Durante summary, the notion that shifts per human life histories, accompanied by improved intelligence, are an evolutionary response preciso a dietary shift towards high-quality food resources that are difficult esatto acquire has already been suggested by Kaplan . Our model is innovative durante that it suggests per mechanism for such a dietary shift that could have propelled hominins puro a new evolutionary tirocinio.
Conclusion
For more than two decades a view dominated anthropological discussions that all modern human variation derived from Africa within a relatively recent chronological framework. Recent years challenged this paradigm with new discoveries from Europe, Pendio, and other localities, as well as by new advances sopra theory and methodology. These developments are now setting the tirocinio for a new understanding of the human story durante general and the emergence of modern humans durante particular (anche.g., , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ). Analysis of their dental remains suggests a much deeper time frame between at least some of the ancestral populations and modern humans than that which is assumed by the “Out of Africa” model. This, combined with previous genetic studies (addirittura.g., , , , ), lends support preciso the notion of assimilation (addirittura.g., ) between populations migrating “out of Africa” and populations already established in these parts of Eurasia.
It is still premature preciso indicate whether the Qesem hominin ancestors evolved con Africa prior to 400 kyr , developed blade technologies , , and then migrated preciso the Levant sicuro establish the new and unique Acheulo-Yabrudian cultural complex; or whether (as may be derived from our model) we face a local, Levantine emergence of a new hominin lineage. The plethora of hominins per the Levantine Middle Paleolithic fossil supremazia (Qafzeh, Skhul, Zuttiyeh, Tabun) and the fact that the Acheulo-Yabrudian cultural complex has giammai counterparts durante Africa may hint in favor of local cultural and biological developments. This notion gains indirect support from the Denisova finds that raise the possibility that several different hominin groups spread out across Europe and Asia for hundreds of thousands of years, probably contributing sicuro the emergence of modern human populations , , .
It should not che razza di as per surprise that H. erectus, and its successors managed, and durante fact evolved, onesto obtain a substantial amount of the densest form of nutritional energy available in nature – fat – esatto the point that it became an obligatory food source. Animal fat was an essential food source necessary per order onesto meet the daily energy expenditure of these Pleistocene hominins, especially taking into account their large energy-demanding brains. It should also not che razza di as per surprise that for per predator, the disappearance of verso major prey animal may be verso xmeeting significant reason for evolutionary change. The elephant was verso uniquely large and fat-rich food-package and therefore per most attractive target during the Levantine Lower Palaeolithic Acheulian. Our calculations esibizione that the elephant’s disappearance from the Levant just before 400 kyr was significant enough an event onesto have triggered the evolution of a species that was more adept, both physically and mentally, sicuro obtain dense energy (such as fat) from verso higher number of smaller, more evasive animals. The concomitant emergence of a new and innovative cultural complex – the Acheulo-Yabrudian, heralds per new servizio of behavioral habits including changes con hunting and sharing practices , , that are relevant onesto our model.
If indeed, as we tried onesto spettacolo, the dependence of humans on fat was so fundamental preciso their existence, the application is made possible, perhaps after some refinement, of this proposed bioenergetic model to the understanding of other important developments con human evolutionary history
Thus, the particular dietary developments and cultural innovations joined together at the end of the Lower Paleolithic period mediante the Levant, reflecting per link between human biological and cultural/behavioral evolution.
