Excellent talk. Just a quick note...FYI Horses do sweat just like we do, (they do not pant), and can trot and canter or walk for much further distances than we do. A better example to state your point for future talks would be a dog, lion, or perhaps a deer. Horses sweat so much that you need a "sweat scraper" to remove the sweat when done riding them. Additionally, their guts, which weigh about 60 lbs, are moved in coordination with their breathing to act as a piston on their lungs in tempo with their footfalls to lessen the work of their diaphragm. Their diaphragm, being muscular, is attached to their lumbar vertabrae, which also facilitates ventilation as their spine flexes under their bodies when they move their hind feet under their body at the gallop. That being said, if they were scared, and hunted down repeatedly, they would eventually get tired of running away from a hominid, but not because they don't sweat. They may just sweat less effectively than a hominid.because of all the hair. Good point but not the best analogy. IMHO
Same… still… more than 10 years later… with only two injuries in all that time. Before, I had injuries every few months: knees, hips, plantar fascia… you name it.
GabrielGaleano is absolutely correct. Humans were meant to sprint everywhere, that's why sprinters are sexier, they run to the top of trees to grab the fruit faster and chase bunnies better than the marathon runners. The marathon runners have to run really far to get to the food that's left and that's why they're so skinny.
I am surprised I am the only one to dislike this. It goes to show few people have an understanding of human nature, evolution, and physiology. Let me keep this short: Humans are *not* born to run (by which I mean stuff like jogging, running marathons and long-distance running). Humans are hunter-gatherers in the wild, and we evolved well because of our ability to conserve energy. Long distance running isn't a good way to conserve energy. So, in a nutshell, if this hasn't dawned on you==>
Nuts and fruits have been part of our diet for centuries. Our jaws and later our brains grew and improved as a result of having access to nutrient dense cooked meats.
@POKERAFTERDARK2011 I like your balanced view on the topic. You have to admit a sprinter will definitely be healthier, stronger and more aesthetically pleasing to look at than a long-distance marathon runner! Personally I love walking for hours every day, I am a powerlifter, I dabble in Olympic lifting too, I like rock climbing, and I sprint once in a while. Back when I used to jog I had to eat crap in order to keep up my energy needs, and I was constantly wondering where my muscles were.
per Wikipedia: "The Paleolithic (or Palaeolithic) Age, Era or Period, is a prehistoric era distinguished by the development of the first stone tools,...It extends from the introduction of stone tools by hominids ..2.5 or 2.6 million years ago"
@GabrielGaleano I run long distance all the time and i don't look like a concentration camp survivor. I look perfectly normal. i'm not going into great detail on this conversation because I don't argue on the internet all that often, but do know that some people just have a knack for long distance running and they have a way of dealing with the pain that comes with it in a way other people just can't do. I'd say it depends on the person. Debate with me all you want I honestly don't care.
@stsgabe I said "Any creature you'd get close enough to use them on" I.e. I wasn't talking about gazelles or deers, as you'd have no way of actually getting close to them. They'd just run away ...and they are way faster than any human, that has every lived. As Christopher McDougall has frequently said: Usain Bolt (the fastest sprinter alive) would get his ass kicked by a squirrel. ...and deer and gazelle are way faster than a squirrel.
Does Christopher McDougall have a problem with Pamela Reed? She was the outright winner of the Badwater ultramarathon twice, in 2002 and 2003, and yet he doesn't mention her when he discusses how women are great at running long distances. She also only has a brief mention in his book. Is he uncomfortable when women actually win, not just do almost as well as men?
He doesn't say this at all. Women who run in marathons and ultramarathons do quite well. He just says that as sprinters women athletes don't fare as well as men. That's fine. We all have our advantages and disadvantages. Equality of opportunity is more important and realistic than fighting a million years of sexual dimorphism.
@stsgabe Even the stone tipped spear is about 200000 years old. Before then, the weaponry we had, was clubs, stones, and sharpened sticks. ... Any creature you'd get close enough to use them on, would be VERY dangerous to fight, with such weak weapons.
@fuzzwarmy You don't have to run as fast as a jackrabbit for it to be considered sprinting, and you don't always have to sprint or run long distances to hunt and fish. If humans and pre-humans could have both sprinted and run long distances and also used hunting and fishing spears and other tools it would have increased their survival advantages.
@yokemonkey I m not talking abt converted tribe nor does he ! just wait for them to come in contacts with missionaries and dis marathon will be a history !
Only my opinion, but it seems logic to me that if we could spare the hunting, when for example we could find enough sweet fruit, then there was no hunting needs. Hunting was dangerous, at least more dangerous than collecting veggies lol, so its logic it was only required when the caloric intake forced it or there was easy opportunity (scaveging). Most likely there were tribes living in places where they had hunt a lot while some others could probably live by collecting fruits veggies and insects
@RienVesseur Of course we have much more time than the agrarian period on this earth.But I don't believe we were much of a hunter species...:)) that's my problem... I kinda like running. I run 30 k's from time to time.It's a great experience
@POKERAFTERDARK2011 You're contradicting yourself. Are you saying we jogged or walked? I will repeat: "humans are born to walk, sprint and move heavy objects." Jogging and long distance running make no sense in our evolution.
