Re: Who Killed the Australopithecines?
Joe Montanti (jvm90@amail.amdahl.com)
Tue, 4 Apr 1995 01:47:06 GMT
In article <3lcslb$ljl@rebecca.albany.edu>, cc3265@albnyvms.bitnet says:
>
>In article <bardD673D5.M88@netcom.com>, bard@netcom.com (BARD) writes:
>>
>> Everything being equal, they were better equipped to survive
>> than either ape or man; yet they perished... How and by whom?
>>
>>
>> Bard
>
>Could you elaborate on this?
>Caroline
hmmm. My two cents disagrees with the Bard. I don't buy the "better equiped
to survivie" line. The fact that these small brained ancestors did not
survive is self evident. The implication made that their demise must have been
the result of eradication by Homo Erectus is not generally accepted.
Stochastic models have shown that just a small degree favor of one species
over another can lead to the less favored ones demise in relatively short
periods of time.
Australopithecines may have been stronger and more phyically hardy, but (in
my opinion) the larger brain of early Homo was much more than compensated
for their slighter stature when confronted with changing climatic conditions
and all that entails. Joe
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