Built for Different Lives

The hominin bush was full of bodies built for jobs ours could never do. These were not failed drafts of us — each was a finished design for its own world:

• Australopithecus afarensis kept curved fingers for climbing while already walking upright on the ground.
• Paranthropus boisei, nicknamed "Nutcracker Man," grew molars up to four times the size of ours and a bony crest on its skull to anchor huge chewing muscles.
• Homo erectus stood tall with long legs built for walking and running across open country.

Upright walking, powerful jaws, and long-distance legs each evolved in their own branch — no single line marched toward us.