"Jim McGinn"  wrote in message
news:c2ae76$1lpf$1{at}darwin.ediacara.org...
> "Red Dragon"  wrote in message
news:...
> > >
> > > A monsoon climate, which has seasonal rains and
seasonal dryness, is
> > > different from the climate in Ape habitat which is
seasonless and it
> > > rains all year round.
> > >
> > >   Following this, the dessication theory had
> > > > been dropped and  search is on for some other
possible explanation.
> > >
> > > You're mixed up.  Earlier theory did assume a dry
TREELESS habitat
> > > like we currently find in East Africa.  We now realize
that the
> > > climate was not quite as dry as it is currently.  But,
more
> > > importantly, we now realize that A'pith weren't in
treeless habitat
> > > but at the treed patches in a habitat that was mostly
treeless.  The
> > > factor that dictates this is a monsoon climate.  Think
of the climate
> > > in India: lots of rain at one part of the year and
little or no rain
> > > for the rest of the year.  This dictates the
patchiness of the
> > > remaining forest.
> > >
> > > Jim
> > >
> >
> > Your monsoon theory may be right,
>
> It's completely supported by the paleoclimatic evidence.
Think about
> it.  What are the odds that this climate would just happen
to emerge
> at the right place and time (about 8mya) as our ancestors
emerged.
> Check out this link:
>
> http://tinyurl.com/22de3
>
>
>   but what is important is that whether it
> > be monsoon climate or  dessication climate,  it affected
both the dwellings
> > of the Australopithecus and the other primates
simultaneously.   The effect
> > somehow caused  the Australopithecus to be bipedal from
being of 4 footed,
> > so as to stand a better chance to survive in a hostile
savannah type
> > environment.
>
> The shift to bipedalism was, primarily, a rock-throwing,
> stick-wielding adaptation.
>
> > Climatic changes  propelled  Australopithecus into
bipedalism,  but in no
> > way  was it related to the  evolution from it to Homo.
>
> You lost me here.  Rock-throwing, stick-wielding provides
the perfect
> evolutionary uprampt to more sophisticated tool/weapons
usage.
>
>   Logically speaking,
> > being a  bipedal  primate grasping a weapon in its
flexible hand can be
> > considered to possess sufficient means to survive in the
hostile environment
> > of the Savannah.
>
> No, they'd be dead meat on a treeless savanna.  A'pith
weapons were
> only effective in large groups and only to defend
territory (against
> inmigrating food competitors).
>
>   It was then a stable entity,  just like the lion, the
> > cheetah. and the crocodile etc.   No problem  was faced
with  obtaining food
> > and producing offsprings.
>
> You lost me here.
>
> >
> > But somehow,  Australopithecus continued to evolve into
Homo with increasing
> > brain size, consequently acquiring greater intelligence.
> > What is to dfferentiate between  Australopithecus and
Homo?  Where do we
> > draw the line?  It is the brain size.  The same primate
is called Homo the
> > moment its brain size exceeded 700 cc.
> >
> > An interesting thought is that when the Monsoon climate
came to India,  what
> > effect did it had on the primates there?  I dont think
any primate there
> > became bipedal.
>
> I don't know.  But humans do live there.
>
> Jim

Certainly, bipedalism and refined usage of hands were the
first steps in evolving homo sap. intelligence--A good
overall reference to important other ideas is still W.H.
Calvin's book The Ascent of Mind (Bantam 1990) on the ice
ages and how human intelligence evolved; the "throwing
theory" is one aspect. See:
 http://williamcalvin.com/bk5/bk5.htm

The idea that, the earliest attempts at rock throwing (and
crude estimations of future trajectories etc.) led the human
brain's organization to develop and refine itself into a
larger and "what-if" modeling organ makes a lotta sense to
me. (Paragraph 8, above web ref.) Brain size is also
explained by the "Juvenilization" effect and associated
cultural evolution I think.        ...tonyC
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