This family is taking walking to a whole different level… Literally.
In Turkey, this family’s tendency to “bear crawl” on all fours, rather than walking on two feet, has left scientists completely puzzled, as they believe it challenges conventional notions of human evolution.
Using the palms of their hands, the Ulas family has become the subject of a scientific paper and was even featured in a 2006 BBC documentary titled “The Family That Walks on All Fours.”
Professor Nicholas Humphrey – an evolutionary psychologist at the London School of Economics – discovered that, among the family’s 18 children, six exhibited a trait previously unseen in modern human adults. Sadly, one of these six has since passed away.
Reflecting on this astonishing find, Humphrey shared his amazement on ‘60 Minutes Australia‘, saying: “I never expected that even under the most extraordinary scientific fantasy that modern human beings could return to an animal state.”
He continued (via the Daily Star): “The thing which marks us off from the rest of the animal world is the fact that we’re the species which walks on two legs and holds our heads high in the air. Of course, it’s language and all other sorts of things too, but it’s terribly important to our sense of ourselves as being different from others in the animal kingdom. These people cross that boundary.”
The documentary famously described the Ulas family as “the missing link between man and ape,” and even suggested that “devolution” might have occurred, reversing three million years of evolution.
Though, Humphrey has criticized this theory, saying that not only is it “deeply insulting”, but it is also “scientifically irresponsible.” The documentary also stated that these children “shouldn’t exist”.
Researchers from Liverpool University explored the study, eventually revealing that the children at the center of the investigation had skeletons bearing a closer resemblance to apes than to humans. They also had a shrunken cerebellum, which is an anomaly that doesn’t generally stop humans from walking upright.
At the same time, the family was using the palms of their hands to walk, as opposed to apes who use their knuckles.
Humphrey suggested that the family might represent a ‘missing link’ between apes and humans, saying: “I think it’s possible that what we are seeing in this family is something that does correspond to a time when we didn’t walk like chimpanzees but was an important step between coming down from the trees and becoming fully bipedal.”
He also speculated that their development might have been impeded after they weren’t actively encouraged to stand after the age of 9 months.
Fortunately, the children eventually received support to learn to walk properly, including physiotherapy and specialized equipment to aid them in walking on two feet.
When Humphrey came back to Turkey to check their progress, he noticed that the children had made significant improvements in their mobility. suggesting that these extraordinary individuals are a testament to the complexity and adaptability of the human body.
What do you think of this extraordinary family? Let us know in the comments!
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