Human evolution: erectus adaptability (Introduction)

by David Turell , Friday, January 17, 2025, 17:58 (5 days ago) @ David Turell

A new study:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/01/250116133302.htm

"'We reveal how early humans -- known as hominins -- were able to thrive under harsh conditions," says lead author Dr. Julio Mercader Florín, PhD, a professor in both the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Science at the University of Calgary.

"The multidisciplinary analysis by researchers at UCalgary, the University of Manitoba and 17 other institutions around the world shows Homo erectus adapted at least 1.2 million years ago -- long before our species, Homo sapiens, emerged.

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"'By doing archeology, what we can see is that Homo erectus keeps coming back to the same place in the landscape over thousands of years," he says in an interview. "It's not a one-time camp.

"'There is thickness to the accumulation of archeological remains and fossils that is telling us that a species was targeting a very specific point in the landscape to do what they came here to do."

"For example, the archeological data shows that groups of Homo erectus repeatedly returned to live in locations with freshwater availability such as ponds and developed specialized stone tools.

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"'Things like extreme climate change leading to desertification would have been really difficult for hominins to survive," he says. "What we discovered in the study is that, in fact, we find plenty of evidence for hominin activity under environmental conditions -- so climate, vegetation -- that suggest really hot and dry periods.

"'So, it's changing our understanding of the adaptability of these early hominins to extreme environments and demonstrating that Homo erectus were more adaptable than we realized."

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"It's now become clear, he says, that our human ancestors were demonstrating their ability to survive in a wide range of environments -- including really extreme ones.

"'That's new, that pretty neat," Kaplan says.

"Ultimately, he expects scientists will be able to show the overall adaptability of Homo erectus.

"'These prominent ancestors were not just able to survive in every kind of environment from rainforest to dessert, but also build boats and get across ocean straits and get to different islands."

"It's still unknown whether they could talk or had language, he says, but they may have been able to communicate in other ways to find resources such as water or rocks for making tools or fire."

Comment: Apropos of our global warming discussion, this shows our potential for adaptability. Evolution produced a big-brained planner. Surely we can handle the current challenges despite the complexity of our current civilization.