Re: a puzzling aspect of human evolution

From: Michael Ragland (ragland66_at_webtv.net)
Date: 10/25/04 

Date: Mon, 25 Oct 2004 22:53:20 +0000 (UTC)

If hominids were scavengers on the East African plains 2-4 M years ago,
as we are led to believe, they likely would have developed a fondness
for the smell of carrion, or at least an ability to tolerate it. Such is
quite the opposite in modern humans. One would think that such a trait
would still be evident in modern populations to some degree, after such
a relatively short period of elapsed time, in evolutionary terms.

Reason

By "carrion" I assume you refer not to a fresh dead animal but to a more
or less rotted one. One of the interesting things I learned is that
non-human predators don't all have the same scavenging patterns. Some
will eat mostly muscle while others like hyenas will eat almost
everything, including waste and bones. I can't answer your question
exactly but there was a difference between the early hominids of east
Africa 2-4 million years ago and Homo Sapiens. Despite the evolutionary
continuity these changes might have accounted for Homo Sapiens not being
a scavenging species.

On the other hand, Homo Sapiens do have detention and it is clear at one
time in their evolutionary past e.g. when they were another Hominid
species they likely survived in part on scavenging and eating certain
tissues of dead rotting animals. This would simply be a necessity either
because they were unable to build a fire or because the scarcity of live
game to be preyed on and killed and eatern.

I understand you're asking your question from an evolutionary point of
view and not from the view of individual or group abnormality. But I've
seen pictures of "modern" African cannibalism in a group. An African
(don't know what country) could even be Haiti is holding up the leg of a
victim and chewing on the flesh of the leg. I think most would agree
canibalism isn't particularly healthy for you but it can occur in savage
tribal conflicts as well as individual psychopathy such as Dahmer.

There are also people who make a living off of eating human feces even
though health experts warn such material contains many bacteria and is
very unhealthy and may make one very sick. In other words, there is a
market for everything and in the underworld I wouldn't be at all
surprised if there is a niche for people eating rotten carrion and
perverted rich customers paying a pretty penny for it.

But that doesn't answer your statement, "One would think that such a
trait would still be evident in modern populations to some degree, after
such a relatively short period of elapsed time, in evolutionary terms."
I don't think there is no longer any evolutionary need for it. Once the
agricultural revolution occured there was less subsistence on hunting
and gathering. There is not the shortage of food in many countries there
was in our evolutionary past. In some places humans may still eat
carrion because of lack of food but they cook it first.

Also, one has to consider our social-cultural evolution and the
development of moral systems such as religion. I could be wrong but I
think most religions and ethicists as well as health experts would frown
upon the idea of eating 2 day old road kill.

Michael Ragland

"It's uncertain whether intelligence has any long term survival value.
Bacteria do quite well without it."

Stephen Hawking