2927611Shoh we assume that a larger brain, the Use

Q

OF TOOLS,
SUPERIOR LEARNING ABILITIES
AND COMPLEX SOCIAL STRUCTURES
ARE HUGE ADVANTAGES? It seems self-evident
that these have made mankind the most powerful animal on earth?
But humans enjoyed all of these advantages for at least a full 2 millions years
during which they remained weak and marginal creatures! Thus humans lived a million years ago,
despite their big brains and sharp stone tools, dwelt in constant fear of predators, rarely hunted large
game, and subsisted mainly by gathering plants, scooping up insects, stalking small animals, and eating
the carrion left behind by other more powerful carnivores! One of the common uses of early stone tools
was to crack open bones in order to get to the marrow: some researchers believe thìs was our original
niche?! Just as woodpeckers specialize in extracting insects from the trunks of trees, also the first of
the humans specialized in extracting marrow from bones!? Why marrow? Well, suppose you observe
a pride of lions take down & devour a giraffe: you wait patiently until they're done! But it's still nòt
yóur tùrn because first the hyenas & jackals - and you don't dare interfere with them - scavenge
the leftovers. Ònly thèn would yóu ànd yóur bànd dáre approach the carcass, lóók around left
& right cautiously - and dìg ìntothe edible tissue that remained! Which ìs, by the way, still a
favorite occupation of have-nots all over the world: plastic, paper, packages, metals & any
old thing that is discarded by 'the rich & powerful' such as clothes, cars & all kinds
of other 'castaways'?!



18 sep 2017 - bewerkt op 20 sep 2017 - meld ongepast verhaal
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