Hope to get around to reading the paper either this evening or tomorrow...

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/372/6542/eabb4363.full.pdf

(Abstract)

Humans diverged from apes (chimpanzees, specifically) toward the end of the
Miocene ~9.3 million to 6.5 million years ago. Understanding the origins
of the
human lineage (hominins) requires reconstructing the morphology, behavior,
and environment of the chimpanzee-human last common ancestor. Modern
hominoids (that is, humans and apes) share multiple features (for example, an
orthograde body plan facilitating upright positional behaviors). However,
the fossil
record indicates that living hominoids constitute narrow representatives
of an
ancient radiation of more widely distributed, diverse species, none of
which exhibit
the entire suite of locomotor adaptations present in the extant relatives.
Hence,
some modern ape similarities might have evolved in parallel in response to
similar
selection pressures. Current evidence suggests that hominins originated in
Africa
from Miocene ape ancestors unlike any living species.

Primum Sapienti wrote:
>
> Hope to get around to reading the paper either this evening or tomorrow...
>
> https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/372/6542/eabb4363.full.pdf
>
> (Abstract)
>
> Humans diverged from apes (chimpanzees, specifically) toward the end of the
> Miocene ~9.3 million to 6.5 million years ago. Understanding the origins
> of the
> human lineage (hominins) requires reconstructing the morphology, behavior,
> and environment of the chimpanzee-human last common ancestor. Modern
> hominoids (that is, humans and apes) share multiple features (for example, an
> orthograde body plan facilitating upright positional behaviors). However,
> the fossil
> record indicates that living hominoids constitute narrow representatives
> of an
> ancient radiation of more widely distributed, diverse species, none of
> which exhibit
> the entire suite of locomotor adaptations present in the extant relatives.
> Hence,
> some modern ape similarities might have evolved in parallel in response to
> similar
> selection pressures. Current evidence suggests that hominins originated in
> Africa
> from Miocene ape ancestors unlike any living species.

"Miocene apes often display mosaic morphologies, and even those
interpreted as crown hominoids do not exhibit all the features present
in living apes (19) (Fig. 3)."

"Finally, paleoenvironmental reconstructions for late Miocene apes and
hominins suggest that the Pan-Homo LCA inhabited woodlands, not tropical
rainforests (30–33)."

"A holistic view indicates that the Pan-Homo LCA was a Miocene ape with
extant great ape–like cognitive abilities, likely possessing a complex social
structure and tool traditions (36, 38, 141). This ape would exhibit some
degree of body size and canine sexual dimorphism (with large honing male
canines) (15), indicating a polygynous sociosexual system (40). Based on
Miocene apes and earliest hominins, it is also likely that the Pan-Homo LCA
was orthograde and proficient at vertical climbing [see alternative
interpretation based on Ardipithecus (33, 93)], but not necessarily adapted
specifically for below-branch suspension or knuckle walking (9, 33).
Chimpanzees seem to retain the Pan-Homo LCA plesiomorphic condition in
some regards [e.g., brain and body size (38), vertebral counts (125), foot
morphology (142)]. However, in others [e.g., interlimb (93), hand (9), pelvis
(143) length proportions; femur morphology (89)], early hominins are more
similar to generalized Miocene apes. These results further reinforce the idea
that functional aspects of other locomotor types were co-opted for bipedalism
during hominin origins."

"Despite ongoing discussions about early hominin paleoenvironments
(woodland with forest patches versus wooded savanna) (146), evidence from
Miocene apes (30, 31) supports that the Pan-Homo LCA inhabited some kind
of woodland. Therefore, it has been suggested that the Pan-Homo LCA was
probably more omnivorous than chimpanzees (ripe fruit specialists) and likely
fed both in trees and on the ground (33), in agreement with isotopic
analyses for Ardipithecus ramidus (41)."

