Re: Early Hominids and Dry-Season Adaptations


Paul Crowley wrote:
> "Jim McGinn" <jimmcginn@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:1130351969.273317.268530@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> > > Why were there not
> > > millions (or billions) of hominids in India
> > > (and in wet places in Africa) . . ?
> >
> > I don't know.
>
> It's a fundamental question. Without an
> answer, you don't have a viable theory.

Like you have a clue.

>
> > Maybe it was too wet (late miocene was wetter than the
> > current climate)
>
> Eh? We are talking about hominids, and
> the last few (say 3-4) million years at most.

Do you have a point?

>
> > and so it remained rainforest.
>
> It got much drier after 2.4 mya.

Yes, I know, what's your point?

>
> > > Any theory that postulates the existence of
> > > early hominids in the centre of a continent
> > > (whether Africa or India) faces the huge problem
> > > of explaining: 'if they could get by then, why did
> > > then not expand to huge numbers at around, say,
> > > 200 kya?'. You are not facing up to the problem
> > > of predation.
> >
> > By 2.5 mya they had, for all practical purposes, eliminated predation.
> > The new predators were they themselves.
>
> So what was holding them back? They
> had tools, community whatsits (all that
> stuff you talk about). They should have
> been able to expand in big numbers all
> over the habitable world.

They did.

Jim

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Early Hominids and Dry-Season Adaptations
    ... >> millions of hominids in India ... >> (whether Africa or India) faces the huge problem ... >> then not expand to huge numbers at around, say, ... > By 2.5 mya they had, for all practical purposes, eliminated predation. ...
    (sci.anthropology.paleo)
  • Re: Little Difference between Conventional Theory and AAT
    ... > Standard PA is still in the stone age, ... > -- the first appearance of the bipedal taxon. ... >> not deny the existence of predation. ... > hominids growing up in lion-infested territory. ...
    (sci.anthropology.paleo)
  • Re: Sweating and Brain Size
    ... water, preferably an ocean. ... hominids keep warm at night. ... most of the predation we have in mind. ... and, at times, from other hominid species. ...
    (sci.anthropology.paleo)
  • Re: Little Difference between Conventional Theory and AAT
    ... > Without a change in habitat you have no basis for a hypothesis. ... Clearly hominids NEVER occupied the ... >>> not deny the existence of predation. ... Islands ARE ...
    (sci.anthropology.paleo)
  • Re: lions & savannah
    ... have regularly travelled through treeless habitat as the current ... hominids, like modern baboons, could retreat. ... Any significant level of predation on top ... know there were elephants around and approximately where they were. ...
    (sci.anthropology.paleo)