The body structure we have as humans today came to be what it is as a result of a very long evolution. During this long process, our body has undergone many changes.
As a result of these changes, a few parts that worked for us in the past but do not have a function now remained in our body. One of them is the coccyx, which is located in the structure of our pelvis.
So why do we have a coccyx today, even though we don’t have a tail?
As you know, most four-legged creatures have a large or small tail because it helps them balance while moving. As humans, we started to stand on our two feet about 6 million years ago.
Since we stand on our two feet in the 6 million-year period until today, we no longer need a tail to balance. Therefore, this organ, which we did not use, became atrophied in the evolutionary process and was not passed on to the next generations.
This is one of the reasons why we have a coccyx today, even though we don’t have a tail, so does the coccyx have a function now?
Yes, of course there is a reason why the coccyx is still present in our bodies. Located now in our pelvis, this tiny bone helps fix many different muscles and ligaments in place that are necessary for the functioning of the intestines and genitourinary system (fistulas, abnormal connections between the vagina, urethra, bladder or ureter).
In fact, the tail begins to develop while still an embryo. However, when we begin to evolve into a fetus, this formation stops and only the coccyx remains in our body. For this reason, although we do not have a tail as a human being, we do have a tailbone.
So if we had a tail, what would we use it for?
Some species of monkeys native to South and Central America, called “New World” monkeys, have tails that can curl around tree branches and can even support their body weight and grasp objects.
But our closest living tailed relatives are the baboons and macaques of Africa, Asia, and Southern Europe, which use their tails mostly for balance, and none of them have a grasping tail, as that’s a step back in the pedigree.
So we probably wouldn’t have grasping queues, but that doesn’t mean they would be useless:
A long, hairy tail like that of a macaque monkey could have acted as a natural scarf, meaning we could wrap it around us for warmth. In fact, if we had evolved to hibernate in the winter, our tails might have served as a fat storage system – which some animals do indeed use.
Given the urge to adorn oneself, tails could also give rise to a series of new fashion trends. The oldest jewelery pieces in history date back 100,000 years. Therefore, it is not difficult to imagine that our ancestors developed accessories such as tail rings, tail veils and even tail hair nets, in addition to ornaments such as necklaces and earrings.
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