"Bipedalism would have emerged because of the selection pressures created by
the progressive fragmentation of forested habitats and the need for
terrestrial
travel from one feeding patch to the next. Data on extant ape positional
behaviors
(Fig. 4) suggest that hominin terrestrial bipedalism originated as a
posture rather
than a means of tra vel on the ground (147) or in trees (140). Rose (39)
proposed
a long process of increasing commitment to bipedality in the transition to
more
complex open habitats throughout the Plio-Pleistocene, and Potts (148) argued
that key stages in hominin evolution may relate to adaptive responses to cope
with highly variable environments. The fossil and archaeological records
provide a
new twist to the order of evolutionary events in early hominin evolution. The
remains of Orrorin and Ar. ramidus indicate that habitual terrestrial
bipedalism,
enhanced precision grasping, and loss of canine honing evolved at the dawn
of the human lineage well before brain enlargement (9, 33, 89, 93). It was
not
until later in time [maybe starting with Australopithecus (149) and
continuing
with Homo], that some preexisting hand attributes were co-opted for purposive
and systematic stone toolmaking in more encephalized hominins with more
advanced cognitive abilities (38, 150)."

On Monday, May 24, 2021 at 12:45:10 AM UTC-4, Primum Sapienti wrote:
> Primum Sapienti wrote:
> >
> > Hope to get around to reading the paper either this evening or tomorrow....
> >
> > https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/372/6542/eabb4363.full.pdf
> >
> > (Abstract)
> >
> > Humans diverged from apes (chimpanzees, specifically) toward the end of the
> > Miocene ~9.3 million to 6.5 million years ago. Understanding the origins
> > of the
> > human lineage (hominins) requires reconstructing the morphology, behavior,
> > and environment of the chimpanzee-human last common ancestor. Modern
> > hominoids (that is, humans and apes) share multiple features (for example, an
> > orthograde body plan facilitating upright positional behaviors). However,
> > the fossil
> > record indicates that living hominoids constitute narrow representatives
> > of an
> > ancient radiation of more widely distributed, diverse species, none of
> > which exhibit
> > the entire suite of locomotor adaptations present in the extant relatives.
> > Hence,
> > some modern ape similarities might have evolved in parallel in response to
> > similar
> > selection pressures. Current evidence suggests that hominins originated in
> > Africa
> > from Miocene ape ancestors unlike any living species.
> "Miocene apes often display mosaic morphologies, and even those
> interpreted as crown hominoids do not exhibit all the features present
> in living apes (19) (Fig. 3)."
>
> "Finally, paleoenvironmental reconstructions for late Miocene apes and
> hominins suggest that the Pan-Homo LCA inhabited woodlands, not tropical
> rainforests (30–33)."
>
> "A holistic view indicates that the Pan-Homo LCA was a Miocene ape with
> extant great ape–like cognitive abilities, likely possessing a complex social
> structure and tool traditions (36, 38, 141). This ape would exhibit some
> degree of body size and canine sexual dimorphism (with large honing male
> canines) (15), indicating a polygynous sociosexual system (40). Based on
> Miocene apes and earliest hominins, it is also likely that the Pan-Homo LCA
> was orthograde and proficient at vertical climbing [see alternative
> interpretation based on Ardipithecus (33, 93)], but not necessarily adapted
> specifically for below-branch suspension or knuckle walking (9, 33).
> Chimpanzees seem to retain the Pan-Homo LCA plesiomorphic condition in
> some regards [e.g., brain and body size (38), vertebral counts (125), foot
> morphology (142)]. However, in others [e.g., interlimb (93), hand (9), pelvis
> (143) length proportions; femur morphology (89)], early hominins are more
> similar to generalized Miocene apes. These results further reinforce the idea
> that functional aspects of other locomotor types were co-opted for bipedalism
> during hominin origins."
>
> "Despite ongoing discussions about early hominin paleoenvironments
> (woodland with forest patches versus wooded savanna) (146), evidence from
> Miocene apes (30, 31) supports that the Pan-Homo LCA inhabited some kind
> of woodland. Therefore, it has been suggested that the Pan-Homo LCA was
> probably more omnivorous than chimpanzees (ripe fruit specialists) and likely
> fed both in trees and on the ground (33), in agreement with isotopic
> analyses for Ardipithecus ramidus (41)."
>
> "Bipedalism would have emerged because of the selection pressures created by
> the progressive fragmentation of forested habitats and the need for
> terrestrial
> travel from one feeding patch to the next. Data on extant ape positional
> behaviors
> (Fig. 4) suggest that hominin terrestrial bipedalism originated as a
> posture rather
> than a means of tra vel on the ground (147) or in trees (140). Rose (39)
> proposed
> a long process of increasing commitment to bipedality in the transition to
> more
> complex open habitats throughout the Plio-Pleistocene, and Potts (148) argued
> that key stages in hominin evolution may relate to adaptive responses to cope
> with highly variable environments. The fossil and archaeological records
> provide a
> new twist to the order of evolutionary events in early hominin evolution. The
> remains of Orrorin and Ar. ramidus indicate that habitual terrestrial
> bipedalism,
> enhanced precision grasping, and loss of canine honing evolved at the dawn
> of the human lineage well before brain enlargement (9, 33, 89, 93). It was
> not
> until later in time [maybe starting with Australopithecus (149) and
> continuing
> with Homo], that some preexisting hand attributes were co-opted for purposive
> and systematic stone toolmaking in more encephalized hominins with more
> advanced cognitive abilities (38, 150)."

