28 March 2024 The Future is the Product of the Past

A New Hypothesis Tries to Explain What Triggers People’s Big Brains

The big brain is the decisive feature of our species. Not only are they the most complex organs in the entire animal kingdom, but some scientists also claim that they are “the most complex objects in the known universe.”

However, considering our size, the human brain is much larger than you might expect. Figuring out why evolution favors such a smart brain will help us answer the biggest question in all anthropology: what does it mean to be human, and what makes us different?

During the Pleistocene period between 2.6 million years ago and 11,700 years ago, the brains of humans and their relatives grew. Now, scientists at Tel Aviv University have a new hypothesis about why: Scientists have proposed that as the largest animals in the landscape disappear, the human brain must grow in order to hunt smaller and faster prey.

This hypothesis is that early humans preyed on large animals that would provide a lot of fatty food, such as elephants. When the number of these animals is reduced, people with larger brains (perhaps with greater brainpower) will be more likely to adapt and capture smaller prey, thus allowing patients with encephalopathy to survive longer.

Eventually, the adult brain expanded from an average of 40 cubic inches (650 cubic centimeters) 2 million years ago to about 92 cubic inches (1,500 cubic centimeters) on the cusp of the agricultural revolution about 10,000 years ago. This hypothesis also explains why the brain size will slightly shrink to about 80 cubic inches (1,300 cubic centimeters) after the start of farming: excess tissue is no longer needed to maximize the success rate of hunting.

This new hypothesis runs counter to the trend of human origin research. Now, many scholars in this field believe that the growth of the human brain is a response to many small pressures rather than one big pressure. But archaeologists Miki Ben-Dor and Ran Barkai of Tel Aviv University believe that major changes in the environment will provide a better explanation.

One of the authors of the study sent Live science an email. “We see the decline in prey size as a unifying explanation not only to brain expansion, but to many other transformations in human biology and culture, and we claim it provides a good incentive for these changes,[Scholars of human origins] are not used to looking for a single explanation that will cover a diversity of adaptations. It is time, we believe, to think otherwise,” he said.

 Pleistocene epoch. ( NPS Photo )
Pleistocene epoch. ( NPS Photo )

The Barkai and Ben-Dora hypothesis is based on the assumption that the ancestors of humans, starting with Homo habilis and ending with Homo erectus, spent the early Pleistocene as experienced predators, killing the greatest and slowest prey Africa had to offer.

Megaherbivores, the researchers say in an article published in the Yearbook of Physical Anthropology, would provide enough calories and nutrients with less effort than foraging plants or hunting smaller prey. Barkai and Ben-Dor said modern humans are better at digesting fat than other primates, and that human physiology, including the acidity of the stomach and the structure of the gut, is indicative of an adaptation to eating fatty meat.

In another article, published in the journal Quaternary, scientists argue that the tools and lifestyle of the human species are consistent with the shift from large prey to small prey.

Overall megaherbivores weighing over 2,200 pounds. (1,000 kilograms) began to decline across Africa about 4.6 million years ago, with herbivores over 770 pounds. (350 kg) fell about 1 million years ago, the researchers wrote in their article. It’s unclear what caused this decline, but it could have been climate change, human hunting, or a combination of the two. When the largest, slowest, and fattest animals disappeared from the landscape, humans would have to adapt to smaller animals. Scientists say this change would put evolutionary pressure on human brains to grow as hunting small animals would be more complicated given that smaller prey is harder to track and catch.

Artist’s depiction of the late Pleistocene landscape with some of the megaherbivores that became extinct. Artist’s depiction of the late Pleistocene landscape with some of the megaherbivores that became extinct.
Sanatçının, nesli tükenen megaherbivorların bazılarıyla geç Pleistosen manzarasını tasviri.

Then, these growing brains will explain many behavioral changes throughout the Pleistocene. Hunters of small fleets of prey may need to develop language and complex social structures to successfully communicate the location of the prey and coordinate tracking. Better control of the fire will allow human ancestors to extract as many calories as possible from smaller animals, including fats and fats in bones. According to Barkai and Ben-Dor, tool and weapon technology will have to develop to allow hunters to put down and dress up mini-games.

