Human Evolution

This section is a narrative based on the physical evidence in the introduction above. It is speculative, but it is believed that any reasonable alternative would lead to the same conclusions. The author solicits other opinions.

Evolution appears to work in bursts of activity. A species may survive for a very long time, even millions of years, with relatively little change, then suddenly, seemingly overnight, a variant species springs from it. Several such cases are evident among the hominid. When populations are large, species drift is very slow, regardless of species. Evolution works best when a small population of a species becomes isolated and faced suddenly with new hazards. The environment provides early and quick death to quickly weed out deleterious mutations and the small population provides a small gene pool across which helpful mutations may quickly spread.

This is the manner in which the first hominid, the walking ape, appeared. Although no one knows what specifically happened or where, a small pocket of primates were somehow isolated in an area where there were no cats (the main primate predator) and the food supply was short, perhaps even dwindling.

In warmer and wetter times, huge forests abounded across Africa. Both the ancient primates and felines were widespread. Then the climate changed. Forests dwindled. Patches of forests became isolated, causing animal interchange to become quite difficult. In most such patches, both primate and feline survived. The shortage of food, perhaps growing worse daily, drove some of the primates to the forest floor in search of food. There they became food for the cats. Life was too grim and short for a new ground dwelling primate species to develop.

But somewhere there was an unusual valley, one completely isolated from all the others, and something there eliminated the cat. Perhaps it was a disease. Perhaps it was a famine of all animal life, with the sole animal survivor being the primate. There must always be a large numerical ratio between food supply and predator. Perhaps it was a small valley, too small to support a large enough cat gene pool for the cat survival, but large enough to support bare primate survival. Or, more likely, the small valley was over-harvested by the cats to the point that only the primates, safe high in the trees, survived, and the cat was starved out of existence. The primate in that valley was then able to spread safely to the forest floor. The walking ape was born. The original primate species still ruled the forest canopy, while this new species, in the absence of felines, was dominant on the forest floor.

Then the climate changed, reopening the valley for the transit of both primate and feline. The tree-top primate rejoined his fellows and their gene pools blended. The feline was re-introduced to the valley. The bipedal ape on the forest floor was introduced to his new predator. If that introduction had been sudden, the bipedal ape could not have survived. Perhaps there were other valleys in which that actually happened. Luckily, in this one, it was slow, and the walking ape had time to adjust to his new danger. He formed defensive groups and developed defensive strategies.

That first hominid was Ardipithecus Ramidus. He lived on the forest floor. His close cousin, the primeval ape Ramapithecus, lived overhead. Ramidus had become a herbivore. Ramapithecus was an omnivore. Ramidus had feet on one end. Ramapithecus had hands on both ends. They were about the same size and had about the same intelligence. When the predator came, Ramapithecus escaped into the trees. With four hands he could out climb even the ancient leopard. In spite of the leopard, ramidus had to stay in the forest, being on the open plains was certain death. He was neither fast enough nor strong enough to handle the big plains' cats. While in the forest, ramidus could at least jump into a tree and escape the big ground cats, but he was still easy prey for the leopard. The death rate, especially among the children, was high. A pregnant woman had no chance at all. Something had to change. Ramidus learned how to cooperate in defense and he learned how to use a club. His culture became more restricted and structured.

The idea of a club was not new. Modern chimps will use one to beat on the ground in trying to drive off an interloper. The chimp does not need to learn how to use one well because he can always take to the high trees. Chimps will even cooperate in driving off interlopers by jumping up and down and screaming. They do not need to learn how to cooperate in fighting. They can always take to the trees. Ramidus did not have that choice.

Ramidus now had two things that kept him out of the trees in times of danger: his feet and the club. When the leopard came, he had no chance without the club whether he met the cat on the ground or in the tree. Climbing a tree in a hurry with two feet that cannot grasp anything and a club in one hand while trying to escape from a big cat would be an exciting experience. His women and children had no chance at all without his protection on the ground. Ramidus learned to get shoulder to shoulder with his friends, club at the ready, in front of the women and children, and stand his ground, no matter what the animal was. Now he did not have to live under the trees. He could live anywhere he pleased. They moved out on the plains.

Meanwhile, ramidus was also having deep trouble trying to make a living. He was a herbivore, the available food was coarse and hard to chew and his chewing apparatus had been designed to fit the needs of an omnivore who ate much fruit. The women, especially, were having real problems in caring for the children while foraging. The life style was brutal, and the death rate was high. Evolution loves a high death rate.

Evolution had few options. Ramidus could not return to the jungle. He was built wrong. He was structurally too slow to convert to a plain's predator. Besides, he was primarily a vegetarian and did not have the physical equipment to tear meat off his prey. Birth rate increases would require major physical changes. Only cultural changes were available. The women needed more time to take care of the children and the children would fare better if they did not need to be out on the plains. The males needed to take more of the burden. The tribe needed a safe haven for the women and children, preferably one with some protection from the weather. The old men could stand guard and the young ones could take their clubs with them and forage. Since they were bipedal, they had two arms to haul the food back to camp.

By the time Australopithecus afarensis appeared, some structural improvements had been made. His head was proportionately larger with a much improved eating apparatus, with molars that were much larger. The size of the canine teeth had diminished (evolution diminishes things not needed). His jaw was heavier and had huge chewing muscles attached. The male was also a little taller and heavier and the female was smaller because of their differing roles. A slight brain size increase provided improved social interaction. With the following Australopithecus africanus, they survived, in balance with nature, for almost two million years. Still, life was short, child mortality high, and hardship was constant. Evolution had honed the species to fit the environment and was now in balance. The people were tough, hard-working and resilient. Man had joined the other plains' animals in a balance with nature that appeared stable (not fun, but at least survivable). Many other plain's animals had also reached a stability in their evolution, one that exists to this day. If something had not happened to upset this balance, man would still be there today, mingling with the gnus and wildebeests.

Several things happened to spur further development. With their stronger culture, they could survive the plains better than the other herd herbivores. Their population grew. Competition was high for food. Other species branched off: Australopithecus aethipicus came first, followed by robustus and boisei. These were bigger and tougher competitors for the same food supply.

Somewhere along in that last million years of the reign of africanus, someone sharpened a stick, perhaps to use to dig roots, and discovered that a spear was a much more effective weapon for some uses than a club. A club is a good defensive weapon. When a club is used against an animal other than man, it is immediately available for another swing. It is not too good against another man. He will usually grab it on the way in and the advantage is lost. The aim of a club is usually to discourage, not to kill, and it is more effective against an animal than a man. A spear is an offensive weapon. It has only one purpose: to kill. Still, though skill is present in its use, it often sticks in the adversary and is torn from the hands when the adversary twists away. Looking bare-handed into the eye of a tiger with an out-of-reach spear sticking out of his shoulder is not healthy. The tiger gets down right irritated under such circumstances. Smacking him up side the head with a club, on the other hand, leaves the defender still armed. The spear works best in sneak attacks. Stalk and kill is spear territory. A few good men, working as a hunter-killer team, could now hunt and kill any animal on the plains, including other men.

Life became even more precarious, the favorite working ground for evolution. The greatest dangers that man now faced were other men. When man goes against man, and the weapons are the same, cunning is usually the deciding factor. A spear is a great equalizer in size, so growing bigger was not as effective as a survival move as growing smarter. Unfortunately, becoming more vicious was also effective. The docile hominid cow

informations taken from www. onelife.com- thanks a lot !