If macroclimate-effected environment induced orthogrady, why did it only do it to hominins? Why didn't other species adopt it permanently?
Did they sleep in arboreal nests? Humans don't. Humans carry things, sleep in hand- constructed ground shelters in social groups.
Sharp edges, long spears, shelters...

> > https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/372/6542/eabb4363.full.pdf
> > Humans diverged from apes (chimpanzees, specifically) toward the end of the
> > Miocene ~9.3 million to 6.5 million years ago. Understanding the origins
> > of the
> > human lineage (hominins) requires reconstructing the morphology, behavior,
> > and environment of the chimpanzee-human last common ancestor. Modern
> > hominoids (that is, humans and apes) share multiple features (for example, an
> > orthograde body plan facilitating upright positional behaviors).

Yes, most or all Miocene hominoids were vertical, not for running, of course, as some outdated fools still believe, but simply for wading bipedally & climbing arms overhead in the forest swamps where they fosslized, see our TREE paper (Trends Ecol.Evol.17:212-7, 2002, google "aquarboreal").

> > However, the fossil
> > record indicates that living hominoids constitute narrow representatives
> > of an ancient radiation of more widely distributed, diverse species, none of
> > which exhibit
> > the entire suite of locomotor adaptations present in the extant relatives.

Obvious: this wide radiation (Miocene) was in Tethys coastal forests:
-hominids West: Medit.& Red Sea: dryopiths, Gorilla-Homo-Pan etc.
-pongids East: Ind.Ocean coasts: sivapiths, Pongo etc.

> > Hence,
> > some modern ape similarities might have evolved in parallel in response to
> > similar selection pressures.

Of course, many hominid & pongid branches went inland along lakes & rivers.

> > Current evidence suggests that hominins originated in
> > Africa from Miocene ape ancestors unlike any living species.

??
Unscientific (anthropocentric) belief without evidence:
- unlike other animals??? hominids evolved like other animals,
- Africa? not impossible, e.g. E.African coastal forests,
- "hominin" here implies that apiths & Homo are related to the exclusion of Pan & Gorilla,
but this is unbiological (anthropocentric) thinking: it's wrong, google e.g..
"ape human evolution made easy PPT verhaegen".

> "Miocene apes often display mosaic morphologies, and even those
> interpreted as crown hominoids do not exhibit all the features present
> in living apes (19) (Fig. 3)."

Yes, google "aquarboreal".

> "Finally, paleoenvironmental reconstructions for late Miocene apes and
> hominins suggest that the Pan-Homo LCA inhabited woodlands, not tropical
> rainforests (30–33)."

