A lot of teacher-authors read my WordDreams blog for writers. In this monthly column, I share the most popular post from the past month here.
In my prehistoric fiction, my characters must squat because sitting in chairs didn’t become popular until about 4,000 BCE and my current trilogy takes place 75,000 BCE. To my surprise, a lot of readers had comments about this. If you have time, click through to the original article and check out what they had to say!
Why Squat When You Can Sit
If you see pictures of earliest man, you may have noticed he didn’t sit cross-legged as we might
Nor did he often seek out a log or tree stump to use as a chair.
He squatted.
This we know from nominal physical evidence like telltale divots and scratches in the femur, tibia, and ankle bone of Neanderthals, most likely the result of squatting a lot. Neanderthals are a more recent Homo species than Lucy’s kind (the star of Natural Selection), but I make the assumption if Neanderthals didn’t sit, neither did earlier Homo species, such as Homo habilis and Homo erectus.
This shouldn’t surprise us. At least a fourth of mankind habitually crouches in a deep squat both at rest and work. Squatting is far more natural for the body. It doesn’t require anything extra to make it happen–like a chair or bench. We simply stop walking, bend knees and rest. It is also much quicker to get out of should danger strike and a fast departure be required.
Chairs arrived less than 6,000 years ago. They probably were for royalty and rulers, something the wealthy could afford and commoners couldn’t. Physiologically, sitting in chairs is not a healthy position. The muscles around our spine are designed to squat which is why at least a fourth of mankind still habitually takes the load off its feet by crouching.
Who knew Lucy would be a healthy trend setter?
–featured image courtesy of Deposit Photos
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“The content presented in this blog are the result of creative imagination and not intended for use, reproduction, or incorporation into any artificial intelligence training or machine learning systems without prior written consent from the author.”
Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-18 technology for 30 years. She is the editor/author of over a hundred tech ed resources including a K-12 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum. She is an adjunct professor in tech ed, Master Teacher, freelance journalist on tech ed topics, and author of the tech thrillers, To Hunt a Sub and Twenty-four Days. You can find her resources at Structured Learning.
