The Encephalization of Primates: Size Matters
A crucial turning point in Primate history took place 2.6 million years ago when various selective pressures led to the encephalization of Hominins. The ice age quickly approached this time period and thus resulted in a struggle of adaption and survival for many animals on earth. This took a particular impact on early hominins; Hominins during this time lived in Africa and thus were affected by the Ice age in a completely different way. Africa, instead of becoming colder, became much hotter as result of the frozen oceans, which created a dry savannah environment. In addition, many primatologists as well as archeologist agreed that the savannah offered both a dry but stable environment. The need to adapt to the new environment resulted in both the extinction of primate species as well as the encephalization of homimins. The accelerated growth of the hominin brain allowed them to acquire skills that would permit them to adjust to the changing world and some examples of these new adaptations included the use of stone tools. Stone tools are attributed to this era and it can also be inferred that these were used during the incorporation of meat to the hominin diet. Hominins, 2.6 milllion years ago began to consume meat as result of scarce fruits and leaves in their new environment. It is theorized that the stone tools were first used to cut animals apart and extract marrow from their bones, while more sophisticated tools later were used for hunting and making clothes. Although the real explanation for the accelerated brain growth of early hominins is uncertain, most primatologist agree that larger brains are energetically expensive and that their diet contributed to this greatly. Paleontol...
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...fruit and leaves had a substantially bigger rib cage than that of a humans who eat meat. It was also noted that tool use was easier with a narrower rib cage than a wider rib cage and this supports the theory that hominins incorporated meat to their diet (Aiello and Wheeler 1995). As noted, tool use approximately 2.6 (mya) could be liked with the consumption of meat and the expansion in hominin diet would explain smaller gut size. Meat is much easier to digest therefore the body has to work less to process the food and as result it can be concluded that the brain took the extra energy that smaller gut did not use. Overall, the expensive tissue hypothesis claims that the adoption of a high quality diet such as the incorporation of meat explains the reduction of the gut, which reduced the energy intake of the gut and fueled the encaphilazation of the hominin brain.
McBroom, Patricia, “Meat-eating Was Essential for Human Evolution.” UC Berkeley. University of California at Berkeley. CA. Jun 14, 1999. Web. 28 Apr.
Ranging from animals in the present time- lions, pigs, ants, otters, apes, poultry, mantis, spiders, scorpions, mice, etc., to approximately 100,000 years ago with the early humans, Neanderthals, to the beginning of the Mesozoic Era with possibly the first dinosaur, Coelophysis (Bossel et al 2001, Defleur et al 1999). The reasons for resorting to cannibalism vary according with their environment. Some animals resort to cannibalism for survival needs, ritual activities, or protecting their territory. This essay will look at animals that engaged in cannibalism across a large geological time scale.
The idea that early hominids were powerful players in the ancient is slowly slipping away. Evidence is emerging that our ancestors were not great hunters, but scavengers that roamed the savanna looking for leftovers. Pat Shipman, discusses how it would be possible for early hominids to survive as strangers and how this method of cultivation affected human evolution. Shipman, uses the marks that stone tools, and teeth would make on the bones of prey animals as evidence for her hypothesis. She theorizes that early hominids weren't mighty hunter, but cunning scavengers.
Primate (Latin: "prime, first rank"), which includes prosimians and simians ( Goodman, Tagle, Fitch, Bailey, Czelusniak ,and Koop ,1990). Primates are descendent that emerge from their predecessor that lived in the trees of tropical forests; A lot of primate features shows how they adapt to survive in this demanding habitat.Majority of the primate species are pertain to trees.
Throughout situations and research conducted by not only Robert Sapolsky or Jane Goodman, but from many other credited sources, we can blatantly see the, if not identical, similarities between the two species of humans and baboons. The most apparent likewise characteristics of this can be read and documented in Professor Sapolsky’s book, A Primate’s Memoirs. Sapolsky, who spent hundreds if not thousands, of hours studying these Savanna Baboons, sheds a vast insight into ideas of social dominance, mating strategies, instinctual prowess, community settings, hygiene, and reform of an entire generation; many of which can be unknowingly seen directly in the common occurrence of a humans daily life.
4. Due to lack of facial Muscles they cannot make facial changes that other primates use to communicate.
Thesis Statement: Despite the rampant protests of animal welfare organizations on encaging primates in zoos since primates typically show abnormal behavior, zoos in the National Capital Region claim that human interaction and enrichment programs help alleviate the stress and trauma primates experience.
