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Chapter 11: - The Genus Homo

from Part I - Introduction to the Scientific Perspective on the Past

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 November 2022

Brian Villmoare
Affiliation:
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
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Summary

Our genus is characterized by a unique dependence on technology, which is first seen in the mid-Pleistocene and becomes more sophisticated through time. The trend towards increasing encephalization appears to accelerate once tools have been acquired, coincident with a focus on meat-eating. This chapter reviews later Pleistocene species, including the Neanderthals, with whom we share many behavioral adaptations. However, there appear to be several critical differences, especially in the potential for language and possibly figurative expression, that may have made the difference over millennia, so that by 25,000 years ago we were the only human species left on Earth.

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The Evolution of Everything
The Patterns and Causes of Big History
, pp. 145 - 158
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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  • The Genus Homo
  • Brian Villmoare, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
  • Book: The Evolution of Everything
  • Online publication: 03 November 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108862530.012
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  • The Genus Homo
  • Brian Villmoare, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
  • Book: The Evolution of Everything
  • Online publication: 03 November 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108862530.012
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The Genus Homo
  • Brian Villmoare, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
  • Book: The Evolution of Everything
  • Online publication: 03 November 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108862530.012
Available formats
×