why do we not have more body hair like animals?

Question

if we accept evolution is true, why did humans evolve to be (mostly) hairless? wouldn't it be more advantageous to have fur or full body hair so we wouldn't have to make clothes to keep us warm? i thought the point of evolution was to retain the most useful traits and discard those that threaten survival.

and why do women have less body hair than men? and why do both men and women have hair in certain areas on their bodies?

can anyone explain this from an evolutionary perspective (or indeed any other)? thanks

Answer 1

Along with sexual selection, there are a number of other theories of why we lost our hair from the aquatic phase theory(Elaine Morgan's books are fascinating) to the idea that we did it to keep cool in the hot savannas. The source below explores the idea that loss of hair would have freed us from parasites(lice, fleas, and ticks) which in turn spread various diseases such as typhus.

Answer 2

You appear to be using a Lamarckian framework. Lamarck, unlike Darwin, believed that the environment itself could mold physical traits in such a way that they would eventually be inherited. So if you always cut the tail of a rat, after a few generations you would obtain a tailless rat. That's the same you are saying: If you inhibit the growth of body hair by imposing a cover (fur) over it, you will eventually obtain a hairless race. But you didn't include Africans in your chart, and as we all know people having black skin have less hair than those from Northern Europe but don't wear much clothing due to living in warm to hot climates. So your hypothesis doesn't stand.

Answer 3

There are animals that don't have hair. One particular animal that we are probably akin to is the pig. :)

Women have less hair because we don't produce testosterone like the men, we produce oestrogen.

The hair on our bodies generally covers glands, The hair then traps the secretions which attract mates.. because we are basically animals.

As for the person who said people wouldn't have sex with someone who is hairy.. that's just plain silly. I love a nice, soft hairy chest! Nothing nicer!

We assume we were once hairy because apes are hairy but although we most closely resemble apes we didn't originate from the species of ape that are around today. So we may not have had hair, as we originate from the warmer parts of the world anyway.

Answer 4

You forget sexual selection. My favorite hypothesis here is that body hair was selected out by female choice. Look to the pea hen, as she selects the best display of the peacock. Having all that tail is surely expensive from an evolutionary perspective.
Evolutionary progressions can be quite counter intuitive.
The point of evolution is reproductive success and any way an organism is insured that is the way of evolutionary processes.

Answer 5

When you speak of 'animals' I presume you mean primates. Non-primate animals have fur, not hair. The diffrence being, hair continues to grow, fur falls out to be replaced periodically.
The main reason we have evolved less hairy is the genetics of attraction. Men find un-hairy women more shaggable so the offspring, over generations, gradually become less hairy. Likewise, women tend to prefer less-hairy men.

Answer 6

Wow, Torikerin, you're obviously an idiot.
I agree with the previous statement that homo sapiens devoloped clothing thousands of years ago and developed less hair through natural selection. The fact is, we don't need it much anymore. However, different countries have inhabitants with more hair than others (some countries w/ colder cliamates).

Answer 7

More body hair keeps animals warm because they normally live in the cold.But humanbeing are staying in the warmth ever so they dont need more of these hairs

Answer 8

Speak for yourself! I have a chest like a doormat! It is perhaps because humans invented clothes (Basic animal skin cloaks in the early days.) that we evolved with less hair. Perhaps our bodies became so used to being covered up, they stopped growing hair.

Answer 9

we were hairy some of our cousins still ar in some countries
but over time clothes have replaced the need to have body hair

Answer 10

i think it has to do with the fact that you wouldn't have sex with a really really hairy person.

and people have hair on the areas of the body that require the most protection. examples: your head (houses the brain) your balls (houses the all important man seed) etc...