Many close relatives of our species, Homo sapiens, Has been on this earth since the genus Homo Evolved 20 million years ago. These hominins lived in a variety of residential and challenging environments. Some even crossed paths And interference.
However, more than one important technical and intellectual milestone has been reached, e.g. Fire control, Developing stone tools, Or To make clothesToday, only we, H. Sepians, Escape.
Scholars have debated our current uniqueness. Many have made this proposal H. Sepians‘ Better technological The abilities may have benefited us more than the rest. Others have suggested that we More varied diets Or were More efficient runners Than other hominins.
Meanwhile, other researchers believe that due to the high levels of interbreeding, some hominins may not have been killed as much as Fully absorbed With our gene pool.
Researchers have also come up with this idea Climate change Could play a role in the demise of Homo Species. In a new study, published in the journal An earth, A multidisciplinary team of scientists from Italy, the United Kingdom, and Brazil make the case that this was a major factor in the extinction of other activists.
The authors believe that these revelations may serve as a warning as humanity today is experiencing man-made climate change.
“Even in the animal kingdom the power of the brain [the Homo genus]”Climate change cannot be avoided,” says Pasquel Raya, an archaeologist at the University of Naples Federico II, one of the authors of the study.
For this study, the team focused on only six recognized individuals Homo Species: H. Habilis, h. Argaster, h. Erectus, h. Heidelbergensis, h. Sleep apnea, And H. Sepians. They left out the others because they were too limited to analyze the available biological records.
Using the fossil’s database of archaeological records, the researchers mapped out how these species survived over time – linking the biological evidence and tools associated with each species to different places and times.
They also applied a statistical modeling technique called the Climate Emulator of the Past that uses the available records to reconstruct weather conditions, including temperature and rainfall, over the past 5 million years.
Anthropologist Giorgio Manji says: “It paints a picture of the tremendous effects of weather diseases.
For three of the five endangered species – H. Erets, h. Heidelbergensis, And H. Sleep apnea – There was a sudden rapid change in the weather on Earth when this species became extinct. The clams went cold for all three, for the dryer H. Hildelbergensis And Neanderthals, And for soaking H. According to Raya, the change in temperature per breast per year was about 4 to 5 degrees Celsius.
The researchers further assessed how vulnerable these species were to extinction in an attempt to determine their tolerance to climate change over time, using their presence at various locations as clues to their preferred location.
The team determined that before disappearing, H And H. Heidelbergensis More than half have been lost to climate change. The Neanderthals lost almost a quarter. Food resources are likely to be depleted by habitat change, and frost-warming species may be at risk of extinction.
The interpretation of this season does not necessarily mean that other disappearances were not significant – the authors note that with this encounter H. SepiansFor Neanderthals, for example, things could have gone awry – but Rhea and her colleagues believe their analysis reveals a “primary factor” in the past. Homo Missing.
The disappearance of Neanderthals has been studied – And debate – Very little, but little attention has been paid to the loss of other hominin species, says Tyler Faith, an archaeologist at the University of Utah, who was not involved in the study. This new study represents the first attempt to understand how many qualities Homo Species died out in the great storm of space and time, he says.
“But I think it’s a little too early to let go of the more potentially disappearing isms,” Faith continues. He notes that the limited biological record of some species makes it difficult to get a complete picture of the environment or weather conditions that other Homo Can save species.
Similarly, anthropologist Giorgio Manzi from Rome’s Sappenza University, who did not take part in the study, noted that many factors must be taken into account in explaining the disappearance of the past. Homo Species.
The relationship between climate change and extinction, he says, is complex, and does not always lead to one another: “Various sudden weather disturbances and environmental crises have been known, at least for the last one million years. These conditions did not always lead to the end. “
Nevertheless, Manzi believes the new work makes a reasonable case that climate change could have a major impact.
“It paints a picture of the tremendous effects of environmental problems on the human population of different species,” says Manji.
With the possibility of warming the planet As high as 5 C Above the pre-industrial level by 2100, there are other climate challenges.
This work was previously published Sapins Under CC BY-ND 4.0 License. Read them Actually here.