?
In any case, apiths & Homo obviously did not live in savanna:

- Lukeino KNM-LU 335 “pre-australopithecine”: ‘The red beds seems to contain marginal lacustrine deposits as indicated by the presence of algal mats and lacustrine bivalves (including complete specimens with valves in the closed position)’ (Pickford, 1975).
- Tabarin KNM-TH 13150 “pre-australopithecine”: ‘The fauna includes aquatic animals such as molluscs, fish, turtles, crocodiles, and hippotami, along with others that might be found in the vicinity of a lake of river’ (Ward & Hill, 1987).
- Ardipithecus ramidus: ‘Sedimentological, botanical and faunal evidence suggests a wooded habitat for the Aramis hominids […] Aquatic elements (turtle, fish, crocodile) are rare. Large mammals (hippopotamus, proboscideans, rhinos, equids, giraffids, bovines) are rare. Primates are very abundant’ (WoldeGabriel et al., 1994); ‘[…] interpreted to have been a closed woodland. At Aramis, aquatic species and large mammals are rare, and colobines make up over 30% of all vertebrate specimens collected’ (Leakey cs 1995).
- Kanapoi KNM-KP 29281 Australopithecus anamensis: Fish, aquatic reptiles, kudus and monkeys are prevalent. ‘A wide gallery forest would have almost certainly been present on the large river that brought in the sediments’ (Leakey cs 1995).
- Chad KT 12 A. cf. afarensis: ‘The non-hominid fauna contains aquatic taxa (such as Siluridae, Trionyx, cf. Tomistoma), taxa adapted to wooded habitats (such as Loxodonta, Kobus, Kolpochoerus) and to more open areas (such as Ceratotherium, Hipparion) […] compatible with a lakeside environment’ (Brunet cs 1995).
- Garusi-Laetoli L.H. A. anamensis or afarensis: Teeth and mandible fragments, the hardest skeletal parts which are frequently left over by carnivores (Morden, 1988), come from wind-blown and air-fall tuffs (Leakey cs 1976). Cercopithecine and colobine monkeys are present (Protsch, 1981; Leakey cs 1976).
- Hadar, Afar Locality: ‘Generally, the sediments represent lacustrine, lake margin, and associated fluvial deposits related to an extensive lake that periodically filled the entire basin’ (Johanson cs 1982)
- Hadar AL.333 A. afarensis: ‘The bones were found in swale-like features […] it is very likely that they died and partially rotted at or very near this site […] this group of hominids was buried in streamside gallery woodland’ (Radosevich cs 1992).
- Hadar AL.288 gracile A. afarensis: Lucy lay in a small, slow moving stream. ‘Fossil preservation at this locality is excellent, remains of delicate items such as crocodile and turtle eggs and crab claws being found’ (Johanson & Taieb, 1976).
- Makapan A. africanus: ‘[…] very different conditions from those prevailing today. Higher rainfall, fertile, alkaline soils and moderate relief supported significant patches of sub-tropical forest and thick bush, rather than savannah. Taphonomic considerations […] suggest that sub-tropical forest was the hominins’ preferred habitat rather than grassland or bushveld, and the adaptations of these animals was therefore fitted to a forest habitat’ (Rayner cs 1993; see also Reed, 1993; and Wood, 1993).
- Taung australopithecine: ‘the clayey matrix from which the Taung cranium was extracted, and the frequent occurrence of calcite veins and void fillings within it (Butzer, 1974, 1980) do suggest a more humid environment during its accumulation’ (Partridge, 1985).
- Sterkfontein A. africanus and Swartkrans A. robustus: Many South African australopithecines are discovered in riverside caves, presumably often filled with the remainders of the consumption process of large felids (Brain, 1981).
- Kromdraai: A. robustus was found near grassveld and streamside or marsh vegetation, in the vicinity of quail, pipits, starlings, swallows, and parrots, lovebirds and similar psittacine birds (T. N. Pocock in Brain, 1981).
- Turkana KNM-ER 17000 and 16005: A. aethiopicus was discovered near the boundary between overbank deposits of large perennial river and alluvial fan deposits, amid water- and reedbucks (Walker cs 1986).
- Lake Turkana: ‘The lake margins were generally swampy, with extensive areas of mudflats […] Australopithecus boisei was more abundant in fluvial environments, whereas Homo habilis was rare in such environments […] Australopithecus fossils are more common than Homo both in channel and floodplain deposits. The gracile hominids […] seem to be more restricted ecologically to the lake margin than are the robust forms’ (Conroy, 1990).