@ZarlanTheGreen I'm not sure the predecessor to the gazelle, or deer or whatever, especially the young ones would be that dangerous to a well coordinated attack by 3-4 guys
@summerland232 Good grief, you don't have to go overboard. Besides, I did a genetic test and fwiw one of the findings was that I have a sprinter's gene. I'm also good at long-distance running. Humans sprint AND run long distances today, so why couldn't humans have done both in the past, to varying degrees? Evidence of spears has been found going back 400,000 years and scientists believe spear hunting goes back 5+ million years and even chimps hunt with small spears today.
killing animals without any weapons? what about rocks? don't need to be able to craft a stone blade to conk a deer. or be able to run a hundred miles. a patient group with a pile of rocks could be very effective at scaring away other predators after they kill too
We're omnivores. Just look at our teeth... or the bones of animals from 250,000 years ago with our bite marks on them. We've always been meat-eaters. The artificial veg diet is a fairly recent development.
@constillustrus I agree that his self-created "mystery" is b.s. but it appears scientifically proven that man was a hunter-gatherer for much longer than he was a farmer. Whether that means we all should be runners.. I doubt it. The tribes that still run a lot and that do it well are thin by nature, they have a genetical advantage. If you don't have that, do another sport, because running is probably not going to do you much good.
Amazing how he have been studying thise tribes so long and haven't figuered out that their diet might be direct connected to the non existing "modern illnesses" as heart disease.. no no it's only the running 😐
@POKERAFTERDARK2011 Because this gentleman hasn't got a clue. Humans did not evolve to jog like idiots. That would not make any sense from an evolutionary perspective. Think about it.
Excellent talk. Just a quick note...FYI Horses do sweat just like we do, (they do not pant), and can trot and canter or walk for much further distances than we do. A better example to state your point for future talks would be a dog, lion, or perhaps a deer. Horses sweat so much that you need a "sweat scraper" to remove the sweat when done riding them. Additionally, their guts, which weigh about 60 lbs, are moved in coordination with their breathing to act as a piston on their lungs in tempo with their footfalls to lessen the work of their diaphragm. Their diaphragm, being muscular, is attached to their lumbar vertabrae, which also facilitates ventilation as their spine flexes under their bodies when they move their hind feet under their body at the gallop. That being said, if they were scared, and hunted down repeatedly, they would eventually get tired of running away from a hominid, but not because they don't sweat. They may just sweat less effectively than a hominid.because of all the hair. Good point but not the best analogy. IMHO
Thanks to this man, I am enjoying running again. Barefoot.
Same.
Same… still… more than 10 years later… with only two injuries in all that time. Before, I had injuries every few months: knees, hips, plantar fascia… you name it.
We are not sprinters. We are marathoners, ultramarathoners. Read Christopher McDougall's book, Born to Run.
very inspiring .i will meet the tarahumaras in my next trip , there is a train "el chepe" that takes you into the copper canyons
GabrielGaleano is absolutely correct. Humans were meant to sprint everywhere, that's why sprinters are sexier, they run to the top of trees to grab the fruit faster and chase bunnies better than the marathon runners. The marathon runners have to run really far to get to the food that's left and that's why they're so skinny.
I am surprised I am the only one to dislike this.
It goes to show few people have an understanding of human nature, evolution, and physiology.
Let me keep this short: Humans are *not* born to run (by which I mean stuff like jogging, running marathons and long-distance running). Humans are hunter-gatherers in the wild, and we evolved well because of our ability to conserve energy. Long distance running isn't a good way to conserve energy.
So, in a nutshell, if this hasn't dawned on you==>
Nuts and fruits have been part of our diet for centuries. Our jaws and later our brains grew and improved as a result of having access to nutrient dense cooked meats.
@POKERAFTERDARK2011 I like your balanced view on the topic.
You have to admit a sprinter will definitely be healthier, stronger and more aesthetically pleasing to look at than a long-distance marathon runner!
Personally I love walking for hours every day, I am a powerlifter, I dabble in Olympic lifting too, I like rock climbing, and I sprint once in a while.
Back when I used to jog I had to eat crap in order to keep up my energy needs, and I was constantly wondering where my muscles were.
per Wikipedia: "The Paleolithic (or Palaeolithic) Age, Era or Period, is a prehistoric era distinguished by the development of the first stone tools,...It extends from the introduction of stone tools by hominids ..2.5 or 2.6 million years ago"
He mentions the fact that women excel at long distances in his book several times. Read it.
@GabrielGaleano I run long distance all the time and i don't look like a concentration camp survivor. I look perfectly normal. i'm not going into great detail on this conversation because I don't argue on the internet all that often, but do know that some people just have a knack for long distance running and they have a way of dealing with the pain that comes with it in a way other people just can't do. I'd say it depends on the person. Debate with me all you want I honestly don't care.
@stsgabe I said "Any creature you'd get close enough to use them on"
I.e. I wasn't talking about gazelles or deers, as you'd have no way of actually getting close to them.
