Humans have a rather bizarre relationships structure in which multiple, monogamous families live together. Whilst there may well be an “alpha” male he does not monopolise the females, instead allowing his subordinates to live within and mate with those in his group. This strategy is interesting for two main reasons; firstly because it is unique … Continue reading »
Whilst Homo sapiens is defined by its biology, if one were forced to identify their most important attribute then their anatomy would not be it. No, it is our behaviour which truly sets apart from other creatures. Although our body is a highly derived object with surprisingly derived adaptations, it is how we behave that … Continue reading »
Hello my 50 subscribers! There’s quite a few of you now isn’t there, it seems only the other day I waved hello to just 6 of you. To those 6 of you, thanks for sticking around; to the other 44 howdy! This is just a quick personal post to say I had a good idea. … Continue reading »
Most people typically view Homo sapiens as physically rather weak; reliant upon our technology for survival in the harsh world. Picturing people without technology on the Savannah typically ends up with them becoming lion food in short order. We’re slower than Cheetahs, less agile than a gazelle, lack the point teeth of a lion and … Continue reading »
When faced with a choice between a known and an unknown amount, humans do this clever thing whereby they use past experience to decide which one they should go for. In particular, it is based on the mean rate of return for a resource. For example, say you lived your whole life in a town … Continue reading »
The climate seems like a very topical issue, constantly being brought to the forefront of the political arena. Newspapers comment, governments pledge and bloggers quarrel…all in the here and now. Given all of this, it’s easy to forget that the environment has been constantly changing since our planet first formed. It isn’t just a current … Continue reading »
Those of you who have read a few of the posts here at EvoAnth might notice a rather familiar pattern emerging: we wish to understand how an interesting aspect of our species evolved, but that aspect does not preserve well forcing people to develop rather ingenious work-arounds. The reason this pattern has appeared across most … Continue reading »
To avoid the infinite void of the archive page I’ve created the “in brief” tab at the top of the page. This will lead you to a cladogram of all the species I’ve mentioned so far, which in turn will link to a page providing brief summaries of all the posts regarding that species. Hopefully … Continue reading »
In 2003 Evolutionary Anthropology came crashing into popular culture with the discovery of Homo floresiensis, found – as the name might suggest – on the island of Flores. Affectionately nicknamed “the Hobbit” by the media, this diminutive creature stood at only 108 cm tall (~3′ 6”) and by virtue of this peculiarity managed to capture … Continue reading »
