A Most Read--How Disability Made Us Human?

A new researcher has work throughout the history of people with disabilities, which show that this sect of people  have been shunned and even actively persecuted.

But another  new evolutionary theory has suggests that disability and deformities may have played a crucial role in the development of our species.

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Anthropologists at the University of York and Newcastle University believe hereditary disabilities may have forced early humans to become more social and cooperative

They claim our ancestors faced genetic bottlenecks at key moments in our evolutionary history, where small groups became isolated, making inbreeding more likely.

This meant 'disabilities' such as weak jaws, hairless bodies, weak arms and straight feet that are poor for climbing trees may have started to emerge at these times.

This would then have meant other social traits like compassion, communication and the ability to experiment would have become more important.

The researchers behind the new theory, which they have named the 'Vulnerable Ape' model, say these traits would have allowed them to cope with the challenges their genes threw at them.

Dr Nick Winder, from the school of arts and cultures at Newcastle University, said isolated groups of early humans whose numbers dwindled during times of hardship would have experienced a new type of selection pressure that did not favour those with the 'best' genes.

He said: 'This is a new way of thinking about "fitness". It wasn't just a matter of having good genes yourself because half your offspring's genes come from someone else.

'The pool of potential mates would be small and individuals would have to accept the genes on offer or fail to reproduce at all.

'On some occasions there would be matings between close kin, on others, there would be matings across species boundaries.

In situations where the probability of producing disabled offspring was high, the "fittest" individuals would be those that could help their offspring co-exist with this vulnerability.

'Those that were a little smarter, more flexible, and more compassionate would have been at an advantage