They'd just run away ...and they are way faster than any human, that has every lived.
As Christopher McDougall has frequently said:
Usain Bolt (the fastest sprinter alive) would get his ass kicked by a squirrel.
...and deer and gazelle are way faster than a squirrel.
BRAVO !
His book is brilliant.
they're not thinner by genetics, but by conditioning. look at our marathoners and ultrarunners... they look just like the running tribes
I love 5:35 that was so freakin funny. great video. thanks for posting
Does Christopher McDougall have a problem with Pamela Reed? She was the outright winner of the Badwater ultramarathon twice, in 2002 and 2003, and yet he doesn't mention her when he discusses how women are great at running long distances. She also only has a brief mention in his book. Is he uncomfortable when women actually win, not just do almost as well as men?
Brilliant video. I enjoyed it
best book ever
You're absolutely right! Clearly, we evolved to run down evasive heards of corn!
He doesn't say this at all. Women who run in marathons and ultramarathons do quite well. He just says that as sprinters women athletes don't fare as well as men. That's fine. We all have our advantages and disadvantages. Equality of opportunity is more important and realistic than fighting a million years of sexual dimorphism.
@constillustrus He agrees with that. Scott Jurek, a famous ultrarunner portrayed in the book, is vegan. Read the book.
@stsgabe Even the stone tipped spear is about 200000 years old. Before then, the weaponry we had, was clubs, stones, and sharpened sticks.
...
Any creature you'd get close enough to use them on, would be VERY dangerous to fight, with such weak weapons.
@fuzzwarmy You don't have to run as fast as a jackrabbit for it to be considered sprinting, and you don't always have to sprint or run long distances to hunt and fish. If humans and pre-humans could have both sprinted and run long distances and also used hunting and fishing spears and other tools it would have increased their survival advantages.
@yokemonkey I m not talking abt converted tribe nor does he ! just wait for them to come in contacts with missionaries and dis marathon will be a history !
Only my opinion, but it seems logic to me that if we could spare the hunting, when for example we could find enough sweet fruit, then there was no hunting needs.
Hunting was dangerous, at least more dangerous than collecting veggies lol, so its logic it was only required when the caloric intake forced it or there was easy opportunity (scaveging).
Most likely there were tribes living in places where they had hunt a lot while some others could probably live by collecting fruits veggies and insects
@RienVesseur Of course we have much more time than the agrarian period on this earth.But I don't believe we were much of a hunter species...:)) that's my problem...
I kinda like running. I run 30 k's from time to time.It's a great experience
@POKERAFTERDARK2011 You're contradicting yourself.
Are you saying we jogged or walked?
I will repeat: "humans are born to walk, sprint and move heavy objects."
Jogging and long distance running make no sense in our evolution.
we've been hunting for over half a million years... i'd say we're a hunter species.
@ZarlanTheGreen I'm not sure the predecessor to the gazelle, or deer or whatever, especially the young ones would be that dangerous to a well coordinated attack by 3-4 guys
@anuragchoubey
A majority of the Tarahumara are Christians.
Note that we only have four of them and not a mouth full of fangs.
@ZarlanTheGreen probably, but I bet it would not run nearly as far as it would before it was beaned
@summerland232 Good grief, you don't have to go overboard. Besides, I did a genetic test and fwiw one of the findings was that I have a sprinter's gene. I'm also good at long-distance running. Humans sprint AND run long distances today, so why couldn't humans have done both in the past, to varying degrees? Evidence of spears has been found going back 400,000 years and scientists believe spear hunting goes back 5+ million years and even chimps hunt with small spears today.
OK, there were NO mayans by the time the Spaniards arrived, only Aztecs and other minor less famous tribes like Tlaxcaltecas etc...
Vampire tooth? Do you mean the incisior?
What about our vampire tooth isn't it for carnivores?
@stsgabe "don't need to be able to craft a stone blade to conk a deer."
Except that the deer would run away.
killing animals without any weapons? what about rocks? don't need to be able to craft a stone blade to conk a deer. or be able to run a hundred miles. a patient group with a pile of rocks could be very effective at scaring away other predators after they kill too
We're omnivores. Just look at our teeth... or the bones of animals from 250,000 years ago with our bite marks on them. We've always been meat-eaters. The artificial veg diet is a fairly recent development.
so we run an animal to death, and then dissect it with our fingernails I guess. fantastic book though
@constillustrus I agree that his self-created "mystery" is b.s. but it appears scientifically proven that man was a hunter-gatherer for much longer than he was a farmer. Whether that means we all should be runners.. I doubt it. The tribes that still run a lot and that do it well are thin by nature, they have a genetical advantage. If you don't have that, do another sport, because running is probably not going to do you much good.
Amazing how he have been studying thise tribes so long and haven't figuered out that their diet might be direct connected to the non existing "modern illnesses" as heart disease.. no no it's only the running 😐
@POKERAFTERDARK2011 Because this gentleman hasn't got a clue.
Humans did not evolve to jog like idiots.
That would not make any sense from an evolutionary perspective. Think about it.