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Human eye sockets give wider view than “other apes”

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Just so we know, from New Scientist:

Primates have forward-facing eyes, and humans are no exception. But look closely, says Eric Denion at the French Institute of Health and Medical Research in Caen, and you’ll see that human eyes are different.

They found that the human eye sockets, or orbits, were much wider relative to their height than the other ape eye sockets. What’s more, the outer margin – the side of the orbit furthest from the nose – is recessed much further back in the human skull than in other ape skulls.

This means that when we swivel our eyeballs sideways, we have a lateral view of the world that is unimpeded by the bones of the skull, unlike other apes.

This suggests that the trait may have been beneficial to early humans. It would be more energy efficient and quicker to move the eyes rather than the whole head when they wanted to scan the savannah, says Denion.

That makes sense, says Robin Dunbar at the University of Oxford. “Better all-round vision would certainly be more advantageous for predator detection,” he says.

Or perhaps they simply emerged as a consequence of other changes in the shape of our head. More.

Other explanations are on offer.

All odd, considering that we are 99% chimpanzee, according to approved sources, so it doesn’t matter what we see vs. what they see.

Alternatively, see conundrums in human evolution and problems of the human mind for the difference it does make.

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Comments
We have the apes body but we did not come from them. We were created separately. We simply being intelligent have more to look at and think about and the eyes are just right. apes are dumb animals and gave all they need.Robert Byers
July 5, 2015
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Since I accept that both humans and apes were designed separately, I have to wonder what performance advantage there is in the design for chimps and gorillas. My guess would be that the bonier face and more deeply set eyeballs have some defensive advantage if you're getting whacked in the face with branches all day. But then the Designer may have simply thought it looked cute. But clearly humans are the refined design.mahuna
July 4, 2015
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