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{{short description|Entity with human form or characteristics}} {{Other uses}} {{distinguish|Hominoid}} A '''humanoid''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|juː|m|ən|ɔɪ|d}}; from English ''human'' and ''[[wikt:-oid#Suffix|-oid]]'' "resembling") is a non-[[human]] entity with human form or characteristics. By the 20th century, the term came to describe [[fossils]] which were [[Morphology (biology)|morphologically]] similar, but not identical, to those of the [[human skeleton]].<ref name="OED">{{cite encyclopedia |title=humanoid, n. and adj. |encyclopedia=OED Online |publisher=Oxford University Press }}</ref> Although this usage was common in the sciences for much of the 20th century, it is now considered rare.<ref name="OED"/> More generally, the term can refer to anything with distinctly human characteristics or adaptations, such as possessing [[opposable]] [[anterior]] [[forelimb]]-[[appendage]]s (i.e. thumbs), [[visible spectrum]]-[[binocular vision]] (i.e. having two eyes), or [[biomechanic]] [[plantigrade]]-[[bipedalism]] (i.e. the ability to walk on heels and [[Metatarsal bones|metatarsals]] in an upright position). Humanoids may also include [[human-animal hybrid]]s (where each cell has partly human and partly animal genetic contents) and [[human-animal chimera]]s (where some cells are human and some cells are animal in origin).<ref name="pmid16680130">{{cite journal| author=Rabin S| title=The human use of humanoid beings: chimeras and patent law. | journal=Nat Biotechnol | year= 2006 | volume= 24 | issue= 5 | pages= 517–9 | pmid=16680130 | doi=10.1038/nbt0506-517 | pmc= | url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16680130 }}</ref> [[Science fiction]] media frequently present sentient extraterrestrial lifeforms as humanoid as a byproduct of [[convergent evolution]]. ==In theoretical convergent evolution== {{see also|Convergent evolution|dinosaur intelligence}} Although there are no known humanoid species outside the genus ''[[Homo]]'', the theory of [[convergent evolution]] speculates that different species may evolve similar traits, and in the case of a humanoid these traits may include [[intelligence]] and [[bipedal]]ism and other humanoid [[Human skeletal changes due to bipedalism|skeletal changes]], as a result of similar [[evolution]]ary pressures. American psychologist and [[Dinosaur intelligence]] theorist [[Harry Jerison]] suggested the possibility of sapient dinosaurs. In a 1978 presentation at the [[American Psychological Association]], he speculated that [[dromiceiomimus]] could have evolved into a highly intelligent species like human beings.<ref name="kaneko">{{cite book|last1=Kaneko|first1=Ryūichi|title=Shin kyōryū densetsu : Saiko kyōryū eoraputoru kara kyōryū jinrui made kyōryūgaku no saisentan|trans-title=<!--provisional translation-->New dinosaur book: The front-lines of dinosaurology, from Eoraptor as the earliest dinosaur to Sapient dinosaurs|year=1997|publisher=Hayakawashobō|location=Tokyo|language=ja|isbn=978-4-15-050211-9|pages=204–206}}</ref> In his book, ''[[Wonderful Life (book)|Wonderful Life]]'', [[Stephen Jay Gould]] argues if the tape of life were re-wound and played back, life would have taken a very different course.<ref name="wonderfullife">{{cite book| title=Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History| author=Gould, S.J.| author-link=Stephen Jay Gould| year=1989| publisher=W.W. Norton & Company| title-link=Wonderful Life (book)}}</ref> [[Simon Conway Morris]] counters this argument, arguing that convergence is a dominant force in evolution and that since the same environmental and physical constraints act on all life, there is an "optimum" body plan that life will inevitably evolve toward, with evolution bound to stumble upon intelligence, a trait of [[primates]], [[crows]], and [[dolphins]], at some point.<ref name="SCM2005">{{Cite book | last = Conway Morris | first = Simon | year = 2005 | title = Life's solution: inevitable humans in a lonely universe | isbn = 0-521-60325-0 | location = Cambridge, UK | oclc = 156902715 | publisher = Cambridge University Press | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/lifessolutionine01conw }}</ref> [[File:Dinosauroid.jpg|thumb|upright|A model of the hypothetical [[Dinosauroid]], [[Dinosaur Museum (Dorchester)|Dinosaur Museum, Dorchester]]]] In 1982, [[Dale Russell]], curator of vertebrate fossils at the [[Canadian Museum of Nature|National Museum of Canada]] in [[Ottawa]], conjectured a possible evolutionary path that might have been taken by the dinosaur ''[[Troodon]]'' had it not perished in the [[Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event]] 66 million years ago, suggesting that it could have evolved into intelligent beings similar in body plan to humans, becoming a ''humanoid'' of dinosaur origin. Over geologic time, Russell noted that there had been a steady increase in the [[encephalization quotient]] or EQ (the relative brain weight when compared to other species with the same body weight) among the dinosaurs.