Anthropology
In the studies that have been done on primate and early human evolution, there is strong evidence that eating meat played a large role in increased brain size. Early plant eating hominids had a cranial capacity of about 300 cc to 500.cc. The earliest known meat eating hominids had a capacity of about 600 cc to 750 cc. Why the difference? Hominids require amino acids in their diets to remain healthy. It is difficult to find them in vegetation that is easily digestable. Thus, the hominids had to come up with a solution. The solution was to add meat to their diet. The early hominids were small creatures without tools for hunting animals. How were they going to get the meat they needed? . . .
This led to the natural selection of the animals with bigger brains. Possibly, they spent some of this time playing some type of game or exploring ways to manipulate their environment to their benefit, as the text mentioned. As our textbook brought out, life in the trees was different than that on the ground. They gathered vegetables and fruits and traded these for some of the meat from the males. This means that the meat eating hominids had more time to do things other than look for food. The development of meat eating hominids can be compared to the development of arboreal primates. All of this required thought, which exercised the brain, helping to form new connections, and ultimately encouraging brain growth. These activities also would have contributed to cognitive development. Leopards were mighty hunters that lived in the same area as the hominids. If a hominid could recognize the opportunity, and was quick enough, this provided a great chance for him to get some meat. The men were the primary scavengers for meat, but the women also played their part. Many times the leopards made a kill and either didn’t eat or didn’t eat all of the animal, so they would store the meat for later. Meat eating animals do not have to eat as frequently as animals who rely solely on vegetation. The hominid had to be able to read the signs to find the meat and know when it was safe to get the food.
Common topics in this essay:
Anthropology- Hominids, eating hominids, meat eating, meat eating hominids, brains meat, arboreal primates, increased brain size, increased brain, didn’t eat, meat hominid, brain size, |
Acceptance Essays
