Climate patterns helped shape the physical and mental scale of early humans
In short: Researchers studying the genus Homo over the last million years found that environmental factors played a role in how our ancestors evolved. By combining fossil data with paleoclimatic reconstructions, the study found that temperature was a significant predictor of body size variation, while brain size was linked to precipitation patterns and food availability.
The study used a quantitative statistical framework to test various drivers of evolution, such as social and dietary factors. While temperature appeared to influence body size in line with Bergmann's rule, environmental factors explained only a small portion of the variation in brain size. This suggests that the evolution of human intelligence and physique involved complex, indirect processes involving extinction risks and cognitive demands.
Why it matters: Climate played a role in human evolution, but the drivers of brain size are likely more complex than simple environmental shifts.
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Sources
- Source: Research: Will et al. (2021). Different environmental variables predict body and brain size evolution in Homo. Nature Communications. · cc-by
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