<ref name="cosm">[http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/features/print/1444/smartasaurus Cosmos: Smartosarus] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090917210645/http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/features/print/1444/smartasaurus |date=2009-09-17 }}</ref> Russell had discovered the first Troodontid skull, and noted that, while its EQ was low compared to humans, it was six times higher than that of other dinosaurs. If the trend in ''Troodon'' evolution had continued to the present, its brain case could by now measure 1,100 cm<sup>3</sup>; comparable to that of a human. [[Troodontid]]s had semi-manipulative fingers, able to grasp and hold objects to a certain degree, and binocular vision.<ref name=russell1982>{{Cite journal | last1 = Russell | first1 = D. A. | last2 = Séguin | first2 = R. | year = 1982 | title = Reconstruction of the small Cretaceous theropod ''Stenonychosaurus inequalis'' and a hypothetical dinosauroid | journal = Syllogeus | volume = 37 | pages = 1–43 }}</ref> Russell proposed that this "[[Dinosauroid]]", like most dinosaurs of the troodontid family, would have had large eyes and three fingers on each hand, one of which would have been partially [[Opposable thumb|opposed]]. As with most modern reptiles (and birds), he conceived of its genitalia as internal. Russell speculated that it would have required a navel, as a placenta aids the development of a large brain case. However, it would not have possessed mammary glands and would have fed its young, as birds do, on regurgitated food. He speculated that its language would have sounded somewhat like [[bird song]].<ref name=russell1982/><ref name="nash">Naish, D. (2006). [http://darrennaish.blogspot.com/2006/11/dinosauroids-revisited.html Dinosauroids Revisited] Darren Naish: Tetrapod Zoology, April 23, 2011.</ref> Russell's thought experiment has been met with criticism from other paleontologists since the 1980s, many of whom point out that his Dinosauroid is overly anthropomorphic. [[Gregory S. Paul]] (1988) and [[Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.]], consider it "suspiciously human" (Paul, 1988) and [[Darren Naish]] has argued that a large-brained, highly intelligent troodontid would retain a more standard theropod body plan, with a horizontal posture and long tail, and would probably manipulate objects with the snout and feet in the manner of a bird, rather than with human-like "hands".<ref name=nash/> (Although bipedal dinosaurs often do ''have'' [[Theropoda#Forelimb_morphology|hands]], if they don't turn them into wings.) ==In robotics== [[File:HONDA ASIMO.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Honda]]'s [[ASIMO]] is an example of a [[humanoid robot]].]] {{Main|Humanoid robot}} A humanoid robot is a robot that is based on the general structure of a human, such as a robot that walks on two legs and has an upper torso, or a robot that has two arms, two legs and a head. A humanoid robot does not necessarily look convincingly like a real person, for example, the [[ASIMO]] humanoid robot has a helmet instead of a face. An ''[[Android (robot)|android]]'' (male) or ''[[gynoid]]'' (female) is a humanoid robot designed to look as much like a real person as possible, although these words are frequently perceived to be synonymous with a humanoid. While there are many humanoid robots in fictional stories, some real [[humanoid robot]]s have been developed since the 1990s, and some real human-looking android robots have been developed since 2002. Similarly to robots, virtual [[Avatar (computing)|avatars]] may also be called humanoid when resembling humans. ==In mythology== {{main|Mythic humanoids}} [[File:0 Jupiter - Louvre MR 254 - Louvre-Lens (2).JPG|thumb|248x248px|Marble statue of [[Jupiter (god)|Jupiter]]]] [[Deities]] are often imagined in [[anthropomorphism|human shape]] (also known as "[[anthropotheism]]"), sometimes as [[mythological hybrid|hybrids]] (especially the [[nefer|gods]] of [[Ancient Egyptian religion]]). A fragment by the Greek poet [[Xenophanes]] describes this tendency, {{blockquote|...Men make gods in their own image; those of the [[Aethiopia|Ethiopians]] are black and narrow-nosed, those of the [[Thracians]] have blue eyes and red hair.