No need to crawl before you can walk? How crawling is a recent evolutionary invention

  • Crawling might have evolved 200-300 years ago thanks to wooden floors in houses
  • Anthropologist David Tracer says throughout most of evolutionary history, babies were not put on the ground in order to shield them from danger
  • Some countries still do not allow their babies to crawl, such as Papua New Guinea, due to parasites on the ground

By Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED: 19:45 EST, 2 November 2013 | UPDATED: 19:45 EST, 2 November 2013

Crawling is an evolutionary phenomenon which might have evolved 200-300 years ago thanks to wooden floors in houses, say experts.

David Tracer, an anthropologist at the University of Colorado, has found that crawling is not what babies do everywhere across the world, and for good reason.

Tracer’s discovery happened by accident, during his time in Papua New Guinea where he had been surveying the Au people since 1988 for studies on child and maternal health and nutrition.

Modernisation: Crawling is an evolutionary phenomenon which might have evolved 200-300 years ago thanks to wooden floors in houses, say experts

Modernisation: Crawling is an evolutionary phenomenon which might have evolved 200-300 years ago thanks to wooden floors in houses, say experts

Not worldwide: Crawling is not what babies do everywhere across the world

Not worldwide: Crawling is not what babies do everywhere across the world

A Eurueka moment: Anthropologist David Tracer¿s discovery happened by accident, during his time in Papua New Guinea where he had been surveying the Au people since 1988

A Eurueka moment: Anthropologist David Tracer's discovery happened by accident, during his time in Papua New Guinea where he had been surveying the Au people since 1988

He was told by one of his graduate students that the Au babies never seemed to be crawling.

‘That’s when the lightbulbs went off,’ says Tracer to PopularScience.com.

The babies are carried by their mothers or siblings 86 per cent of the time during the infants' first 12 months, and when they are put down, the young children are usually placed in a sitting position, instead of prone on their stomachs.

 

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Au babies go through an upright ‘scooting’ or shuffling phase, in which they push themselves along with their hands while sitting on their backsides.

The reason for this is because of parasites on the ground, which are common in the area the Au live.

In Africa, and other similar societies, preventing predator attacks is similarly a reason why babies do not crawl and are carried throughout their first year and then walk straight away after that.

Smart move: Our closest relative, the apes, rarely put their babies on the ground, but instead teach them to crawl on their mothers¿ bellies

Safety first: Our closest relative, the apes, rarely put their babies on the ground, but instead teach them to crawl on their mothers¿ bellies

According to Tracer, crawling may have evolved around the same time as wooden floors in houses – only about 200-300 years ago.

‘For most of evolutionary history, kids were not put on the ground to shield them from pathogens or predation, so crawling is definitely the evolutionary novelty,’ says Tracer.

Our closest relative, the apes, rarely put their babies on the ground, but instead teach them to crawl on their mothers’ bellies.

‘It almost seems to be there is some kind of phylogenetic heritage to not crawling,’ Tracer says.

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my dauqhter never crawled, but walkinq came rather late (14 months)

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Humans evolved over millions of years. Humans were not created by some unseen-silent-sky gods.

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So are they now saying that we do not have to crawl first to enhance psychological and intellectual development. I had been feeling guilt for years because I never let my first child crawl because the floor was too cold, but the second was allowed to crawl on warmer floors and always did so much better in school and social life. I think now I can relax and work on getting rid of my guilt.

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Notice how the unnamed grad student was the one that noticed/observed this - and the "eureka moment" went to the anthropologist. I sure lots of people know what I am talking about.

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Lots of academics especially!

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Hmm, interesting. Do you have other children? If so, did they crawl? If one crawl and the other didn't, did you notice any difference between them in their balance as they grow? Or how they adapt to learning new skills? Actually, these questions are for anyone to answer.

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I have twins neither crawled, one walked at 12 months she is very athletic and co ordinated the other bum shuffled at 11 months and walked at 18 months, struggles more with athletic stuff.

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Sounds like 'cultural' is being confused with 'evolutionary'.

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What a load of nonsense. Anthropologists saying it was probably only 200-300yrs ago that humans started crawling. Pray tell me how they have come to that conclusion. They cannot make such a conclusion based on bones. If the first man's child crawled and then walked upright there would be no signs that they crawled, unlike if they all crawled into old age then their knees would show particular signs of wear and tear. But these so called intellects are giving us a fact based on nothing more than a figure they plucked out of the air, because they cannot prove one way or another that the first man didn't start his days crawling..

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The motion of crawling helps the brain get ready for reading !!

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I instantly walked in the beginning, but do all the crawling now that I'm 70.... a lot of catching up to do !

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my son went straight to walking at just past 7 months but as he missed crawling he didn't know how to bend his knees and sit down when falling so used to just fall straight down like a tree wasn't fun.

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