morphology and climate

Discussion in 'Human Science' started by sculptor, Aug 21, 2014.

  1. sculptor Valued Senior Member

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    morphology and climate:

    It seems, with the recent denisovan male found in spain dated to circa 400kybp that we had most likely Heidelbergensis, Neandertalensis, and denisovans all flourishing(in europe?) during the superinterglacial mis 11.

    Is anyone up on studies into digs supporting sequencing of morphology based on climate and climate change?
    Ebbs and flows of specific morphological types?
     
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  3. spidergoat pubic diorama Valued Senior Member

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    Is that really an issue if hominids learned to wear furs?
     
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  5. sculptor Valued Senior Member

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    yeh, I think so.
    Scarce little evidence I've found.
    linking climate and pollen to morphology
    linking climate to population growth

    simple enough for the past few (tens of?) centuries

    But going back to circa 400kybp----it seems the climate of a superinterglacial would favor the taller, more gracile components of the varied species.
    And, then, we have the south african heidelbergensis over 7 ft tall, (which, according to Lee Rogers Berger spanned both sides of mis11), and the question obtains: why?
     
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  7. GeoffP Caput gerat lupinum Valued Senior Member

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    Advantage might be differentiable into several aspects: i) environmental resistance via larger body size, ii) greater relative costs of larger body size, iii) greater advantages vs other anthropoids of large body size, and iv) greater advantages in killing things of different sizes. It might be that no one explanatory variable accounts for the differences, but rather that they're synergistic or multiplicative.

    Then again, aside from organism-wide genomic effects, I suppose I don't sample everything a freaking snail does either.

    I guess that makes me a little hypocritical. I'm sorry, Charles.
     
  8. wellwisher Banned Banned

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    My theory was a connection between humans and dogs, was a main source of advantage. A pack of wild dogs was far better suited to the glacial conditions than a pack of apes. An ape is mostly a gatherer, with winter and an ice meaning nothing to gather. The food that would be available is others animals which takes skills and speed they lack, with wild dogs at the apex of survival.

    A dog is a smart tool which can compensates for many deficits that the pre-humans had thereby helping them to compensate by learning. Monkeys are good at copying, but they first need a good template for the occasion. I had a dog that like to chew all the time. If you gave him a large stick he would chew the end into a point; spear. Like magic the pre humans had a spear. Watching the chewing action of the dog, would lead to copying via a rock (hitting) chewing against a bolder (fixed and opposing jaw) to make spears. Monkey see and monkey do.

    All the pre humans would be much safer sleeping near a pack of dogs at night. Caves are natural dog dens and they would find these and would even drive out larger animals. If you follow the dogs you have shelter anywhere they go. If you fixate of human morphology, the bottom line is, all babies (next generation) are still vulnerable both day and night, with a female dog protecting the human pups a powerful solution.

    Domestic dogs come later. Domestication differs in that this is when humans learn to subordinate the dogs. If you ever owned a modern alpha dog, like any work dog, their instinct is to challenge the human so the human ups his game. Apes are lazy but not if they are being challenged. This earlier period was one of cooperation between two species with neither the subordinate, although the pre humans were more dependent. Science has plenty of people who go into the wild to live with wild animals, including bears, lions, wolves. This is possible if you have that skill. This rapport with the wild dogs teaches the pre-humans the survival and social skills connected to social apex animal, fully suited to the conditions of that time.

    If you ever owned a herding dog, the herd of pre humans would be rounded up and forced to move with the pack.
     

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