<ref>Diels, B16,''Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker'', 1903, pp.38–58 (Xenophanes fr. B16, Diels-Kranz, Kirk/Raven no. 171 [= Clem. Alex. Strom. Vii.4]</ref>}} In [[animism]] in general, the spirits innate in certain objects (like the Greek [[nymph]]s) are typically depicted in human shape, e.g. spirits of trees ([[Dryads]]), of the woodlands (the hybrid [[faun]]s), of wells or waterways ([[Nereids]], [[Neck (water spirit)|Necks]]), etc. ==In science fiction== {{further|Extraterrestrials in fiction|Biology in fiction}} With regard to [[extraterrestrials in fiction]], the term humanoid is most commonly used to refer to [[extraterrestrial life|alien beings]] with a [[body plan]] that is generally like that of a human, including upright stance and [[bipedalism]], as well as intelligence. In much of [[science fiction]], humanoid aliens are abundant.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Munkittrick |first1=Kyle |title=The Only Sci-Fi Explanation of Hominid Aliens that Makes Scientific Sense |url=http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/sciencenotfiction/2011/07/12/the-only-sci-fi-explanation-of-hominid-aliens-that-makes-scientific-sense/ |magazine=Discover Magazine |access-date=16 June 2018 |date=12 July 2011 |archive-date=16 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716033740/http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/sciencenotfiction/2011/07/12/the-only-sci-fi-explanation-of-hominid-aliens-that-makes-scientific-sense/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> One explanation is that authors use the only example of intelligent life that they know, humans. In live-action television and films, using humanoid aliens makes it easier to cast human actors to portray alien characters. A study by the zoologist Sam Levin suggests that aliens might indeed resemble humans, given that they are presumably subject to [[natural selection]]. Levin argues that this can be expected to produce a hierarchy of cooperating systems that make up any [[organism]].<ref name="Indie">{{cite news |last1=Griffin |first1=Andrew |title=What would aliens look like? More similar to us than people realise, scientists suggest |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/aliens-what-look-like-more-human-humanoid-biped-scientists-living-image-size-physiology-a8030976.html |access-date=14 June 2018 |work=[[The Independent]] |date=1 November 2017}}</ref> Luis Villazon points out that animals that move necessarily have a front and a back; [[Bilateria|as with animals on Earth]], sense organs tend to gather at the front as they encounter stimuli there, [[cephalization|forming a head]]. Legs reduce friction, and with legs, bilateral symmetry makes coordination easier. Sentient organisms will, Villazon argues, likely use tools, in which case they need hands and at least two other limbs to stand on. In short, a generally humanoid shape is likely, though octopus- or starfish-like bodies are also possible.<ref name="ScienceFocus">{{cite web |last1=Villazon |first1=Luis |title=What are the odds that aliens are humanoid? |url=http://www.sciencefocus.com/article/nature/what-are-odds-aliens-are-humanoid |publisher=Science Focus (BBC Focus Magazine Online) |access-date=14 June 2018 |date=16 December 2017}}</ref> An opposing view is given by Mike Wall, who argues that intelligent extraterrestrials able to contact Humans would most likely have reached a phase allowing them to develop themselves into machines.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wall |first1=Mike |title=Electronic E.T.: Intelligent Aliens Are Likely Machines |url=https://www.space.com/34713-intelligent-aliens-machines-seti-search.html |work=Space.com |access-date=14 June 2018 |date=14 November 2016}}</ref> Several in-universe explanations have been offered for the abundance of humanoids. One of the more common is that the humanoids in the story have evolved on an [[Earth analog|Earth-like planet or natural satellite]], totally independently from Humans on [[Earth]]. However, some works have offered alternative explanations: In ''[[Star Trek]]'', the explanation is given that a primordial humanoid civilization, the [[Ancient humanoid (Star Trek)|Ancient humanoid]]s, seeded the [[Milky Way|Milky Way Galaxy]] with genetically engineered cells to guide the evolution of life on a multitude of worlds toward a humanoid form.