Collective-Predator Predatory Sieges and Ensuing Feeding
Frenzies of the Late Miocene in East Africa


At about 8.1 mya there was a dramatic shift in climate
that brought about the onset of monsoon climate (a
significant dry season) in east Africa. This caused the patfchification
of the remaining treed habitat into
town-sized, city-sized patches of forest. Surrounding
these treed localities was treeless habitat.


Additionally, the predatory realities of this late
Miocene habitat were dramatically different than they
had been before the introduction of the monsoon climate.
Included in the matrix of new species that emerged as a
result of the change in habitat were some very large,
capable, social predators: lions, hyena, and dogs. Our
earliest Apith ancestors were completely defenseless
against these predators in treeless habitat.
Consequently they found themselves largely if not
completely isolated at these treed localities. (This
is the reason they assumed a stationary existence, as
I discussed previously.) By default these treed
localities became our earliest hominid ancestor's
communities.


Even within their treed localities, their default
communities, these Apiths were vulnerable to a
predatory phenomena that was characteristic of the late
Miocene in east Africa: collective-predator predatory
siege behavior directed at a locality in its entirety
during the depths of the dry season. Along with a
number of other species that were isolated at these
treed localities, these earliest of all hominids were
largely or almost completely defenseless against these
sieges, which might last for days or weeks, and that
often resulted in the decimation of many hominids along
with any other prey species of reasonable size that
were caught up in the feeding frenzies that frequently
followed these sieges. These earliest of hominid
communities were especially vulnerable to these
collective-predator predatory sieges and ensuing
feeding frenzies. We might envision that whole
communities might have, regularly, been preyed upon,
one desperate, thirsty, sleep deprived, starving,
individual at a time as the predators simply waited
them of the trees during the depths of the dry season.
Once the killing began it just drew in more predators.
The result was a feeding frenzy, which may have
continued for days or weeks and that often resulted in
the complete massacre (local extinction) of a
community of Apith (and/or other tree-dependent
species).


This was *the* problem that underlies the emergence of
hominids. Now I'm going to give you an opportunity to
figure out what *the* solution was.


Before you answer let me warn you about something.
Don't go for the obvious. Rocks and sticks (clubs)
would have been all but useless against these large,
social, intelligent predators. (I suggest you pay
special attention to the following phrase that I wrote above: " . .
..these earliest of all hominids were
largely or almost completely defenseless against these sieges . .
..")Nevertheless a strategy did emerge that
enabled our earliest hominid ancestors to avoid being
victims of these collective-predator predatory sieges
and ensuing feeding frenzies. And this strategy did
involve them throwing rocks and wielding sticks. What
was this strategy and, most importantly, why did it 
work?


Jim
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