This makes these bones and muscles better able to swing our legs forward as we walk and to balance us on one leg as we swing the other. Finally, our head is balanced on top of the backbone. The human foramen magnum is further forward toward our mouth than an ape's foramen magnum. Apes have an angled spine that connects towards the back of their head, and long arms which reach the ground so they can walk on all fours. Our face is smaller than an ape's because we don't have such large front teeth.
Apes eat mostly fruits and leaves.
Sometimes they have to strip leaves or bark from plants or tear through tough skins to get at the edible parts inside. They need big teeth to eat raw foods and for defensive displays. Human ancestors had larger teeth than we do, but even the earliest humans already had relatively small canines and teeth designed to eat small seeds or softer foods. Today, our teeth are tiny compared to an ape's teeth, so our faces are much smaller. The human hand is extremely flexible and dexterous.