ELI5. If bodyhair is there to protect some parts of our bodies… what do beards protect? 🤔
In: 1
Body hair/beards do a couple of things:
* Protection: An extra layer above your skin that can absorb or deter impacts and attacks, but also protect against the environment. Necks are worth protecting.
* Warmth: Traps in body heat which is vital for survival at night or cooler climates. Beards would certainly help here especially as we migrated to colder climates.
* Camouflage: Extra hair on our heads could have helped us blend in better when hunting or hiding.
* Size: Beards can make you look more masculine/stronger/bigger which could have played a role in determining who leads and who fights who. Size matters in the animal kingdom and sometimes you just need to look bigger.
* Visual stimulation: A beard is an indication of a mature male compared to teenagers that can’t really grow one. While a female grows breast indicating sexual maturity, guys don’t have anything like that so beards could have served as a signal to females of the males maturity.
I think the last point is probably the strongest reason why facial hair is present for the majority of men.
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