What makes humans different from other species?

Particularly chimpanzees, or gorillas, our closest ancestors.

Who we definitely look… … and act like. But what makes us so different?

So that being said, what gives us the capacity for language, art, dance, music, emotion, family – basically, culture?

Some well respected anthropologists suspect what separates us most from other species is our encephalized brains (we have the largest brain/body size proportion of any animal)..

Others suspect that our separation from the rest of the animal kingdom lies in our bipedal abilities, which no other primates have to the extent that we do.

Being bipedal gave us the ability to have completely face-to- face interactions, as well as opened up the hands to be used more freely, leading to more advanced tool use (compared to that of other apes), which then required instruction and social interaction in order to pass the skill on to other humans.

Still others suspect that because of our larger and lower voice boxes (they are further down along the larynx than other apes, we were able to speak and form language we were able to better communicate, a characteristic that no other animal has to the extent that humans do.

This ability to speak, write, and interact intellectually is an incredible ability for any species, imagine how particular the evolution must have been to have us end up being able to create and use hundreds of different languages, not all verbal, in order to interact. Just the wiring in the brain necessary for that ability is incredible to think about!

Others, such as one of the people that I interviewed regarding this project, believe that what makes human’s special is their ability to explain the unexplainable, create organized religions that is recognized across large portions of the population, and the need to help others. My mother for example is a doctor, and always willing to help those in need. This drive to assist those who need assisting is not as prominent in other species, its every animal for himself out there for the most part!

Personally, I think it’s a combination of all of these things. I suspect that because of our body, our bipedalism, and our brains, we were able to communicate, allowing us to use tools. Because we could use tools we were able to hunt and acquire nutrient-rich foods such as meat, allowing our brains to have more nutrients and to grow even larger. As our brains grew, so did our capacity for culture. Brain growth and language allowed us to interact and further use our brains to build things like languages, invent things like basic infrastructure, be creative enough to give us art and music and dance. These cultural capabilities are what make us all so special, so human. I still do not know why we of all species were blessed with such abilities, or if maybe we just got very evolutionarily lucky, but I do know that without them we would not be so special, we would not be such a dominant species.

Bibliography Alda, Allan. "Human Spark." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 20 July Fisher, Simon E., and Matt Riddley. "Culture, Genes, and the Human Revolution." Science Mag. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 July Lemonick, Michael D., and Andrea Dorfman. "What Makes Us Different?" Time. Time, n.d. Web. 20 July "Top 10 Things That Make Humans Special." LiveScience.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 July "We Are Big Idea Hunters…." Big Think. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 July "What Makes Humans Special?" Interview by Katherine Ashley, Jacob Telford, Michelle Boyle, Meagan Boyle, David Ashley, and Karen Blackmer. 18 July 2013.