Question: Hi James I would like to know how did the human body evolved into who we are now

James Cole answered on 7 Nov 2017:

Ok this, is a really tough question. About 7 million years ago our human ancestors start to evolve from a primate that may look something similar to a modern day chimpanzee (so quadrupedal), and then over that 7 million year period we eventually end up with our own species. In that time we slowly become bipedal (walking on two legs) which may be as a result of foraging in trees (walking on branches) or perhaps walking across open grasslands. We also start to lose our body hair, and our brains now much larger than expected for a primate of our size. This typically seems to start about 2 million years ago. The reasons for brain growth may be linked to changes in diet, we start to eat more protein, and our social group size starts to grow, possibly in response to rapidly changing climates. Whatever the trigger, our human ancestors then continue on that path of increased brain growth and social complexity which was underscored by a reliance on technology (in this case stone tools to hunt and forage). Eventually we end up with the modern human body plan and a brain that allows us to think abstractly and problem solve easily around 300 thousand years ago.