What is the arboreal hypothesis?

The arboreal theory claims that primates evolved from their ancestors by adapting to arboreal life. It was proposed by Grafton Elliot Smith (1912), a neuroanatomist who was chiefly concerned with the emergence of the primate brain. Primates also developed hands and feet that were capable of grasping.

What does the arboreal hypothesis of primate origins explain?

(Q001) What does the arboreal hypothesis of primate origins explain? Grasping hands and feet were necessary for living in trees. Catching small prey was more important in primate evolution than living in the trees. You just studied 25 terms!

Who proposed arboreal hypothesis?

Frederic Wood Jones
Frederic Wood Jones, one of the leading anatomist-anthropologists of the early 1900s, is usually credited with the Arboreal Hypothesis of primate origins (Jones 1916). This hypothesis holds that many of the features of primates evolved to improve locomotion in the trees.

Which is the best explanation for the arboreal hypothesis?

Elliot Smith and Wood Jones conclude that these statements are true, but Cartmill determines that primate morphology is not the best morphology for an arboreal mammal and therefore seeks to present an alternative explanation for the suite of primate features.

Who is the founder of the arboreal theory?

It was proposed by Grafton Elliot Smith (1912), a neuroanatomist who was chiefly concerned with the emergence of the primate brain. Primates are thought to have developed several of their traits and habits initially while living in trees.

How did John and Prue Napier develop the arboreal hypothesis?

John and Prue Napier suggested additional trends, including the development of truncal uprightness or orthogrady. A major paradigm, the arboreal theory of primate origins, defines primates by a complex of characters that adapted them to arboreal life.

How did Cartmill come up with the arboreal hypothesis?

Cartmill develops the hypothesis by comparing extant arboreal mammals with regard to limb morphology and loco-motion, orbital convergence, and olfactory regression. He believes that it is unclear that primate-like morphology is the most advantageous to arboreal life and states that it may be disadvantageous in certain contexts.