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Small prey compelled prehistoric humans to produce appropriate hunting weapons

phys.org

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Re: Small prey compelled prehistoric humans to produce appropriate hunting weapons

#21

Post by [deleted] »

MichaelZuo wrote: post #14
distortionfield wrote: post #3

> “Ultimately, we hypothesized that prey size had played a major part in human evolution: at the beginning the largest animals were hunted, and when these were gone humans went on to the next in size, and so on. Finally, when hunting was no longer energetically viable, humans began to domesticate animals and plants. That's how the agricultural revolution began." I had never considered this angle before. I always thou…

Early cities were pretty undesirable places to live, so it makes sense,

[deleted]

Re: Small prey compelled prehistoric humans to produce appropriate hunting weapons

#22

Post by SoftTalker »

Robotbeat wrote: post #8
SoftTalker wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is almost zero evolutionary pressure on the human species right now. We are probably backsliding.

There’s massive evolutionary pressure now that we’ve developed birth control.

True, I mean evolution in the forward sense, implied by my "we are probably backsliding"

Re: Small prey compelled prehistoric humans to produce appropriate hunting weapons

#23

Post by Nursie »

SoftTalker wrote: post #22
Robotbeat wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There’s massive evolutionary pressure now that we’ve developed birth control.

True, I mean evolution in the forward sense, implied by my "we are probably backsliding"

What do you mean by backsliding? Is it only 'evolution' when things become stronger/smarter/faster?

Evolution is organisms adapting to their environment in the face of selection pressure, it has no particular direction.

Re: Small prey compelled prehistoric humans to produce appropriate hunting weapons

#24

Post by SoftTalker »

Nursie wrote: post #23
SoftTalker wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

True, I mean evolution in the forward sense, implied by my "we are probably backsliding"

What do you mean by backsliding? Is it only 'evolution' when things become stronger/smarter/faster? Evolution is organisms adapting to their environment in the face of selection pressure, it has no particular direction.

A lot of people who would not have survived childhood in the past now live. Birth defects, childhood cancers, diabetes, severe asthma or allergies, poorly functioning immune systems, profoundly poor vision or hearing, etc.

Who uses birth control? Smart, pragmatic, disciplined, responsible people. This is being selected against.

I was using "evolution" in the sense of "survival of the fittest" and there aren't really selections for "fittest" (healthier, stronger, smarter) operating on humans anymore, it's more the opposite.

Re: Small prey compelled prehistoric humans to produce appropriate hunting weapons

#25

Post by jterwill »

distortionfield wrote: post #3

> “Ultimately, we hypothesized that prey size had played a major part in human evolution: at the beginning the largest animals were hunted, and when these were gone humans went on to the next in size, and so on. Finally, when hunting was no longer energetically viable, humans began to domesticate animals and plants. That's how the agricultural revolution began." I had never considered this angle before. I always thou…

It’s hard not to see this angle as making the capacity for cultural evolution very fortunate for us (or unfortunate for other species). What other animals can exhaust primary food sources and ‘quickly’ pivot to another?

I’ve often wondered how much rituals and social routines for affiliation and bonding drove for this capacity (which we often associate with lithic tools) as opposed to the need for food. Perhaps some of this is due to another scarcity: hair. How did hairless apes manage relationships without grooming?

Re: Small prey compelled prehistoric humans to produce appropriate hunting weapons

#26

Post by klyrs »

pizzafeelsright wrote: post #18

"humans began to make stone tools about 3 million years ago" is just as accepted as "male and female he created them". I wonder if others read this text the same way I do.

I accept the first statement as an indication that we have reasonably strong evidence that human-ish (that is, genus homo) primates were using tools that had been fabricated, not just found; and that such fossils have been dated back to 3 million years ago, give or take.

The second statement comes with no evidence, no proof, no error bars. And the interpretation of the Bible as literal truth is an invention of the 18th century.

So no, the two statements are not "just as accepted."

Re: Small prey compelled prehistoric humans to produce appropriate hunting weapons

#27

Post by j16sdiz »

mhb wrote: post #20

Maybe it is less risky to hunt smaller prey and the humans that learned to do so were favored. Doesn't explain the decline in the large prey animals, but that might be coincidence.

> Doesn't explain the decline in the large prey animals, but that might be coincidence.

It was "decrease in the quantity of bones of large prey (in settlement)".

Could be they just stopped hunting large prey animals.

Re: Small prey compelled prehistoric humans to produce appropriate hunting weapons

#28

Post by j16sdiz »

SoftTalker wrote: post #24
Nursie wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you mean by backsliding? Is it only 'evolution' when things become stronger/smarter/faster? Evolution is organisms adapting to their environment in the face of selection pressure, it has no particular direction.

A lot of people who would not have survived childhood in the past now live. Birth defects, childhood cancers, diabetes, severe asthma or allergies, poorly functioning immune systems, profoundly poor vision or hearing, etc. Who uses birth control? Smart, pragmatic, disciplined, responsible people. This is being selected against. I was using "evolution" in the sense of "survival of the fittest" and there aren't really…

Oh. That's why Elon Musk have 11 kids.

Re: Small prey compelled prehistoric humans to produce appropriate hunting weapons

#29

Post by dhosek »

mhb wrote: post #20

Maybe it is less risky to hunt smaller prey and the humans that learned to do so were favored. Doesn't explain the decline in the large prey animals, but that might be coincidence.

It’s a pretty widespread coincidence. The extinction of Western Hemisphere megafauna correlates quite well with the arrival of humans. Megafauna that has survived to the present day has generally evolved in place with humans (viz, Africa and south Asia).

Re: Small prey compelled prehistoric humans to produce appropriate hunting weapons

#30

Post by staplers »

distortionfield wrote: post #3

> “Ultimately, we hypothesized that prey size had played a major part in human evolution: at the beginning the largest animals were hunted, and when these were gone humans went on to the next in size, and so on. Finally, when hunting was no longer energetically viable, humans began to domesticate animals and plants. That's how the agricultural revolution began." I had never considered this angle before. I always thou…

"Necessity is the mother of invention"
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