When it comes to the brain, size is not everything. To complicate the picture, the shape of the brain also evolved during the Pleistocene, and some human relatives (for example, the Flores who lived in Indonesia now 60,000 to 100,000 years ago) had very small brains. Despite its small brain, H. floresiensis still hunts baby elephants and large rodents.

In the process of the Pleistocene, the human family tree was very complicated, with many branches, and the growth of brain size was not linear.

There are many assumptions about our brains. It may be that our environment is full of challenges, and we have developed the brain to conquer them. Perhaps it is because we can best survive as social animals in a group, so we need our brains to cope with complex social life. These theories and other theories may have played a role in our development, but we still really don’t know which came first or which is more important.

While the article draws attention to the fact that during the Pleistocene, the human species may indeed have hunted large mammals, no one knows whether humans actually killed large animals.

Related Articles

Viking Family identified using New DNA Technology

9 June 2021

9 June 2021

Researchers were able to confirm the connection between two Viking remains discovered in Denmark and England thanks to new DNA...

Assyrian Art at Getty Villa

22 June 2021

22 June 2021

The Getty Villa in Malibu, California’s arts complex is showcasing superbly-restored gypsum reliefs from the Assyrian Empire’s palaces for its...

The inner wall was reached during the excavations of the tomb of the poet Aratos in the Soli Pompeiopolis Ancient City

13 August 2021

13 August 2021

The inner wall was reached during the excavations of the tomb of Aratos, the famous poet and astronomer of the...

A 2100-year-old inscription found İn Türkiye: Antiochos of Commagene calls on the people to ‘obey and respect the law’

15 March 2024

15 March 2024

The ancient inscription found near Kımıldağı (Kımıl Mount) in Önevler village of Adıyaman’s Gerger district in 2023 will shed light...

An architectural gem from the medieval monastery of Posa, Germany

26 July 2023

26 July 2023

Archaeological excavations have been taking place on the Posaer Berg (Posa Hill) near Zeitz (Burgenland) every year since 2017. They...

The oldest evidence of human use of tobacco was discovered in Utah

11 October 2021

11 October 2021

According to recent research, burnt seeds discovered in the Utah desert suggest that humans used tobacco initially and that some...

The earliest human remains 11,000-year-old discovered in northern Britain

25 January 2023

25 January 2023

An international team of archaeologists at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) has discovered 11,000-year-old human remains in the Heaning...

Temple of Olympian Zeus Horse Frieze Found a Depth of 9 Meters off the Coast of Agrigento, Sicily

5 February 2024

5 February 2024

A large marble relief believed to have been part of the Temple of Olympian Zeus frieze in Agrigento, Sicily, has...

Ruins of the 700-year-old wharf, possibly used by royalty, found in Oslo

6 March 2023

6 March 2023

An excavation by NIKU archaeologists in Oslo’s seaside neighborhood of Bjørvika has uncovered the remains of a long section of...

Thousands of Ancient Tombs Discovered in Xian

23 February 2021

23 February 2021

According to the Shaanxi Provincial Archaeological Institute, more than 4,600 ancient cultural remains were discovered during the expansion project of...

Researchers find evidence of the destruction of the Second Temple at the hands of Roman soldiers

29 July 2023

29 July 2023

Israeli researchers find evidence of the destruction of the Second Temple at the hands of Roman soldiers. The discovery of...

Researcher Says There is Similarity Between Mayan and Shu Cultures

12 April 2021

12 April 2021

The similarities between Mayan civilization and Shu culture draw the attention of researchers. As it is known, the Sanxingdui ruins,...

5,500-year-old Menhir discovered in Portugal

28 August 2023

28 August 2023

A 5,500-year-old (that is around 3500 BC) menhir has been discovered in the town of São Brás de Alportel in...

Mothers in the prehistoric were far more skilled at parenting their children than we give them credit for

24 November 2021

24 November 2021

The death rate of newborns in ancient cultures is not a reflection of inadequate healthcare, sickness, or other issues, according...

Sumatran fishing crews may have found the legendary Gold Island in the Mud of the Indonesian River

24 October 2021

24 October 2021

The site of the Srivijaya kingdom, known in ancient times as the Island of Gold, may have been found by...