--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Man is the only mammal whose normal…" description: "\"Man is the only mammal whose normal method of locomotion is to walk on two legs. A pattern of mammal behavior that emerges only once in the whole histo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b59/elaine-morgan-33015_behavior_man-is-the-only-mammal-whose-normal-meth_1973459.jpg" --- # Man is the only mammal whose normal method of locomotion… ![“Man is the only mammal whose normal method of locomotion is to walk on two legs. A pattern of mammal behavior that emerges only once in the whole history of life on earth takes a great deal of explaining.” quote by Elaine Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b59/elaine-morgan-33015_behavior_man-is-the-only-mammal-whose-normal-meth_1973459.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b59/elaine-morgan-33015_behavior_man-is-the-only-mammal-whose-normal-meth_1973459.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b59/elaine-morgan-33015_behavior_man-is-the-only-mammal-whose-normal-meth_1973459.jpg) > “Man is the only mammal whose normal method of locomotion is to walk on two legs. A pattern of mammal behavior that emerges only once in the whole history of life on earth takes a great deal of explaining.” [Elaine Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-morgan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humans are unique among mammals for walking upright, a rare evolutionary development that raises many questions about its causes and consequences. **In simple terms:** Humans walk on two legs, unlike other mammals. Key Takeaway Explore why bipedalism evolved. Themes evolution human uniqueness biology anthropology Mood analytical curious Type scientific educational When to use this quote - archaeology - physical fitness - design ergonomics Key Concepts anthropology evolutionary theory comparative anatomy Questions to Reflect On - What advantages does upright walking provide? - How does bipedalism shape our societies? A Different Perspective Bipedalism also brings health challenges like back pain and joint stress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior/) [Biology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [History of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-of-life/) [Locomotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/locomotion/) [Mammals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mammals/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Patterns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patterns/) ## Related quotes > [“It is almost unknown for a mammal in her normal environment to produce live young and be unable to produce the milk they need.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-palmer/it-is-almost-unknown-for-a-mammal-in-her-normal-environment-to/) [Gabrielle Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-palmer/) > [Methods of locomotion have improved greatly in recent years, but places to go remain about the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-herold/methods-of-locomotion-have-improved-greatly-in-recent-years-but/) [Don Herold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-herold/) > [“And that would be my method of locomotion, the Lion concluded. Not diplomas earned, but friendships bungled. Campaigns aborted. Errors in judgment and public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/and-that-would-be-my-method-of-locomotion-the-lion-concluded-not/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [“The most obvious and the most distinctive features of the History of Civilisation, during the last fifty years, is the wonderful increase of industrial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-henry-huxley/the-most-obvious-and-the-most-distinctive-features-of-the-history-of/) [Thomas Henry Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-henry-huxley/) > [Attempts to limit female mobility by hampering locomotion are ancient and almost universal. The foot-binding of upper-class Chinese girls and the Nigerian custom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-lurie/attempts-to-limit-female-mobility-by-hampering-locomotion-are-ancient/) [Alison Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-lurie/) > [“You are your own vehicular machinery that ought to propel yourself under guidance of the compass of the Holy Spirit of God. Don't go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/you-are-your-own-vehicular-machinery-that-ought-to-propel-yourself/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [Movies are always in a state of locomotion. You start with a general idea of how it should feel and then you find you've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/movies-are-always-in-a-state-of-locomotion-you-start-with-a-general/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [The similarities among animals that are on the surface very different are no coincidence. In fact, animal locomotion is no different than other flows,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-bejan/the-similarities-among-animals-that-are-on-the-surface-very-different/) [Adrian Bejan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-bejan/) > [The body's habituation to walking as normal stems from the good olddays. It was the bourgeois form of locomotion: physicaldemythologization, free of the spell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-adorno/the-body-s-habituation-to-walking-as-normal-stems-from-the-good/) [Theodor Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-adorno/) > [“If the interest of a scientific expositor ought to be measured by the importance of the subject, I shall be applauded for my choice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etienne-jules-marey/if-the-interest-of-a-scientific-expositor-ought-to-be-measured-by-the/) Etienne-Jules Marey > [Leg locomotion was, for decades, thought to be an incredibly difficult problem. There has been very, very painstakingly slow progress there, and robots that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-j-russell/leg-locomotion-was-for-decades-thought-to-be-an-incredibly-difficult/) [Stuart J. Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-j-russell/) > [“There is this to be said for walking: it is the one method of human locomotion by which a man or woman proceeds erect,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/there-is-this-to-be-said-for-walking-it-is-the-one-method-of-human/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Walking takes longer... than any other known form of locomotion except crawling. Thus it stretches time and prolongs life. Life is already too short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/walking-takes-longer-than-any-other-known-form-of-locomotion-except/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [There are some good things to be said about walking. Not many, but some. Walking takes longer, for example, than any other known form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/there-are-some-good-things-to-be-said-about-walking-not-many-but-some/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [ The \[first\] argument asserts the non-existence of motion on the ground that that which is in locomotion must arrive at the half-way stage before… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeno-of-elea/the-first-argument-asserts-the-non-existence-of-motion-on-the-ground/) [Zeno of Elea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeno-of-elea/) ## More by Elaine Morgan > [“as a copy she was not a very good copy. There were differences. She was not one of His best efforts. There is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-morgan/as-a-copy-she-was-not-a-very-good-copy-there-were-differences-she-was/) [Elaine Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-morgan/) > [The trouble with specialists is that they tend to think in grooves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-morgan/the-trouble-with-specialists-is-that-they-tend-to-think-in-grooves/) [Elaine Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-morgan/) > [It's just as hard for man to break the habit of thinking of himself as central to the species as it was to break…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-morgan/it-s-just-as-hard-for-man-to-break-the-habit-of-thinking-of-himself/) [Elaine Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-morgan/) > [Where else is fatness at a premium? The answer is clear. There are two classes of mammals which are liable to accumulate large quantities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-morgan/where-else-is-fatness-at-a-premium-the-answer-is-clear-there-are-two/) [Elaine Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-morgan/) > [It takes two to make a woman into a sex object.