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I is easy to forget that we are a single species in the genus Homo because everyone is dead. Currently, it looks like Homo – a group of hominids that includes ancient beings like Homo erectus and Homo neanderthalensis – is a family of seven, although this number is debatable. Whatever Homo sapiens are the only living humans, and the reason is still a mystery. In an article published Monday, scientists emit a new explanation: The reason our ancestors avoided extinction was because they could explore and adapt.
In Nature Human Behavior Patrick Roberts, Ph.D. and Brian Stewart, Ph.D. argue that humans have a "unique ecological plasticity" that puts our ancestors to the fore on the other hominids. In other words, Homo sapiens is, and has been, very good at living in very different parts of the world. According to Roberts and Stewart, the ability to inhabit extremely different landscapes and the ability to learn the specialized skills needed to thrive in these places means that our species occupies a new ecological niche – that of the "generalist specialist".
Some researchers have Roberts, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, remarked to Inverse that scientists are also becoming more aware of the fact that the extinct hominins are related to the survival of our species. As Neanderthals were also capable of cultural expression and community guarding. These are signs that these specialized abilities are not ours, so they can not be the only reason we have survived. "So, we thought, why not turn to the most blatant fact of all?" Roberts says. "That our species is the only one to have colonized the entire globe and all its environments, it seemed to us to be the elephant in the room but somewhat neglected given the current interest in finding the last jewel or fossil or flashy art. "
The team supports their argument by reviewing past archaeological and palaeoenvironmental research focusing on ancient human dispersal between 300,000 and 12,000 years ago. Roberts and Stewart argue that the fossil record, as it now stands, demonstrates that anatomically modern humans had developed into higher niches than their hominid predecessors and contemporaries 80,000 to 50 years ago. 000 years. At least 45,000 years ago, Homo sapiens colonized a range of extremely challenging environments, including deserts, rainforests, and paleoarctic regions.
This is not to say that other members of the genus, ] Homo erectus and Homo floresiensis did not migrate far beyond the 39; Africa. But these ancient hominids remained in an environmental comfort zone comprising a mix of woods and meadows. Until now, says Roberts, we have only found fossil evidence of Homo sapiens in other contexts, though "in some cases, like the deserts, it remains controversial how they were when humans arrived there. " ] map “/>
There is still a lot of work to be done if this theory is to bring the mystery of ] Homo sapiens & # 39; survival. Shara Bailey, Ph.D., professor of paleoanthropology who was not part of this research, says that she would be careful to tell where other hominids have made their homes or not because the fossil record during Middle Pleistocene are rare in some parts of the world. This is not because we have no evidence that non-specialists sapiens were not specialists who occupied extreme environments that they could not not be it
. This means that their only physical exploration ability was the only factor that allowed them to travel. Melanie Chang, Ph.D., an anthropologist who was not part of the study, explains that "milestones" like ancient art indicate that ancient humans were culturally complex and behaviorally flexible, which probably suited them to a wide range of environments. In addition, according to Bailey, the demographic changes related to the increase in the size of the population led to innovations Homo sapiens which could have helped them to occupy areas where no one else could. other did not want to access
. the fossil record as it stands, and from them, one of the reasons why the Pleistocene Homo sapiens was able to adapt to extreme regions was their ability to cooperate with people outside their family.
Today, says Roberts, we can still see evidence of our ability to thrive in extreme environments – just look at the current space race or the fact that "we are going further into the oceans and higher up in the sky as never before. "We are still" general specialists ", but we still do not know if this will prevent us from disappearing.
" Of course, it allowed us to survive so far, even if we have to remember Let's act that we are still younger than Neanderthal and have lived only 300,000 years [relatively limited in the context of human evolution]"says Roberts. "So maybe we do not know if the 'generalist' is a definite success for now!"
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