not found on most animals, if it is allowed to grow free it can be quite thick and long, gets in the mouth and nostrils.
What purpose did it serve when we had no tools to trim it?
In: Biology
Aesthetics. They’re our equivalent to peacock feathers or a lion’s mane, which is to say that they serve no purpose except to advertise reproductive fitness. The beard, at least, serves as the slightest bit of protection from the elements and from a rival punching you in the face, and it’s likely that the mustache just grows along with it because our DNA sloppy like that. Still, a mustache serves as an advertisement of sorts, saying “I am a virile man and I can give you healthy babies,” which is a good thing according to evolution. Since its so tied to the hormones of puberty, boys, as well as men with certain hormonal/reproductive problems, can’t grow facial hair at all.
I’d say probably as a result of a few women loving facial hair on men back when we were all cavemen and that… or at least, at some point during history.
I haven’t noticed any other species with a mustache and i also know that humans are the only species that have engorged breasts without the females needing to nurse sooo, i would assume it was probably to do with mating purposes and that someone just so happened to have the mutation and it passed its way down.
I’m assuming sexual as the function because kids don’t haves beards which rules it out as being a version of the hair on the scalp, considering that underarm hair and pubic hair also develops around the same time as facial hair.
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