People Progressed for Punching, a Study Confirms

A study looks to find the reason for males having more upper-body mass than women. The research is based on the assumption that men have been fighters for so long that evolution has chosen those best equipped for the task. If men combated other men, winners would have survived and reproduced, losers not so much.

In mammals in general, the distinction between males and females is often most significant in the structures that are used as weapons, according to David Carrier, a biologist at the University of Utah. Men, on average, have 90% greater upper-body strength and 75% more upper-body muscle mass than females. A new study authored by Carrier suggests the reason: Eons of male-to-male interpersonal aggression, and more particularly, punching.

Built for Mayhem

The researchers are, indeed, speaking averages here, not mentioning a rule: There are plenty of achieved female pugilists and lots of males who have no idea how to throw a punch.

However, states co-author Jeremy Morris says, “The general technique to understanding why sex-related dimorphism develops is to determine the actual differences in the muscles or the skeletons of males and females of a given species, and then consider the behaviors that might be driving those distinctions.”

Carrier has been interested in the idea that millennia of male fighting have formed specific structures in male bodies. The previous study has reinforced his hunch:

• When a hand is formed into a fist, its structure is self-protective.
• Heels planted firmly on the ground increase upper-body power.
• The research examined facial bone structure as being specifically well-suited for taking a punch.

That last one is our preferred. Do you know the German word “backpfeifengesicht?” It is an adjective depicting “a face that terribly requires a punching”.

“One of the predictions coming out of those,” asserts Carrier, “is if we are specialized for punching, you might expect particularly males to be strong in the muscles related to throwing a punch”.

Testing the Theory

The researchers determined the punching– and spear-throwing- force of 19 women and 20 men. The assumption was that early humans were spear-throwers and punchers.

Before testing, each participant had completed an activity survey so that “we were not obtaining couch potatoes, we were obtaining people that were very fit and active,” says Morris.

Participants operated a hand crank that needed movement similar to throwing a haymaker for punching. The objective of the hand crank was to spare participants any damage that might be inflicted on their fists by throwing actual punches. Subjects were likewise determined, pulling a line forward over their heads to evaluate their strength at throwing a spear.

Even if all participants (male and female) were routinely fit, the mean power of males was evaluated as being 162% greater than females. There was no gender distinction in throwing strength recorded. Other untested, though probably likely, hand-to-hand fight tasks come to mind consisting of clubbing, kicking, biting, scratching, tackling, and running.

Carrier’s takeaway: “This is a dramatic example of sex-related dimorphism consistent with males becoming more specialized for fighting, and males fighting in a specific method, which is throwing punches”.

Boys will Certainly be Boys

It, er, room, strikes us as odd that, even in science fiction: hi-tech weaponry, regardless of the hero, is mosting likely to wind up fighting with some crook or alien in the critical battle. What is it concerning men punching? Are they more sexually eye-catching? The research recommends so:

The outcomes of this study contribute to a set of currently determined characters suggesting that sex-related selection on male aggressive performance has contributed to the development of the human musculoskeletal system and the development of sexual dimorphism in hominins.

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According to biologist David Carrier of the College of Utah, “In mammals, generally, the distinction between females and males is often greatest in the structures utilized as weapons.” On average, men have 75% more upper-body muscle mass and 90% greater upper-body strength than females. A new study authored by Carrier suggests the reason: Eons of male-to-male interpersonal aggression and, more significantly, punching.

It is tough to contribute to the gene pool after being killed in a fight.

Likewise, while the authors are not quite saying that males’ historical combating role is mandated not by social expectations, however, neither are they quite not stating it.

As Carrier explains to theU: “Human nature is likewise characterized by preventing violence and finding methods to be cooperative and work together, to take care of each other, to have compassion, right? There are two sides to who we are as a species. If our objective is to minimize all forms of violence in the future, then understanding our tendencies and what our nature is, is going to assist.”

Read the original article on Big Think.