Re: lions & savannah

<claudiusdenk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1164675073.983881.150100@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

There IS no desirable environment that won't have dangerous predators.
That does not stop any creature from inhabiting such an environment.
It would not stop hominids.

That's because hominids never ventured far from the protection of
trees.

This is the standard PA line for early hominids.
There is an admission that it does not apply
to later hominids; (it is usually a reluctant one,
never mentioned except under pressure, and
then only conceded reluctantly). However,
humans certainly don't sleep in trees -- and we
are, to a large extent, also talking about how
the animal found refuge at night -- and later
hominids certainly did not either.

The switch from 'using trees as a refuge' to
'doing something else' was, according to
standard PA (and to Jim McGinn) made
around 2 mya or 3 mya. (Of course, the
switch from 'sleeping in trees' to 'sleeping
on the ground' was made at the same time
-- according to standard PA.

This topic goes to the heart of human
evolution -- so, naturally, is rarely discussed.

One step would be to try to work out of what
the 'doing something else' (as regards coping
with predators) consisted. How did humans
between (say) 140 kya and 12 kya manage to
cope with lions, hyenas, etc.? Did human
ancestors cope in the same manner.


Paul.


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Bipedal adaptation
    ... sleeping in trees. ... And that's why hominids never needed ... tool usage does not cause selection of human intelligence/consciousness. ... is a reduced ability to defend against predators. ...
    (sci.anthropology.paleo)
  • Re: Bipedal adaptation
    ... You have Apiths sleeping in trees, ... Tools are useful to chimps NOW. ... Contrived nonsense. ... AT SOME POINT, you dope, hominids ...
    (sci.anthropology.paleo)
  • Re: Apith Predatory Realities: not like those of extant chimps (Repost from 08/2003)
    ... predators -- in that they will not suffer ... You need to let the evidence be your ... Don't all hypotheses assume hominids survived? ... that era would have been able to climb high in trees to ...
    (sci.anthropology.paleo)
  • Re: Bipedal adaptation
    ... You have Apiths sleeping in trees, ... Pure nonsense. ... cause selection of human intelligence/consciousness. ... AT SOME POINT, you dope, hominids ...
    (sci.anthropology.paleo)
  • Re: Study shows apes can plan ahead
    ... Why would you assume they needed to get away from trees? ... In my model these earliest hominids would never have ventured far from ... But that's exactly how chimps live. ... Since even chimps can be said to have some degree of language, yes, I ...
    (sci.anthropology.paleo)