Con summary, the notion that shifts con human life histories, accompanied by improved intelligence, are an evolutionary response sicuro per dietary shift towards high-quality food resources that are difficult onesto acquire has already been suggested by Kaplan . Our model is innovative durante that it suggests verso mechanism for such per dietary shift that could have propelled hominins puro a new evolutionary stage.

Conclusion

For more than two decades a view dominated anthropological discussions that all modern human variation derived from Africa within verso relatively recent chronological framework. Recent years challenged this paradigm with new discoveries from Europe, China, and babel sito di incontri other localities, as well as by new advances per theory and methodology. These developments are now setting the tirocinio for per new understanding of the human story per general and the emergence of modern humans durante particular (e.g., , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ). Analysis of their dental remains suggests per much deeper time frame between at least some of the ancestral populations and modern humans than that which is assumed by the “Out of Africa” model. This, combined with previous genetic studies (e.g., , , , ), lends support esatto the notion of assimilation (ed.g., ) between populations migrating “out of Africa” and populations already established mediante these parts of Eurasia.

It is still premature sicuro indicate whether the Qesem hominin ancestors evolved con Africa prior sicuro 400 kyr , developed blade technologies , , and then migrated onesto the Levant puro establish the new and unique Acheulo-Yabrudian cultural complex; or whether (as may be derived from our model) we face per local, Levantine emergence of verso new hominin lineage. The plethora of hominins in the Levantine Middle Paleolithic fossil superiorita (Qafzeh, Skhul, Zuttiyeh, Tabun) and the fact that the Acheulo-Yabrudian cultural complex has niente affatto counterparts per Africa may hint sopra favor of local cultural and biological developments. This notion gains indirect support from the Denisova finds that raise the possibility that several different hominin groups spread out across Europe and Levante for hundreds of thousands of years, probably contributing puro the emergence of modern human populations , , .

It should not che tipo di as per surprise that H. erectus, and its successors managed, and durante fact evolved, to obtain verso substantial amount of the densest form of nutritional energy available durante nature – fat – puro the point that it became an obligatory food source. Animal fat was an essential food source necessary per order preciso meet the daily energy expenditure of these Pleistocene hominins, especially taking into account their large energy-demanding brains. It should also not come as verso surprise that for verso predator, the disappearance of verso major prey animal may be a significant reason for evolutionary change. The elephant was a uniquely large and fat-rich food-package and therefore per most attractive target during the Levantine Lower Palaeolithic Acheulian. Our calculations spettacolo that the elephant’s disappearance from the Levant just before 400 kyr was significant enough an event preciso have triggered the evolution of verso species that was more adept, both physically and mentally, onesto obtain dense energy (such as fat) from verso higher number of smaller, more evasive animals. The concomitant emergence of a new and innovative cultural complex – the Acheulo-Yabrudian, heralds verso new servizio of behavioral habits including changes in hunting and sharing practices , , that are relevant preciso our model.

If indeed, as we tried puro show, the dependence of humans on fat was so fundamental puro their existence, the application is made possible, perhaps after some refinement, of this proposed bioenergetic model puro the understanding of other important developments in human evolutionary history

Thus, the particular dietary developments and cultural innovations joined together at the end of the Lower Paleolithic period sopra the Levant, reflecting a link between human biological and cultural/behavioral evolution.