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Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Considering SE Asia: Homo florensiesis
How did the discovery of Homo florensiensis impact the understanding of human evolution? Be sure to provide specific details from the activity in your response.
The discovery of Homo floresiensis impacts the understanding of human evolution by showing the modern world that primitive humans or Homo floresiensis were found on relatively remote islands which raised the question of "How?". Diamond hypothesizes that there were either there was previous lands connecting the islands or the Homo floresiensis floated to the islands. This validated Diamonds geographic determinism as it proved that some factors contributed to the Homo floresiensis species migrating or being found on islands. The interactive activity validates fossil evidence by showing the many differences and "branch-offs" from the our most primitive ancestor.
The discovery of Homo Floresiensis contributes to our understanding of how early modern humans interacted with other species. To begin, Homo Floresiensis raises questions of who first hunted and "killed the stuff." Due to Homo Floresiensis being able to prey on a very large and dangerous Komodo Dragon, Diamond asks if they were the first to invent advanced hunting techniques. In addition, it is unclear if Homo Floresiensis had sex with Homo Sapiens while possibly both were on the island of Flores. Diamond believes that it would have been impossible for the two to mate due to natural hostility. Moreover, Diamond does not think that the two species coexisted on the island. He believes that Homo Sapiens would have exterminated Homo Florsiensis. In general, Diamond portrays Homo Florsiensis as being inferior to Homo Sapiens in mental capacity and other features. In essence, the discovery of Homo Florsiensis influences our understanding of human accomplishments and how humans interacted with other species.
When Homo Floresiensis was discovered, human evolution was impacted because it lead to questions about how humans cooperated and interacted with different species. According to Diamond, humans and the floresiensis would not have had sex together because of the bitterness humans are naturally born with, and given that size of the floresiensis is smaller than the humans, the humans would not find them appealing. Another human interaction aspect would be whether humans and floresiensis lived with each other on islands. Diamond supplies his position on that it is possible for human and floresiensis to have lived side by side, but rather unlikely. Given the dramatic difference between the human’s and floresiensis’ brains, it is unlikely that the two species would have lived next to each other and still be left with a completely contrasting brain structure. All in all, the discovery of homo floresiensis has given contemporary society a different view on human evolution because it provides Intel on how humans would have collaborated and connected with other species.
The discovery of Homo Foresiensis has brought new information to the light and thus increased humanities understanding of the growth and development of our species through evolution. To begin with, it increased our knowledge of human interacting with similar species. This relates to whether or not the Homo Foresiensis and Homo Sapiense would have had sex; most likely they did not due to the natural human afinnity for bitterness along with the fact that the Homo Foresiensis would have been seen as unattractive and thus avoided, even if they had lived on the island at the same time there would have been natural hostility. Moreover, Diamond questions whether or not the Homo Foresiensis could have developed advanced hunting techniques, due to the possibility that they hunted the larger more formidable Komodo dragons. Furthermore, Diamond believes that is unlikely that the two species coexisted on the island at the same time due to the fact that the Homo Sapiens would have most likely killed the Homo Foresiensis. Diamond then goes on to state how the mental capacity and physical prowess of the Homo Foresiensis was inferior to that of the Homo Sapiens of the time. In Summary, the discovery of the Homo Foresiensis has affected the way in which humans view history in the way that Homo Sapiens interacted with other species and their own accomplishments.
The discovery of the Homo Floresiensis had a somewhat profound impact on the way we viewed the relationships between organisms and their environment and how species were distributed planet wide while all stemming from an central point of origin. This new insight into human prehistory has allowed to see that humans themselves have evolved differently in different geographic areas particularly on islands. This evidence also supports the theory of geographic determinism with the respect that it shows that species adapted to their environments by shrinking which has to with the geography of the environment. Thus the environment affects their outcome as a species. In regards to the sparse fossil evidence, this may simply be the result of degradation of specimens over time.
