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Indeed, it's why sweat was such an evolutionary leap for humankind. Our species didn't necessarily invent the sweat gland, but we certainly did become the sweat
by chaorace 4y ago
Indeed, it's why sweat was such an evolutionary leap for humankind. Our species didn't necessarily invent the sweat gland, but we certainly did become the sweatiest of the Great Apes -- by an order of magnitude in some measures.
I wonder how much of the species' worldwide dominance can be attributed to the evolutionary diceroll that placed our ancestors in subsaharan Africa? Could we have survived in Egypt, Mesopotamia, or India without sweat?
- dalbasal 4y agoIn the sweatiest of those places, our sweaty strategy is imperfect. Sweating works well in dry climates, not as well in humid ones. In high enough humidity, the sweat doesn't evaporate, doesn't cool you, and the whole system becomes a moist, messy loop. In dry, hot climates sweating works well, but increases our water consumption... these are the habitats where water is often scarce. Tradeoffs.
- Tagbert 4y agoAnd it was evolved for the African savanna which is relatively dry. We already had enhanced sweating by the time we moved into more humid locales.
- acoard 4y agoAre there better natural responses to heat that we see in mammals? I know sweating isn't perfect, for the reasons you mentioned, but do we see nature evolving any better solutions at a mammalian level? My armchair understanding is sweating is a natural marvel with nothing else like it seen in creatures as large as us. That it truly is a differentiator between humans and other animals (or mammals at least). Sweating is the foundation of humans ability to engage in long-distance endurance running which is one of our unique features, also called persistence hunting[0]. You can easily draw a line between this sweating and our ability to travel large distances and hunt the way we did, which in turn can be connected to humanity's success as a species on earth. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persistence_hunting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persistence_hunting
- 323 4y agoIn general there is no single reason for our success. Some argue sweating, others that we outsourced digestion (fire cooked food), others that we are bipedal, ... not to mention later stuff like language/intelligence.
- dalbasal 4y agoAll true, and impressive considering that we recently evolved from tree dwelling primates but... There are plenty of animals adapted to heat, and can perform similar feats. African wild dogs, dingos and other canines can persistent hunt in similar hot conditions. They're much faster than us, so it's not as extreme a strategy as human "track and spook" methods... but arguably better. Elephants manage to carry those huge, heat retaining bodies. Our Savannah nurseries are full of megafauna like us that live in these conditions effectively.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- drew55555 4y agoI wonder if dogs would still be a popular pet if they sweat like people.
- Cerium 4y agoI have known some dogs that drool more than any person can sweat.
- mrtranscendence 4y agoYou ever smell a dog after she's been playing hard in the sun for a half hour? It doesn't last that long, but they can get a bit fragrant.
- staplung 4y agoHorses also sweat. We don't seem to be too bothered by it (although I cannot claim to know what a sweaty horse smells like). Also, cats and dogs do sweat a little, mostly through their paws.
- cwillu 4y agoFun fact: part of the scary-effective logistics of the mongols was curing fresh meat into jerky using horse sweat during the ride.