Page 193 - The Errors the American National Academy of Sciences

The NAS's Human Evolution Error

which evolutionists particularly stress is the angle at which the femur
comes down and meets the knee, known as the "carrying angle."
Human beings are able to carry their weight on their feet as they walk
because their upper leg bones and lower leg bones meet at an approx-
imate 9 degree angle at the knee joint. In the chimpanzees and goril-

las, however, the thigh and shin bones form a straight line, with a
carrying angle of essentially 0 degrees. These animals only manage to
carry their weight on their feet when they walk by swinging their
bodies from one direction to another in the "ape-walk." Evolutionists
assume that ape fossils with a high carrying angle somewhat similar
to the human condition walked on two legs and thus evolved into
human beings. The reason that australopithecines are regarded as an-
cestors of man is that they generally have a carrying angle of
about 15 degrees. However, many evolutionists now accept

that this angle indicates that these creatures were expert
tree climbers. In fact, the largest carrying angle among
living primates is found in the orangutan and the spi-
der monkey, both of which are excellent tree-

The postures of human be-
ings and apes are very differ-
ent. Humans have an erect
body posture and walk up-
right, while apes lean their
bodies forward and use their
arms for support.

191