<ref>{{Cite episode | title = The Chase | episode-link = The Chase (Star Trek: The Next Generation) | series = Star Trek: The Next Generation | series-link = Star Trek: The Next Generation | airdate = April 26, 1993 | season = 6 | number = 20 }}</ref> In the television series ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'', the [[Jaffa (Stargate)|Jaffa]] are explained as being a hundred-thousand year offshoot of humanity bred by the [[Goa'uld]] to suit their purposes, hence their almost-human appearance and physiology, while many other "alien" characters are actually the descendants of human-[[slaves]] who were removed from Earth by the Goa'uld. Any humans isolated on multiple planets after 100k+ years of adaptations would most certainly seem "alien" to Earthlings. Similarly, in its spin-off show ''[[Stargate Atlantis]]'', the explanation offered for the humanoid appearance of the [[Wraith (Stargate)|Wraith]] is that the Wraith evolved from a parasite which incorporated human [[DNA]] into its own [[genome]] after feeding on humans, giving the Wraith their present form.<ref name="The Gift">{{cite episode|title = The Gift| episode-link = The Gift (Stargate Atlantis)| series = Stargate Atlantis| series-link = Stargate Atlantis}}</ref> ==In ufology== In the field of [[ufology]], ''humanoid'' refers to any of the claimed [[extraterrestrials]] which abduct human victims, such as the [[Grey alien|Greys]],<ref>{{cite book| last = Bryan| first = C.D.B| title = Close Encounters of the Fourth Kind| url = https://archive.org/details/closeencounterso00brya_0| url-access = registration| year = 1995| publisher = Alfred A. Knopf, Inc| isbn = 9780679429753}}</ref> the [[Reptilian humanoid|Reptilians]],<ref>{{cite journal| last = Lewis| first = Tyson|author2=Richard Kahn|date=Winter 2005| title = The Reptoid Hypothesis: Utopian and Dystopian Representational Motifs in David Icke's Alien Conspiracy Theory| journal = Utopian Studies| volume = 16| issue = 1| pages = 45–75| doi = 10.5325/utopianstudies.16.1.0045| s2cid = 143047194| doi-access = free}}</ref> [[Nordic aliens|Nordics]], and [[Martians]]. ==In fantasy & fiction== {{main|Race (fantasy)}} In fantasy settings the term ''humanoid'' is used to refer to a human-like fantastical creature, such as a [[Dwarf (mythology)|dwarf]], [[elf]], [[Gnome (Dungeons & Dragons)|gnome]], [[halfling]], [[goblin]], [[troll]], [[orc]] or an [[ogre]], and [[Bigfoot]]. In some cases, such as older versions of the game ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'', a distinction is made between [[demi-humans]], which are relatively similar to humans, and humanoids, which exhibit larger differences from humans. Animals that are humanoid are also shown in fantasy. Humanoids are also used in some old horror movies, for example in ''[[Creature From the Black Lagoon]]'', made in 1954 by [[Jack Arnold (director)|Jack Arnold]]. Humanoid characters are defined by their human-like physical characteristics and forms, which can vary. In fictional media, humanoid characters can appear entirely human (e.g., Saiyans from ''[[Dragon Ball Z]]''), predominantly human-like (e.g., Gems from ''[[Steven Universe]])'', or they may possess general non-human traits combined with human traits (e.g., anthropomorphic animals, notably characters from ''[[The Amazing World of Gumball]])''. ==See also== *[[Primate]] *[[Anthropomorphism]] *[[Hominid (term)]] *[[Human disguise]] *[[Panspermia]] *[[Race (fantasy)]] *[[Robotics]] ;Lists *[[Lists of humanoids]] **[[List of avian humanoids]] **[[List of aquatic humanoids|List of piscine and amphibian humanoids]] **[[List of reptilian humanoids]] **[[List of humanoid aliens]] ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20071125075248/http://www.robotinfo.net/ Robot Info (Directory of Robotics news, books, videos, magazines, forums and products)]. *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070313234213/http://www.maniacworld.com/Humanoid-Robot.html Humanoid Robot] Video *[http://www.roboporium.com/ Humanoid Robots in America] [[Category:Humanoids| ]] [[Category:1870s neologisms]] [[Category:Anthropomorphism]] [[Category:Fantasy tropes]] [[Category:Science fiction themes]]
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