What are the traits that make us truly human?

A:The characteristics that make us truly human and different from other primates are essentially:

• Our opposable thumbs, which allow us to perform delicate tasks.
• Our pharynx that enables us to make complex sounds necessary for speech. The human pharynx forms in early childhood, when the larynx migrates lower in the throat, making it impossible for humans to breathe and swallow at the same time.
• The ability to walk and run upright.
• A large brain compared to body size.

Secondary characteristics include the development of tools, although this is not unique to humans, self awareness, which is also not unique to humans, and the development of sophisticated speech. Our self awareness, in turn, results in the development of religious beliefs. Those religious beliefs convince many that we also possess a soul, which defines us as humans, although some have said in the past that even animals have souls.