to conquer the world

Neanderthal family
Reuters/Nikola Solic

Humans are an incredible bunch.

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We're one of the few species to cover every corner of the globe, and none have shaped their environment as much as we have. Not bad for some hairless apes.

But unlike the old notion that it was only our smarts that allowed us overcome our lack of claws and fangs and dominate our environment, we've employed an interesting combination of skills and abilities to get where we are today.

Here are some of the amazing evolutionary adaptations that our species used to conquer the globe.

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Although recreational running can feel like a chore, our species is built for insane endurance. Plenty of land animals are faster in short distances, but nothing can move at a slow, easy run for longer than humans.

Woman jogging
Wikimedia Commons

Source: Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology

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This allowed prehistoric humans to excel at hunting. We'd jog after large prey under the midday sun until they died from exhaustion.

jogger field
Flickr / Don DeBold

Source: Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology

Once our weapons got better and we learned to carry water in containers, our already impressive endurance only improved, readying humans to spread across the globe.

A woman is seen jogging at Cunningham Park in the borough of Queens in New York in this file photo taken on September 16, 2014.  REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
A woman is seen jogging at Cunningham Park in the borough of Queens in New York Thomson Reuters

Source: Harvard Gazette

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2) Sweating.

michael jordan sweating on chicago bulls
Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Our ability to regulate body temperature further helped our crazy endurance abilities. Humans can really take the heat.

Soccer Team Jogging
Pierre-Yves Beaudouin/Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)
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Many animals sweat, but few use it for evaporative cooling, like humans (and horses) do. We're also able to breath through our mouths when we run, taking in more oxygen as well as further dissipating heat.

Running Runners California Muscular Man Jogging Barefoot Sneakers
Chris Hunkeler / Flickr

Source: PLOS One, Harvard Gazette

Other animals dump heat by panting, which is impossible to do in a gallop. This meant hunters could chase animals at their slowest galloping speed until they overheated

Group of Deer
Shutterstock

Source: Harvard Gazette

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Another huge evolutionary advantage came from our ability to stand upright — though creaky knees and back pain are certainly a tradeoff.

Marathon Running
Associated Press
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Standing on two legs kept more of our hairless skin out of the harsh savanna sun and, even more importantly, freed up our hands to wield tools and to throw weapons.

javelin
Durrah Ramli/Wikimedia (CC BY 2.0)

Source: BBC

Though other primates have the ability to understand the trajectories of thrown objects (allowing them to dodge), no animals can aim and throw with the power and precision of a human.

Handball throw
Misterwlan/Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Source: Tech Insider

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4) Hearing tuned for speech.

human ear
Shutterstock

We've also got better hearing than our other primate brethren, and we can hear a wider range of sounds, especially between 1.0-6.0 kHz — where most human speech occurs.

Body Language closed chimp
Amy Cuddy, TED
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Some time around 2 million years ago, our ancestors' hearing began to broaden, building a bedrock of communication to form complex social relationships — and the towns, cities, states, and countries that came with them.

conversation garden
Michael Coghlan / Flickr

Source: Binghamton University

This better listening and communication was vital in early human development. As one study showed, being able to communicate ideas makes problem solving far easier and more efficient.

Ashakara Dr Kara Koffi
Philippe Souaille/Wikimedia

Source: Science

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5) Great teeth.

ancient human skull
DNA from a 37,000-year-old skeleton found at the Kostenki archaeological site in Russia supports recents findings and offers new ones about the history of human evolution. Peter the Great Museum

Our early human ancestors had something that our current domesticated grain and processed food-eating selves lack: awesome teeth.

dentist
mattlemmon via Compfight cc
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These hardy teeth allowed our ancestors to go with the flow and survive: to eat meat when they could, or forage the land for fruits, nuts, vegetables, and other wild foodstuffs. After we developed agriculture some 10,000 years ago, however, our diets became starch-heavy — and made our mouths fertile breeding grounds for the bacteria Streptococcus mutans.

streptococcus mutans bacteria microscope phil cdc richard facklam
Dr. Richard Facklam/CDC (PHIL)

Source: Tech Insider

This bacteria produces lactic acid, which eats away enamel and rots our teeth. And the introduction of processed flour and sugars during the 19th century Industrial Revolution only made things worse.

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Getty
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These and other abilities came together to make our species what it is today: a bunch of crazy apes that pretty much run the planet.

Early Humans
Viktor Vasnetsov/Wikimedia Commons
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