The debate about whether eating meat really was “Make us human“Has become more complicated.
It is understood that eating meat frequently separates humans from other primates, but the exact role that meat played in the early stages of human evolution was. Research It was published in the bulletin of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday.
According to the research team, the findings add nuance to the hypothesis that “meat made us human” and for modern people who make diet decisions based on the idea that early humans were particularly dependent on meat. It may be interesting.
Two to three million years ago, early human ancestors began making stone tools and using them. Butcher’s animal.. Scientists can infer that they are eating meat from the remains of a butcher shop on the bones. This is a deliberate slice and scrape made with sharp tools. It is undeniable that increased use of this tool and changes in eating habits had a major impact on human trajectory.
But what is being debated is the details of this phenomenon and whether past behavior can really be explained. Humans need to eat meat..
The new paper is based on the argument of typical human characteristics: Larger brainFirst appeared in the human ancestor Homo erectus, indicating that these characteristics are associated with dietary changes to increased carnivorous diet. However, the authors of the study argue that analysis of published data cannot show increased evidence of carnivorous eating after the emergence of Homo erectus, challenging the perspective that “meat has made us human.” doing.
“It is clear that eating meat has been important to many groups of humans throughout human history and much of prehistoric times,” said the lead author. W. Andrew Bar, Associate Professor at George Washington University. “But the idea that there was a sudden evolutionary event in which eating meat became central from a relatively insignificant state and promoted the evolution of key human traits is publicly available evidence. The analysis is just unwavering. ”
He said that research on the evolution of carnivorous humans usually focuses on “very well-preserved places in some well-known research areas.” Barr and his colleagues investigated data related to 59 of these sites in eastern Africa. It represents human activity 2.6 to 1.2 million years ago. Evidence of eating meat included the number of places of bone in animals with cut marks made with tools and the total amount of bone in this category.
“Use the number of paleontological sites and the number of species stored at those sites as a barometer of the potential for fossil preservation at a particular time period and use that background level sampling. And made the cut amount contextual.-Mark the evidence stored for the same period, “he said.
This analysis suggests that bone abundance with cut marks does not necessarily represent an increase in meat eaten with Homo erectus, but is the result of sampling bias-sites related to this ancestor and duration. Focuses on excavating samples from.This study, which controls differences in sampling intensity, shows a sustained increase in the amount of evidence of carnivorous post-Homo erectus. According to the author of the study, will be displayed.
However, the conclusions of this study are challenged by criticisms of competing theories and methodologies.For example, focus on the size of the brain as a characteristic of Homo erectus Fred Spour, a professor of evolutionary anatomy at the University College London, who wasn’t involved in the study, said in an email that it was “probably a bit misguided.” Scientists are increasingly discovering overlapping brain sizes among Homo erectus, Homo habilis, and Homo rudolfensis. Only the later Homo erectus had a significantly larger brain size.
Homo erectus has smaller molar sizes compared to other species, which Spoor says is related to masticatory ability and diet. This change is believed to reflect a shift from a predominantly plant-based diet to a meat-rich mixed diet.
Tim WhiteCo-Director of the Center for Human Evolution at the University of California, Berkeley, by email, the data available in this study are “insufficient” to test for “Homo erectus”. Said. Behavior and anatomy depended on an increase in the amount of meat in the diet. ”
White, who was not involved in this study, said it was difficult to draw conclusions with the information available. For example, you cannot say exactly which homo. Due to the duplication of fossil records, the methodology used to identify which markings of bone were made by humans, where the species was involved in stone tool and bone modification, is included in the overall analysis. It changed as a whole.
According to White, brain size is not exclusively related to eating carnivores across carnivores. 2021 study A publication in the journal Evolutionary Biology claims that “mammals with the largest brains achieved large relative brain sizes through highly divergent pathways.”Baboons tend to have a larger brain as part of it If they live in a larger social group..
The conversation surrounding research and its robustness presents challenges in clearly demonstrating the broader trends in human evolution with available information. Barr and his colleagues write that other theories beyond eating meat can explain why certain anatomical and behavioral features associated with modern humans have emerged. According to the research team, these are fascinating theories, but there is no evidence.
As scientists continue to collect evidence and add nuance to the hypothesis that “flesh made us human,” modern humans need to work on deciding whether to do so. Continue to eat meat.. Meat may have played an important role in human evolution, Processed meat It’s completely different from what our ancestors once ate.
