Questions tagged [human-evolution]
The study of evolution with a particular focus on questions about the evolution of modern humans.
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Were Neandertals as Hairy as We Are?
What I mean to say regards facial and androgenic hairs. There are many theories as to why some people have both kinds of hairs, while others have one or the same and others still have neither. The ...
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What niche was humanity theorized to fill before we possesd weapons and coordination to hunt & kill large prey?
I'm really interested in evolution, and for a err 'hobbyist' I think I understand a good bit of evolution and adaptation and the role it has played in many species.
However, I feel I'm rather ...
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Why is the spinal cord shortened in some vertebrates (cauda equina) but not in others?
Hodos, 2009, mentions that the "spinal cord tail" that humans have is not present in most vertebrates. This page mentions cauda equina is not present early on in human embryonic development, ...
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Follow up from D. Reich's "Who we are and how we got here"
I recently read the book in the title and loved it. However, it's 6 years old now and - in the author's own words - likely out of date because progress in this new field of paleogenetics is so fast. ...
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Genetic differences between Africans and non-Africans due to cross-breeding with Neanderthals?
It is estimated that soon after the "out of Africa event" there was some interbreeding between Homo sapiens sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis. All non-African peoples are thought to have ...
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Do human lungs have more protection against smoke compared to other animals?
Our ancestors have used fire for more than a million years. Wood smoke is not good for the lungs, but our ancestors were depended on fire. Especially in colder regions of the World like in Europe, ...
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Shrinking size of Y chromosomes
I read on the web that the size of Y chromosomes decreased in earlier period of time and the picture below tells that it is still occurring.
So basically I want to know what caused this shrinking and ...
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Genetic variance for a behavioural trait among human populations
From this article from The Guardian:
We instinctively assume that differences in behaviour that are in fact due to culture must be linked to – even caused by – characteristics of appearance. That ...
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Do pale skinned people show other low light adaptations?
So, pale skin is, fundamentally, an adaptation to living in low light conditions. Pros: reduce energy spent on producing melanin, increase vitamin D production. Cons: more vulnerable to sunburns and ...
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What is the evolutionary advantage of getting hard nipples when being aroused? Why can they even be stimulated sexually?
I try to understand the evolutionary advantages of the body reactions of nipples and penises/vaginas. I'm confused, because I can explain the evolutionary advantage in a logical & consistent way ...
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Are mosquitoes actually louder than similar flying insects, or have we evolved to hear them?
I've come across many flying insects smaller than the common housefly, but (anecdotally) the only such species that I can hear from an appreciable distance away is the mosquito, with its distinctive ...
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Around what time did dark skin disappear from Europe?
As Europeans gradually became lighter skinned, there would have been people that still had dark skin. Around what time period did Europeans become completely light skinned?
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What natural defence mechanism does the human body have against lead poisoning?
It is known that lead ion takes place of necessary ions, like calcium, in the body, but does not perform their task, hence wrecking the system. So how does the body eventually recognise this threat ...
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Is there any evolutionary significance of downward facing nostrils in human beings?
The nostrils in apes and monkeys are almost at the front, but in humans nostrils (external nares) face downwards. Also a lot of non-primate mammals like goats have nostrils at the front.
Is it the ...
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Are humans getting taller, shorter, staying the same height?
This post stems from this question, and specifically this article, which was provided within a response.
From what I gathered, the article attempts to make a correlation between the size of a ...
user22020
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How detailed a construction of the family tree of known human fossils do we have?
For the sake of this question, by "human" I mean Hominina. The best I could find is this, which isn't very detailed. Of the dozens of paleospecies we'd seek to link up, do we have a more detailed tree ...
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Have people in Africa already started evolving resistance to AIDS?
Are people living in areas where AIDS is rampant (for e.g. Africa), less likely to die from it than they once were because some of the people without genes/mutations that give them resistance already ...
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evolution of a preference for cooked meat
When I got a meat thermometer a few years ago, I was startled at how low optimal cooking temperatures are for beef, less that 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Also, as a kid, I remember reading that the desert ...
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DNA from Egyptian Mummies Evolution vs Human of Today
Comment: I ask my biological questions from the point of view of mathematical proportions. I am not a biologist.
Are there significant differences in DNA from Egyptian Mummies vs. those available from ...
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Biological reason for "deadlift face"?
Always when I deadlift at the maximum load, my face looks more or less like this:
or this:
The same applies for when I do other heavy-weight exercises.
But what biological mechanism causes that? ...
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What is the evolutionary advantage of breathing and heart beats syncing between partners?
I recently read that partners who are close to one another usually when touching have their heart beats and breathing in sync. Why does this occur? What is the benefit of it occurring? How does this ...
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Why is it that only humans are ashamed of certain critical biological activities
Humans are ashamed of certain activities that are critical to our survival.
Examples: mating, defecation, exposing certain parts of our bodies
This restricts some activities from being performed while ...
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(Soft) Lay Survey of human natural history
I am looking for an introduction to the natural history of humans. I had originally thought Sapiens until I found out it is more a history and archeology book of dubious scientific accuracy. The Sorts ...
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Are there "old" neuron types in the neocortex?