- Ileret A. boisei: ‘the fossil sample reflects climatic and ecological environmental conditions differing significantly from those of the present day. At Ilerat, 1.5 Myr ago, climatic conditions must have been cooler and more humid than today, and more favourable to extensive forests […] The prominence of montane forest is particularly striking […] dominated by Gramineae and Chenopodiaceae appropriate to the margins of a slightly saline or alkaline lake’ (Bonnefille, 1976).
- Konso A. boisei: ‘The highly fossiliferous sands at the mid-section of KGA10 are interpreted to be the middle to distal portions of an alluvial fan, deposited adjacent to, and extending into, a lake. Fossils and artefacts deriving from horizons of sands and silts are not abraded and show evidence of minimal transport. A large mammalian assemblage has been collected from the deposits, showing a striking dominance of Alcelaphini […] to indicate the presence of extensive dry grasslands at KGA10’ (Suwa cs 1997).
- Chesowanja A. boisei: ‘The fossiliferous sediments were deposited in a lagoon […] Abundant root casts […] suggest that the embayment was flanked by reeds and the presence of calcareous algae indicates that the lagoon was warm and shallow. Bellamya and catfish are animals tolerant of relatively stagnant water, and such situation would also be suitable for turtles and crocodiles’ (Carney cs 1971).
- Olduvai middle Bed I: A. boisei O.H.5 as well as habilis O.H.7 and O.H.62 were found in the most densely vegetated, wettest condition, with the highest lake levels (Walter cs 1991), near ostracods, freshwater snails, fish, and aquatic birds (Conroy, 1990); ‘[…] the middle Bed-I faunas indicate a very rich closed woodland environment, richer than any part of the present-day savanna biome in Africa […]’ (Fernández-Jalvo cs 1998). ‘Fossilized leaves and pollen are rare in the sediments of Beds I and II, but swamp vegetation is indicated by abundant vertical roots channels and casts possibly made by some kind of reed. Fossil rhizomes of papyrus also suggest the presence of marshland and/or shallow water’ (Conroy, 1990). ‘[…] Cyperaceae fruits were common in H. habilis habitat (Bonnefille, 1984). Ancient Egyptians ate Cyperus papyrus root which was also present at Olduvai in swamp-margins and river banks’ (Puech, 1992).
- Olduvai O.H.24 habilis: ‘Crocodile remains predominate among the faunal material from this site and more than 2,000 teeth were found. Tortoise plates, shells of Urocyclid slugs, fish vertebrae and scales, bird bones and pieces of ostrich eggshell were also relatively common (Leakey cs 1971).
- Malawi UR 501 early Homo: ‘The Plio-Pleistocene Chiwondo Beds of Northern Malawi have yielded molluscs and fragmented remains of fish, turtles, crocodiles and large mammals […] Microvertebrates and carnivores are virtually unrepresented in the assemblage […] The general ecological setting of the Malawi Rift during the Late Pliocene was a mosaic environment including open and closed, dry and wet habitats, and which harbored a small and ecologically unstable paleolake Malawi’ (Schrenk cs1995).
- Chemeron KNM-BC1 early Homo: ‘The Fish Beds […] seem to be almost entirely lacustrine and fluviatile; fish remains are abundant […] Molluscs also lived in the lake, and locally their remains accumulate to form shelly limestones’ (Martyn & Tobias, 1967).
- Turkana Boy KNM-WT 15000 H. erectus: ‘Mammalian fossils are rare at this locality, the most abundant vertebrate fossils being parts of small and large fish. The depositional environment was evidently an alluvial plain of low relief […] Typical lacustrine forms (for example, ostracods, molluscs) could invade the area […] The only other fauna found so far in the fossiliferous bed are many opercula of the swamp snail Pila, a few bones of the catfish Synodontis and two fragments of indeterminate large mammal bone […]’ (Brown cs 1985).
- Mojokerto H. erectus: ‘The basal part of the Putjangan Beds is composed of volcanic breccias containing marine and freshwater molluscs. The rest of the Putjangan Beds is composed of black clays of lacustrine origin’ (Ninkovich & Burckle, 1987).
- Peking H. erectus: ‘A big river and possibly a lake were located to the east and contained various water species; along the shorelines grew reeds and plants, which were home for buffalo, deer, otters, beavers and other animals’ (Poirier, 1978); ‘[…] accumulation in quiet water. The cave at this time was probably the locus of ponded water and was probably more open to the atmosphere’ (Weiner cs 1998).
- Hopefield, Rabat & Terra Amata: H. erectus fossils came from sandstone made up from dune sand resting upon a former sea beach (De Lumley, 1990). In Terra Amata, ‘there are also indications that the inhabitants ate oysters, mussels and limpets – shells of which are present. The presence of fish bones and fish vertebrae indicate that the population also fished’ (Poirier, 1987).

