Why did man evolve out of his hairy hide?

Question

What is the survival advantage of his thin skin and largely hairless hide? Is it an anomaly or a throw back to his transition from fish to anphibian? Or perhaps an early adaptation to global warming?

If you have no "scientific" idea please refrain from the answers like 'evolution is random' and 'evolution is for evolutions sake' and state honestly that you do not know.

Answer 1

A combination of things really. When living in hot climates, being less hairy is an advantage, either that or being hairy but light coloured. If you live in the open plains, being able to lose heat is important. Being hairless also keeps the parasite population down, like fleas and lice. The less hairy you were, the more likely you would survive, say fevers in childhood (because you could lose heat better), or were less likely to overheat when chsing prey over long distances while hunting. Sometimes you only need a slight edge to increase your chances of survival. Losing body hair probably happened concurrently with splitting from other apes in the evolutionary tree.

In evolutionary terms, there is no such thing as a "throw back" to earlier forms. Evolution does not go backwards.

Answer 2

Man evolved to have less hair because that is what was most advantageous to his/her reproduction.

Think of it this way: the ancient men and women with less hair mated more, and so the trait for less hair got passed on. Multiply by thousands of years, and you've got cumulative selection.

It's not random, it's not a throwback, and certainly isn't an early adaptation to global warming (evolution is SLOW!).

Answer 3

We needed more sweat glands, because our endurance to hunt a four legged animal in the desert requires regulation of temperature, therefore... The African Kudu will die of heat exhaustion long before the three day trek would kill a man.

The draw back is that we can't handle the cold, so we must wear the hides of other animals.

Answer 4

There isn't much of one, to tell you the truth. Men started to wear (primitive) clothing, and their need for a hairy hide lessened. They evolved more and more into the thin skin that we have. It isn't really about survival advantage, it's about their change in their environment.

Answer 5

One reason speculated by the author of The Naked Ape:
Humans evolved to have skin because the lack of hair allows for better tactile sensation. Thus, tools are easier to make, and sex is more enjoyable.

Answer 6

Since evolution is merely a theory, your question lacks relevance apart from pure speculation.

Answer 7

I takes a lot of protein to produce hair. One you can make clothing and fire, you can do better by regulating your body temperature these ways. You can use the protein for a bigger brain.

Answer 8

He didn't He was created By GOD from Nothing. If that isn't true tell me where we (or the monkey which ever you believe), came from