People often associate brain size with intelligence, a larger brain is necessary for better intelligence. Through observation of both Neanderthals and Homo sapiens, it is seen that it is not the case but the size of the frontal lobe is what matters most. Neanderthals have a large braincase, no forehead, brow ridge, a projecting face and no chin. Their teeth are large, having large incisors, large jaws and a retro molar space. Being part of a colder environment, these traits were beneficiary and changed their diet. Neanderthals required a lot of energy and therefore their diet was heavy in meat. Their large teeth helped them consume meat much easier than those who had smaller teeth. Being small and stocky, their large skull was mainly for balance since they did not have a forehead, where the frontal lobe is, they did not have the same level of intelligence as Homo sapiens but had better vision, smell, and hearing which is essential to their
It has been believed that culture is unique to humans and no other groups of animals have culture, but recent evidence refutes this ideology. Before getting into the meat of the argument, it is important to first address the issues regarding the ambiguity of the term, “culture.” What is culture? Many scientists may argue that culture is the way of life for a group of individuals, this definition includes the values, beliefs and traditions of the group (Sapolsky, 2006). Other scientists may argue that culture is the transmission of habits and information by social means (Sapolsky, 2006). Despite the different specifics of what culture is, almost all scientists would agree that culture is transmitted socially through social learning that promotes the transfer of information between members in a group (Boesch and Tomasello, 1998). Based on these notions of culture, it can be justifiably stated that primates have culture. Primates exhibit food preparation techniques, use of tools, communication skills, and most importantly, behaviors of social learning. An exemplar of primates’ capabilities for culture is Koko, the lowland gorilla. Koko, in captivity, was able to learn American sign language, demonstrate self-awareness and the ability to deceive.
The ancestral lines of Neanderthals and modern humans is split roughly about 800,000 years ago, making them our closest relatives in the hominid ancestry. Neanderthals inhabited Europe and parts of the Western Asia before going extinct around 30,000 years ago. Neanderthals made and used a range of tools, they were able to control fire, make and wore clothing, were very skilled hunters of large animals however also ate plant foods, they lived in shelters, and occasionally made symbolic or ornamental objects, which no previous hominid species, had ever practiced this representative and complex conduct. Over this essay we will be covering some elemental information on Neanderthals, their differences and similarities anatomically with modern humans, along with their differences in behavior, and finally giving some possible implications for the timing of the development of culture.
Humans are not the only species with the ability of making tools. Early on in her research, Jane Goodall observed an older male chimp, she called him David Greybeard. Through her observation of David, she witnessed two forms of the use of tools. The first was the use of grass as a tool to extract termites from their mounds. The second was the making of a tool by stripping the leaves off a twig, modifying it for the same purpose. When Louis Leakey heard this, he wrote her “Now we must redefine tool, redefine man, or except chimpanzees as humans” (Goodall, 2002). There is a definite correlation between man and chimps in this respect. Human culture involves learned behaviors through observation, imitation and practice, the use of tools with chimpanzees show the same ability for learned beh...
“The scientific study of how humans developed did not begin until the 1800s in Europe. Until that time, people relied on religious explanations of how humans came into existence. Starting in the 1500s a scientific revolution began to sweep Europe. Thinkers started using scientific methods and experiments to try to better understand the world and the creatures living in it. Eventually these methods were turned to the question of human origins” (The Nature Of Human Origins, 1). Earth made it possible for species to change over time because Ancient Earth provides ability to plenty of time.The Homo Sapien a is very complex creature. The species started off very simple by living in caves and surviving with little food and then later evolved into a species that were able to do many more complex things. The first species was Sahelanthropus tchadensis They were one of the most simple humans in that time period and on. They had very small skulls compared to Homo Sapiens today and their motor skills were just the same. We have evolved and changed for the better both mentally and physically. The Evolution of Homo Sapiens started off simple, such as the Neanderthals, and now we are the most advanced species to ever walk the planet so far.
Paleolithic age presents the era when key human adaptations evolved in response to a variety of environmental changes experienced at the time. This period of human evolution coincided with change within the surrounding of man. Such included cooling, drying and unpredictable climatic patterns over the time. This increased amount of variability in environmental conditions raised the level of uncertainty and instability in their respective terms of survival, necessitated the man to adopt new habits to increase adaptability to the new and changing surroundings. The evolved structures and behaviors led to specialization to enable coping with changing and unpredictable conditions.
What evidence shows the changing from the early hominids to the modern humans? Throughout the human evolution body parts like legs and harms have changed for the better. By the early hominids being biped, meaning they are able to stand and even walk on two feet, it helped them to be able to do more things like getting around more and help with their tool making and hunting. A lot of the fossils discovered were found in the Great Rift Valley in East Africa, which contained many different lakes and small rivers. For many years researchers have been finding new species. These species have been named Australopithicus, robust australopithecines , Orrorin tugenensis, Homo habilis, Homo erectus, neanderthal, and Homo sapiens. These early hominids and modern humans really show off how the features and behaviors have really changed in time.
Teaford, Mark F. "Diet and the Evolution of the Earliest Human Ancestors." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 5 Oct. 2000. Web. 19 Nov. 2015. .