On Monday 24 May 2021 at 05:45:10 UTC+1, Primum Sapienti wrote:

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/372/6542/eabb4363.full.pdf

> "Bipedalism would have emerged because of the selection
> pressures created by the progressive fragmentation of forested
> habitats and the need for terrestrial travel from one feeding patch
> to the next. Data on extant ape positional behaviors (Fig. 4)
> suggest that hominin terrestrial bipedalism originated as a
> posture rather than a means of tra vel on the ground (147) or in
> trees (140). Rose (39) proposed a long process of increasing
> commitment to bipedality in the transition to more complex open
> habitats throughout the Plio-Pleistocene, and Potts (148) argued
> that key stages in hominin evolution may relate to adaptive
> responses to cope with highly variable environments. The fossil
> and archaeological records provide a new twist to the order of
> evolutionary events in early hominin evolution. The remains of
> Orrorin and Ar. ramidus indicate that habitual terrestrial
> bipedalism, enhanced precision grasping, and loss of canine
> honing evolved at the dawn of the human lineage well before
> brain enlargement (9, 33, 89, 93). It was not until later in time
> [maybe starting with Australopithecus (149) and continuing with
> Homo], that some preexisting hand attributes were co-opted for
> purposive and systematic stone toolmaking in more encephalized
> hominins with more advanced cognitive abilities (38, 150)."

What utter garbage! It accurately reflects
the state of the 'discipline'.

Early hominins were similar to us in most
important respects. They had lost the 'hands'
at the end of their legs. They were no longer
comfortable in trees. They didn't sleep in them.
Hominin babies soon lost their gripping arms
along with the hand-like feet, and they couldn't
hold on to their mothers, especially at night.
The taxon did NOT sleep in trees. It slept on
the ground. Until PA professionals recognise
these basic facts, and begin to deal with the
issue of predation, they are wasting their time.
The same applies to the posters to this NG.

littor...@gmail.com wrote:
>
>>> https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/372/6542/eabb4363.full.pdf
>>> Humans diverged from apes (chimpanzees, specifically) toward the end of the
>>> Miocene ~9.3 million to 6.5 million years ago. Understanding the origins
>>> of the
>>> human lineage (hominins) requires reconstructing the morphology, behavior,
>>> and environment of the chimpanzee-human last common ancestor. Modern
>>> hominoids (that is, humans and apes) share multiple features (for example, an
>>> orthograde body plan facilitating upright positional behaviors).

None of them had snorkel noses.

littor...@gmail.com wrote:
>>>>> Humans diverged from apes (chimpanzees, specifically) toward the end of the
>>>>> Miocene ~9.3 to 6.5 million years ago.
>
>> None of them had snorkel noses.
>
> :-DDD
> This man is apparently the most stupid of the kudu runners.
>
> Google "coastal dispersal Pleistocene Homo PPT".
>

Google "snorkel".

Op maandag 7 juni 2021 om 06:51:19 UTC+2 schreef Primum Sapienti:

> Google "snorkel".

