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Author Topic:   Java Man, Neanderthal Man, Piltdown Man???
MarkAustin
Member (Idle past 3815 days)
Posts: 122
From: London., UK
Joined: 05-23-2003


Message 52 of 52 (51317)
08-20-2003 4:20 AM
Reply to: Message 46 by leekim
03-27-2002 3:33 PM


Evolution and environment change
quote:
---I understand all of the points you raise but that (and the prior posts) is not a sufficient explanation to justify the non-existence of any of the less advanced hominids (under a theory of evolution there must have been hundreds of these incremental, "advancing" specimens which eventually lead to the modern homo sapien sapien). Yet despite the fact that modern apes, chimps, etc found a way to survive to the current day, none, not a one, of the prior sapiens was able to find a way to survive within their environment? It just seems implausible to me.
The answer is environment change. c4 million years ago the African climate change in such a way that forests shrank. Some branches of the primate family retreated into the (unchanged) residual forests, and evolved into the chimps, gorillas etc (thus explaining why they survived: their environment remained unchanged). Others moved out into the growing savanna, and evolved into Australopithecus. c1 million years ago the climate changed again, becoming much drier and reducing the food supply. There were two evolutionary responses - the Homo line became hunters - a strategy that worked - and the robust Australopithecus evolved to eat the harder seeds etc that characterised the drier savanna - a strategy that did not work, hence extinction.
For the later replacements, as has been said Homo Sapiens Sapiens simply outcompeted Homo Sapiens Neanderthalis. One example will suffice. On one site, occupied successively by Neandethalis and then Sapiens to exploit migrating animals, Neanderthalis arrived with the animals, while Sapiens, more forethoughful, arrived before.

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