The discovery of Homo Florensiensis impacted scientists' work on evolution, because it showed that humans had to adapt to their environment and species, but that all humans came from the same ancestors. It demonstrated geographic determinism by showing how humans had to adapt to live in different areas, such as how they had to become smaller to live on these islands. The sparce fossil evidence does not help to prove the point because there is little to prove it with, but the lack of fossils may be due to the fossils eroding over time.
All of the evidence posed in this article truly proves how much we still have to learn
about our world. I believe that these new findings are incredibly strong support for the theory of evolution because they all display similar characteristics, but hold slightly different properties that correlate with their given environments. This is also evidence for Jared Diamond’s theory of geographic determinism, which seems to be very solid in terms of paleontological findings. I was familiar with the cases of dwarfism and giantism present on remote islands, but had never considered that the same effects could have impacted the early humans. The theory behind the Homo Floresiensis fossils seems to be an early and far more extreme form of the same geographic determinism that we see in the modern world. For example, the majority of Africa’s population and other regions that are close to the equator have adapted to have dark skin in contrast to the populations of lighter skinned individuals in places such as Canada. This evolutionary difference displays the same central idea.
The size, location, and extinction of Homo Floresiensis are all subjects that create many questions. Jared Diamond answers the question of their size by explaining the evolutionary advantage of a small population on an island. Because there is limited space on an island, smaller humans allow for a larger population and lesser chance of inbreeding. Diamond also explains how these humans might have gotten to the island, suggesting that they may have walked, swam, built rafts, or floated on logs. The most unlikely of these options is that they built rafts, because they may not have had the mental capacity to build them. The Homo Floresiensis most likely went extinct because they did not have a large enough gene pool. In other species, this could be solved by the addition of outsiders, however the differences between Homo Sapiens and Homo Floresiensis were too great. The two species would likely not have been able to produce fertile offspring, nor would they have wanted to. If the two had existed on the same island, the larger species would likely have eradicated the smaller species.
Remarkable discoveries by archeologists within the field of human evolutionary studies and biology can certainly have a colossal impact and as a result change aspects and understandings of the field itself. One notable discovery occurred in the 1970s when Australopithecus afarensis, or Lucy, was discovered. Jared Diamond believes that the discovery of the Homo florensiensis is “big” and perhaps one of the greatest discoveries of the field in the past decade. Homo florensiensis were once native to the island of Flores, and debates have been raging on between experts in the field of how this species could have migrated to the very secluded island. Jared Diamond suggests three theories: swimming, floating, or grabbing onto a log. It is also vital to take into account that the water gaps between the islands tens of thousands of years ago were much less significant, thus swimming could be a viable theory in this regard. Paleoanthropologists and archeologists were able to conclude that this species of hominids were on average three feet tall and were late descendants of Homo erectus. Moreover, Diamond argues that the possibilities of Homo sapiens and Homo florensiensis are exceptionally low, for the much more dominant sapiens could have easily killed them off within the span of a century. In addition, Diamond heavily stresses the fact the possible intercourse between sapiens and florensiensis could not have occurred simply because of the aggressive behaviors that the florensiensis could have acted upon their sapien counterparts during the process. Lastly, the florensiensis were well adapted to their environment because of theories that exist regarding dwarfism that occurs to some species when exposed to secluded island environment. Therefore, since the species was physically smaller than other homos at the time, they were fit to adapt to their environment. In essence, this discovery allowed biologists and anthropologists to ask many more questions and allowed them to explore aspects that were previously unknown to them.
Discoveries by archeologists has raised the question on how creatures interact with their environment. The discovery of Homo Floresiensis impacted the understanding of how human evolutions has occurred. One can see the impact with the transitions from Sahelanthropus tchadensis, the earliest homin, to the Homo sapiens, the modern homin. They show the movement from smaller to largest brain size and overall size. There are also pygmy humans which have adapted on smaller islands. They adapt to be smaller in size in order to maintain population density, resources, and reduction of impact on the island. One can see the a similar impact of size on rodents, elephants, monkeys, goats, etc. On the mainland the creatures are their "normal" size, yet on the islands in order to adapt and service on the island they must become smaller in size.
