NEUR 2600 Lecture Notes - Homo Habilis, Homo Erectus, Homo Floresiensis
Document Summary
Large number of species of hominids until quite recently and now there is only one species. The sophistication of tool use correlates with their brain size. Varies greatly in size but explaining human abilities is best done by considering not size, but regional specialization. Became scavengers, adapted to the new, drier climate. Humans can fit into the same ecological niche as lions and hyenas by developing tools to get at bone marrow. Periods of drying, periods of wet climate -> put pressure on scavenger animals, making them continually change. Looked at animals, that lived in the water. In order to prove it, find the water body these animals lived in, identify how they made their living in the water, in the lakes or the water of the great rift valley. Most hominid findings - olduvai gorge in tanzania. Lots of changes suggesting lots of animals lived in ecological niches that required different demands.
