3 ms·

> While the proportion of [dangerous fauna] increases from the early (0.03%) to late Middle Pleistocene (4%), they never predominate. A 133 fold increase hardl

> While the proportion of [dangerous fauna] increases from the early (0.03%) to late Middle Pleistocene (4%), they never predominate. A 133 fold increase hardly seems trivial. It sounds more like putting a handle on the axe was a key technology that put humans close to the apex of the food chain. Even if our prey animals didn't much change, it was a major change to our own status as prey.

chrisco255 6y ago
Yeah, and it makes me wonder if spears changed other things. Maybe they had to spend less time hunting since spears were more efficient. And that might have influenced human society and development in other ways.
- sandworm101 6y ago
  Hunting comes in two parts, finding the animal and killing it (or catching). Better weapons make the kill easier and safer for the hunter but most of a hunter's day will still be spent finding and getting close to the animal. So i would not expect a major impact on net animals harvested until the advent of ranged weapons which could reduce stalking times.
  - chrisco255 6y ago
    Spears can be thrown, so they are a ranged weapon (albeit, short ranged). It's also easier to surround a creature with a group of humans and box it in with spears. It's not the 'net animals harvested' that would be impacted, simply the time taken to hunt. Spears probably increased the percentage of successful hunts. You have to imagine to try to kill a deer or a gazelle with a hand axe...the only way to really do it (since you're far slower on foot than a gazelle) is to chase the animal down until it gets tired enough to quit (takes as much as 8 hours of chase). Then, you have to be able to successfully fend off any other creatures hungry enough to challenge you for it (lions, hyenas, wolves, panthers, etc...). The opportunities for the creature to escape or for another creature to intervene are numerous. Imagine if spears improved hunting success rate by 50%. What do you do with that extra time? Maybe you take up painting, sporting, music making, etc. Maybe you venture further out into the wilds and succeed across a broader terrain (no longer reliant on savannas alone for success). Maybe your spear technology and additional leisure time leads you to discover other uses for woodworking, etc. Maybe a few hundred thousand years of that (including sexual selection) leads to evolutionary improvements in brain power.
    - lenkite 6y ago
      Hand axe's could be thrown as hunting projectiles in the stone age - several anthropologists have suggested this.
      - sandworm101 6y ago
        Rocks. Why throw a manufactured tool when any rock will do basically the same job.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]

chrisco255 6y ago

Yeah, and it makes me wonder if spears changed other things. Maybe they had to spend less time hunting since spears were more efficient. And that might have influenced human society and development in other ways.

sandworm101 6y ago
Hunting comes in two parts, finding the animal and killing it (or catching). Better weapons make the kill easier and safer for the hunter but most of a hunter's day will still be spent finding and getting close to the animal. So i would not expect a major impact on net animals harvested until the advent of ranged weapons which could reduce stalking times.
- chrisco255 6y ago
  Spears can be thrown, so they are a ranged weapon (albeit, short ranged). It's also easier to surround a creature with a group of humans and box it in with spears. It's not the 'net animals harvested' that would be impacted, simply the time taken to hunt. Spears probably increased the percentage of successful hunts. You have to imagine to try to kill a deer or a gazelle with a hand axe...the only way to really do it (since you're far slower on foot than a gazelle) is to chase the animal down until it gets tired enough to quit (takes as much as 8 hours of chase). Then, you have to be able to successfully fend off any other creatures hungry enough to challenge you for it (lions, hyenas, wolves, panthers, etc...). The opportunities for the creature to escape or for another creature to intervene are numerous. Imagine if spears improved hunting success rate by 50%. What do you do with that extra time? Maybe you take up painting, sporting, music making, etc. Maybe you venture further out into the wilds and succeed across a broader terrain (no longer reliant on savannas alone for success). Maybe your spear technology and additional leisure time leads you to discover other uses for woodworking, etc. Maybe a few hundred thousand years of that (including sexual selection) leads to evolutionary improvements in brain power.
  - lenkite 6y ago
    Hand axe's could be thrown as hunting projectiles in the stone age - several anthropologists have suggested this.
    - sandworm101 6y ago
      Rocks. Why throw a manufactured tool when any rock will do basically the same job.
deleted 6y ago
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