Why is there bone in the penis?
Baculum (translated from Latin as a rod or staff) is a bone formed in the connective tissue of the penis and supporting its base. It appeared in animals more than 95 million years ago. The baculum consists of connective tissue that forms the corpus cavernosum above the urethra. According to some scientists, baculum not It occurs as a result of calcium deposition in real bone and cavernous body tissue. This conclusion was reached because in most cases it is not connected to the rest of the host skeleton at all.
Only five orders of mammals have bones in their penises. The baculum is found in rodents, bats, some carnivores (cats, dogs, bears, fur seals, and walruses), insectivores (moles and shrews), and some marmosets, tarsiers, and primates other than humans.
The baculum is extremely diverse. This bone has many sizes and special shapes: it may look like a simple tube or be something like a rake.
If we talk about size, the walrus can be called the record holder here – its baculum reaches 75 cm in length. The anti-record was set by marmoset monkeys; Baculum lengths are only a few millimeters. This is because the animal is very small, and in monkeys, despite their large size, the penis bone is also small. Thus, in chimpanzees and bonobos, the baculum reaches only 6-8 millimeters.
The reasons for this variation and the exact function of the bone are unknown. One hypothesis is that the baculum protects the urethra and mechanically supports the penis during sexual intercourse when erection is insufficient. Another is that it is involved in additional stimulation of ovulation in the female during mating, which increases the chances of fertilization.
Also experts assumedThe bone expands the cervix during sexual intercourse, allowing more sperm to go there and removing the sperm of the previous sexual partner from there. Also, the presence of bone in the penis stretches Sexual intercourse that prevents the female from mating with other males, thereby increasing the chances of fertilization.
However, according to scientists from the University of California, different types of bones play There are different roles, as the baculum has appeared and disappeared independently several times throughout the evolutionary history of different species. So all of the above hypotheses may be true.
People also had it but it disappeared
In primates, the baculum first formed 50 million years ago; Among these is the common ancestor of monkeys and humans. But it disappeared about 2 million years ago. scientists EstablishedWhat
Due to monogamy and less competition between partners, the bone in the human penis has disappeared.
In primates, the presence and size of a baculum depends on the duration of penetration of the penis into the vagina (intromission): the longer it is, the larger the bone, in order to better maintain the erection of the penis. For a person, this process takes about five minutes, which is not much time and therefore no additional support is needed.
Additionally, the study showed that the baculum was longer in polygynous and seasonally breeding animals. There is no seasonal reproduction in humans; monogamy or polygamy (one male mating with several females) is more typical for them; This has become another reason why bone disappears from the penis.
But there is an alternative view expressed by anthropologist Drobyshevsky. According to him, the baculum disappeared due to the development of upright walking among Homo representatives.
“It is unknown to science when the baculum disappeared (in humans). It seems that no one has found Australopithecus baculum yet, but this is not so strange because it is not a very strong and large bone. “It appears, based on virtual assessments, that the baculum disappears with the development of upright walking and the change of body position to vertical.” Wrote scientist.
Another unscientific but interesting version of the disappearance of a bone in the human penis has been put forward researchers Holy book. They believe that the Old Testament Eve was created not from Adam’s rib, but from the baculum, the trace of the “surgery” performed is the perineal stitch. In their opinion, the Bible, like other ancient texts, is an attempt to explain the world around it, and this is how ancient people decided to answer the question of the absence of a penis bone in humans.
Why are they selling?
Nowadays, baculum animals, but most often walruses, can be purchased from various sites. Moreover, it is popular both in Russia and abroad. The price of such a product varies from 10 to 50 thousand rubles. You can buy both unprocessed “walrus horseradish”, and polished, and even with engravings.
Advertisements in marketplaces indicate that this is a souvenir from Chukotka. The indigenous peoples of Chukotka are Chukchi, Chuvans, Eskimos and others. They developed a traditional form of engraving and drawing engraving on the baculum. In addition, bone is widely used as one of the main objects of worship – shamans beat their tambourines with walrus baculum. Northern peoples make totem figurines and other useful items from it and use it as amulets, thought to enhance potency and help strengthen male potency. Meanwhile, the last belief widespread Among the indigenous peoples of America, only there miraculous powers were attributed to the raccoon baculum.