"Old" may mean a neuron type that appeared early in the tree of life, and it may mean – going together – that it comes early in the lineage tree of neuronal cells, rooted in the fertilized ...
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Which theory has more evidence, humans appeared in Africa 200,000 years ago, or there were already humans in Europe at least 210,000 years ago?
This theory
Modern humans originated from a woman who lived in modern day Botswana
says
Every person alive today descended from a woman who lived in
modern-day Botswana about 200,000 years ...
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Are there any open phylogenetic projects that don't require coding to make a contribution
I am stay at home learner, not pursuing education formal education and currently doing a part time job. I've however completed masters in biotechnology and I'm studying to pursue PhD in molecular ...
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What percentage of a complete Denisovan genomes lives on in the union of the sets of overlapping pieces in extant humans
In studies like this one mapping out distributions around the world or the analysis described in this article (suggesting a contribution from a non-Denisovan but Denisovan-like unidentified hominin to ...
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Sub-saharan africans (Andamanese, Semang) have the ancestral hair-type, do they also have pediculus humanus capitis lice?
Do humans with the ancestral hair-type also have pediculus humanus capitis lice? Pubic hair lice, Pthirus pubis, are adapted morphologically to cling onto
coarse body hair, and originates from ...
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In this poisson distribution in olfactory receptor (OR) pseudogenes neutral mutation rate, how is the mean used?
The 2005 paper A comparison of the human and chimpanzee olfactory receptor gene repertoires describes a poisson distribution, with a mean of 0.701
From that mean, how is the gene disruption rate of ...
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Are there hyoid bones of Homo habilis in the fossil record?
Hyoid bones have been found for Homo erectus, Homo neanderthalensis, Australopithecus afarensis, and some more hominids. Have hyoid bones been found from Homo habilis?
References:
Capasso, L., E ...
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Different number of flaps in heart valves
Can anyone tell me why the different valves of heart have different number of flaps is it in any way related to evolution of homo sapiens.
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What were the Neanderthal innovations?
At some point the neanderthal and modern human lineages diverged. I'm not sure what exactly their most common recent ancestor was (I see some sources suggesting homo heidelbergensis), but in any case ...
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Why were the earliest humans hunter gatherers instead of fruit eaters living on trees?
How is it that the earliest humans who evolved from primates (who live on trees and mostly eat fruit) became hunter-gatherers (which seems like a harder, more stressful and more dangerous way to find ...
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Why don't women continue to produce ova indefinitely?
Why has the human body not evolved to produce more ova?
Is there some technical reason that makes is easy while the fetus is developing, but much harder later in life?
Or, perhaps more likely, is it ...
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How did the fusion of Chromosome 2 spawn a separate smarter species?
I’m familiar with the evidence that two primate chromosomes fused into human Chromosome 2, and I understand that primates with such a mutation could still breed with those without it.
My question is, ...
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Is there a specific book or textbook that lists all of the specific concepts of the theory of evolution in one place?
By specific concepts I mean those such as Zahavian signaling, the "sexy son" hypothesis, Mendel's peas, Lamarckism etc.
Essentially I am looking for a book that helps visualize evolution in ...
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Abilities used to survive against natural enemies: directional selection or frequency-dependent selection?
Regarding abilities used to survive predators and parasites, are they subjected more to directional selection or frequency-dependent selection?
It's usually that host-parasite coevolution is ...
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Is the human mouth more burn-resistant than other animals which don't eat cooked food?
I burnt my mouth on some hot pizza and it got me wondering if we have been eating cooked food long enough to have evolved a better resistance to oral burns than other species. Have there been any ...
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Tribes outside humanity
All humans are a group with common ancestry but some humans distinct themselves into sub-groups by "distinctive ancestry" and tend to ask other humans "where are you originally from&...
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When did humans or their ancestors gain the instinct to take shelter?
I was going to ask if seeking shelter in a constructure dwelling or natural formation was instinctive to modern humans or if it is a learned sociatal behaviour. By shelter I mean seek routine ...
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Biological & Evolutionary Reasons for Palm (Bi)Symmetry
The fingers of the human palm exhibit a (bi)symmetrical pattern with regards to their size, in the sense that the thumb and the pinky are almost the same size, and the same holds for the index and ...
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What is the scientific consensus on whether humans were monogamous during the period of evolutionary adaptedness?
The book The Mating Mind by Geoffrey Miller asserts, as part of its thesis, that humans were not monogamous in the environment of evolutionary adaptedness.
I found the book vivid and persuasive, but ...
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Carbohydrate diet and dental health
I read that human started carbohydrates rich diet after adopting agriculture before that meat was main energy source which has comparatively less carbohydrate. High carbohydrate started destroying ...
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single use traits
Are there any known traits (in any organisms) that serve exclusively one purpose?
(Counterexample: Giraffes long neck help them reach less available food AND communicate sub-sonically).
If so is ...
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Sex and human's sexual urge.
Why is it necessary for humans to feel pleasure while having sex? Why is it that other animals don't need to experience it? Is it evolutionary ? Why do we mate for pleasure when it's so energy wasting/...
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On the Origin of Homo Sapiens
Paleoanthropologists are certain Homo sapiens originate from Africa. However where in Africa is still contested.
Could you give the reasons why it is thought that Homo sapiens evolved in Eastern ...
