Why did people sit down? The answer has to be mere speculation. What is certain is that quite apart from sitting as a status symbol (throne), sitting made people successful because it disciplined them physically. It allowed them to focus their energies on thinking. The person with staying power became a permanent sitter with postural problems. The consequences of this posture are well known. However, there is no denying the origin of humans. Just look at the way children move around naturally.
When we talk at INTERSTUHL about ergonomics in the workplace, we are not talking just about seating ergonomics, or reducing stress. That is (would be) not enough for us. We focus on the whole human "system" and the situations it finds itself in. This attitude is what we call our ERGO philosophy.