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-morgan/it-takes-two-to-make-a-woman-into-a-sex-object/) [Elaine Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-morgan/) > [“holy scripture was believed to justify her subordination and explain her inferiority; for even as a copy she was not a very good copy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-morgan/holy-scripture-was-believed-to-justify-her-subordination-and-explain/) [Elaine Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-morgan/) > [“The hypothetical aquatic phase of the ancestral apes during the fossil gap would have been brief, a matter of two or three million years.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-morgan/the-hypothetical-aquatic-phase-of-the-ancestral-apes-during-the/) [Elaine Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-morgan/) > [I believe the deeply rooted semantic confusion between 'man' as a male and 'man' as a species has been fed back into and vitiated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-morgan/i-believe-the-deeply-rooted-semantic-confusion-between-man-as-a-male/) [Elaine Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-morgan/) > [“It would make it that much harder to delude ourselves that humanity's ancestors, alone in the animal kingdom, lost their hair by wandering out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-morgan/it-would-make-it-that-much-harder-to-delude-ourselves-that-humanity-s/) [Elaine Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-morgan/) > [“subordination and explain her inferiority; for even as a copy she was not a very good copy. 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She was not one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-morgan/subordination-and-explain-her-inferiority-for-even-as-a-copy-she-was/) [Elaine Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-morgan/) > [“In short, the fossil record is perfectly compatible with the supposition that at some time between eight and six million years ago, at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-morgan/in-short-the-fossil-record-is-perfectly-compatible-with-the/) [Elaine Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-morgan/) > [“Whales and dolphins have been aquatic for about 70 million years and seals for between 25 and 30 million years.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-morgan/whales-and-dolphins-have-been-aquatic-for-about-70-million-years-and/) [Elaine Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-morgan/) > [Considering the very close genetic relationship that has been established by comparison of biochemical properties of blood proteins, protein structure and DNA, and immunological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-morgan/considering-the-very-close-genetic-relationship-that-has-been/) [Elaine Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-morgan/) > [The legend of the jungle heritage and the evolution of man as a hunting carnivore has taken root in man's mind ... He may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-morgan/the-legend-of-the-jungle-heritage-and-the-evolution-of-man-as-a/) [Elaine Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-morgan/) [Explore all 15 Elaine Morgan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-morgan/) ## More Behavior quotes > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [As you begin changing your thinking, start immediately to change your behaviour. Begin to act the part of the person you would like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-you-begin-changing-your-thinking-start-immediately-to-change-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I now know that deep within the human concept is something dark, selfish, and completely willing to do whatever is necessary to support the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-west/i-now-know-that-deep-within-the-human-concept-is-something-dark/) [Melissa West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-west/) > [“We are endowed with genes which code out our reaction to beavers and otters, maybe our reaction to each other as well. We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-are-endowed-with-genes-which-code-out-our-reaction-to-beavers-and/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [The number of poor, and poorly prepared, students who succeed in college and beyond undercuts the simplistic notion that economic or educational disadvantage is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-merullo/the-number-of-poor-and-poorly-prepared-students-who-succeed-in/) [Roland Merullo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-merullo/) > [To behave creatively in art means behavior with skill; and skill comes from discipline, not derangement. The artist who knows the rules -and proportion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burne-hogarth/to-behave-creatively-in-art-means-behavior-with-skill-and-skill-comes/) Burne Hogarth > [You don't put milk in chamomile tea - that's disgusting behavior! That's not right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-fraser/you-don-t-put-milk-in-chamomile-tea-that-s-disgusting-behavior-that-s/) [Laura Fraser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-fraser/) > [The laws of thermodynamics, as empirically determined, express the approximate and probable behavior of systems of a great number of particles, or, more precisely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-willard-gibbs/the-laws-of-thermodynamics-as-empirically-determined-express-the/) J. Willard Gibbs > [I started with the belief that every person who came to the laboratory was free to accept or to reject the dictates of authority.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-milgram/i-started-with-the-belief-that-every-person-who-came-to-the/) [Stanley Milgram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-milgram/) > [The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/the-tipping-point-is-that-magic-moment-when-an-idea-trend-or-social/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [I think we've told a lot of lies about human behavior through film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-arquette/i-think-we-ve-told-a-lot-of-lies-about-human-behavior-through-film/) [Patricia Arquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-arquette/) > [The strongest rebellion may be expressed in quiet, undramatic behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-spock/the-strongest-rebellion-may-be-expressed-in-quiet-undramatic-behavior/) [Benjamin Spock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-spock/) > [The behavior of any bureaucratic organization can best be understood by assuming that it is controlled by a secret cabal of its enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-conquest/the-behavior-of-any-bureaucratic-organization-can-best-be-understood/) [Robert Conquest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-conquest/) > [If you want good behavior, don't pay on a commission basis. Our judges aren't paid so much a case. We keep them pretty well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/if-you-want-good-behavior-don-t-pay-on-a-commission-basis-our-judges/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) [Browse all 4,218 Behavior quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Man is the only mammal whose normal method of locomotion is to walk on two legs. 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