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> A new study from the Department of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University found that the extinction of large prey, upon which human nutrition had been based ...
by myshpa 3y ago
> A new study from the Department of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University found that the extinction of large prey, upon which human nutrition had been based ...
We ate them all.
https://ourworldindata.org/wild-mammal-decline https://ourworldindata.org/wild-mammal-decline
A global population half the size of London contributed to many of the world’s largest mammals to extinction. The per capita impact of our hunter-gatherer ancestors was huge. ... Trace the footsteps of these tiny populations of the past and you will find extinction after extinction after extinction.
https://ourworldindata.org/quaternary-megafauna-extinction https://ourworldindata.org/quaternary-megafauna-extinction
Between 52,000 and 9,000 BCE, more than 178 species of the world’s largest mammals were killed off. These were mammals heavier than 44 kilograms, ranging from mammals the size of sheep to mammoths.
From the article:
"But one may well ask: Why did humans become smarter all of a sudden? What was the advantage of having a large brain that consumes so much energy? We demonstrate that these biological and cognitive changes correlate directly with the size of prey. To hunt small elusive animals humans had to become smarter, faster, more focused, more observant, and more collaborative. They had to develop new weapons for hunting from afar and learn how to track their prey."
Eating meat is often credited with boosting human intelligence, but it probably was the challenge of adapting to decreasing biodiversity and the need to hunt smarter that truly accelerated our cognitive development. Similarly, as we grapple with climate change and pivot towards plant-based diets, these new challenges may offer opportunities for our intelligence to evolve even further. ;)
- ChuckMcM 3y agoOne of the interesting things for me about the hypothesis is that if humans had developed better food preservation techniques this outcome might have been different. Specifically a lot of large animals would rot before one could finish eating them so the rate of consumption was higher than strictly necessary. (not that early humans cared, but later humans developed a wide range of preservation methods due to scarcity pressures it seems).
- SoftTalker 3y agoI think more to be able to live in climates where hunting, foraging, or farming year-round was not possible.
- jahewson 3y agoEarly humans were nomadic. They had no need to stay in the same place year-round. Just follow the animals.
- SoftTalker 3y agoThere is almost zero evolutionary pressure on the human species right now. We are probably backsliding.
- Robotbeat 3y agoThere’s massive evolutionary pressure now that we’ve developed birth control.
- SoftTalker 3y agoTrue, I mean evolution in the forward sense, implied by my "we are probably backsliding"
- Nursie 3y agoWhat 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.
- SoftTalker 3y agoA 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.
- j16sdiz 3y agoOh. That's why Elon Musk have 11 kids.
- 3y ago
- peteradio 3y agoIt's hard to understand how such a small population could have managed such an outsized ecological impact when we are several orders of magnitude more populace now.
- debacle 3y agoDuring the ice age, the "world" was a lot smaller than it is today.
- njharman 3y agoSee also sixth mass extinction event https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocene_extinction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocene_extinction
- preisschild 3y agoI don't think we will pivot completely to plant-based diets, but we could use artificially grown meat.