Then we get:

Oi, big nose!
New Scientist 2782 p 69 Lastword 16 October 2010

Why do humans evolve external noses that don’t seem to serve any useful purpose – our smelling sensors are inside the head. Our nose is vulnerable to damage, and the majority of primates and other mammals manage with relatively flat faces. Traditional explanations are that the nose protects against dry air, hot air, cold air, dusty air, whatever air, but most savannah mammals have no external noses, and polar animals such as arctic foxes or hares tend to evolve shorter extremities including flatter noses (Allen’s Rule), not larger as the Neanderthal protruding nose.

The answer isn’t so difficult if we simply consider humans like other mammals.

An external nose is seen in elephant seals, hooded seals, tapirs, elephants, swine and, among primates, in the mangrove-dwelling proboscis monkeys. Various, often mutually compatible functions, have been proposed, such as sexual display (in male hooded and elephant seals or proboscis monkeys), manipulation of food (in elephants, tapirs and swine), a snorkel (elephants, proboscis monkeys) and as a nose-closing aid during diving (in most of these animals). These mammals spend a lot of time at the margins of land and water.. Possible functions of an external nose in creatures evolving into aquatic ones are obvious and match those listed above in many cases. They can initially act as a nose closure, a snorkel, to keep water out, to dig in wet soil for food, and so on. Afterwards, these external noses can also become co-opted for other functions, such as sexual display (visual as well as auditory) in hooded and elephant seals and proboscis monkeys.

But what does this have to do with human evolution?

The earliest known Homo fossils outside Africa – such as those at Mojokerto in Java and Dmanisi in Georgia – are about 1.8 million years old. The easiest way for them to have spread to other continents, and to islands such as Java, is along the coasts, and from there inland along rivers. During the glacial periods of the Pleistocene – the ice age cycles that ran from about 1.8 million to 12,000 years ago – most coasts were about 100 metres below the present-day sea level, so we don’t know whether or when Homo populations lived there. But coasts and riversides are full of shellfish and other foods that are easily collected and digested by smart, handy and tool-using “apes”, and are rich in potential brain-boosting nutrients such as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).

If Pleistocene Homo spread along the coasts, beachcombing, wading and diving for seafoods as Polynesian islanders still do, this could explain why Homo erectus evolved larger brains (aided by DHA) and larger noses (because of their part-time diving). This littoral intermezzo could help to explain not only why we like to have our holidays at tropical beaches, eating shrimps and coconuts, but also why we became fat and furless bipeds with long legs, large brains and big noses.

littor...@gmail.com wrote:
> Op maandag 7 juni 2021 om 06:51:19 UTC+2 schreef Primum Sapienti:
>
>> Google "snorkel".
>
> Then we get:
>
> Oi, big nose!

No, *this* is what you get

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snorkel_(swimming)

"A snorkel is a device used for breathing air from above the surface when
the wearer's head is face downwards in the water with the mouth and the
nose submerged."

It's clear you don't know what a snorkel is.

Primum Sapienti wrote:

> Humans diverged from apes (chimpanzees, specifically) toward the end of the
> Miocene ~9.3 million to 6.5 million years ago.

No we didn't.

There's not more than 4 million years between us, and quite frankly that's the
absolute upward limit, NOT the most likely time line...

Our last common ancestor with gorillas was probably no more than 7 million
years ago...

This is all molecular clock idiocy.

The oldest chimp fossil, and it's only CLAIMED to be a chimp, is half a million
years old. AND IT'S JUST A TOOTH!

https://www.livescience.com/9326-chimp-fossils.html

AND it's in the wrong place! They didn't find it in a forest

AND THE EXCUSES SUCK EGGS!

Look. Rivers overflow. DINOSAURS, people, freaking DINOSAURS have been
buried whole by flooding rivers, encased in mud and preserved so well that
soft tissue has been preserved! But not a single Chimp?

And volcanoes erupt. They bury living things -- they've buried humans! -- and
we today can go dig them up. But not a single Chimp?

What about trace fossils?

Coprolites? Footprints? Etc.

Paleo anthropology isn't a science, it's a social program.

-- --

https://jtem.tumblr.com/post/654567001642221568