The discovery of homo floresiensis helps humans better understand human evolution. This discovery showed that new discoveries are still possible even in the modern era. The discovery also shows that there different forms of humans in places that one would never expect human to be found in. This shows that different species of humans co existed together, like Homo sapiens and homo floresiensis. It also shows that this is a survivor of the late homo erectus, which was previously long gone. This also shows the that the skull of homo floresiensis leans more to being related to homo erectus.
The discovery of Homo Florensiesis impacted the understanding of human evolution by showing that we do not know everything yet. The fossils that were found of this species of human was thought to have been extinct long before the time they were found to be from. Diamond suggests that they were able to arrive on the island either by swimming, floating, or being brought to it by a floating bank that broke off the mainland. All humans came from the same ancestors but just like animals, when they become isolated on an island, they follow a different evolutionary path. Just like gigantism and dwarfism of animals on islands, the primitive humans could have evolved to be better suited to survive on the island. Based on darwinism, Homo Florensiesis could have become extinct when larger, more evolved humans were born and were better suited to survive in the more "modern" times. Nobody knew that this species still existed during the time period that it was found to be from which has caused many people to rethink human evolution and for people to look for new evidence of the path that the humans evolved on.
The discovery of Homo Florensiesis impacted the understanding of human evolution by showing that we do not know everything yet. The fossils that were found of this species of human was thought to have been extinct long before the time they were found to be from. Diamond suggests that they were able to arrive on the island either by swimming, floating, or being brought to it by a floating bank that broke off the mainland. All humans came from the same ancestors but just like animals, when they become isolated on an island, they follow a different evolutionary path. Just like gigantism and dwarfism of animals on islands, the primitive humans could have evolved to be better suited to survive on the island. Based on darwinism, Homo Florensiesis could have become extinct when larger, more evolved humans were born and were better suited to survive in the more "modern" times. Nobody knew that this species still existed during the time period that it was found to be from which has caused many people to rethink human evolution and for people to look for new evidence of the path that the humans evolved on.
The discovery of Homo floresiensis improved our understanding of human evolution because of the fact that the Homo floresiensis was not the same species as a Homo sapien, which is what modern human are. The main question brought up in the interview is "How did Homo floresiensis reach these islands if they were most likely not intelligent enough to make boats?" One answer is that they swam from the mainland to the islands of Flores. These "creatures" were around during the ice age and the sea levels were much lower, shorting the distances from the lands. A second explanation brought up by Diamond was that they may have actually been intelligent enough to put together a small raft made out of bamboo or other materials they could find. His third explanation was that they floated on large pieces of bark which were like tiny islands. Dwarfism played a major role for the Homo floresiensis. When they arrived on the island they began getting smaller and smaller due to the fact that larger creatures living on small islands cause them to shrink. Diamonds belief of geographic determinism corresponds to human evolution. These species changed overtime to be more adapted to the environment so they could be more successful. Charles Darwin's definition of evolution is presented in a similar way to the way Diamond explains in the interview. To conclude, the discovery of Homo floresiensis improved our understanding of human evolution.
The discovery of Homo Floresiensis has allowed humans to gain knowledge on how early humans interacted with other species that they may have been in contact with. The discovery also gives us an insight and better understanding of parallel evolution to Homo sapiens. Evidence that has been discovered has led to researchers to believe that Homo Floresiensis and Homo Sapiens to have co-existed during the same time period. Whether the two species came into contact with one another or not is unknown. Evidence has also shown that Homo Floresiensis most likely created weapons and tools to help their survival in the areas that the species was located. This evidence gives us a better understanding of Homo Sapiens. Homo Floresiensis has contributed positively to our research and understanding on Homo Sapiens and also how the species may have interacted with one another.
The discovery of Homo Florensiesis impacted our understanding of human evolution by providing insight on a different species of human that failed to outlast us Homo Sapiens or at least coexist along side us in modern eras. In his interview, Jared Diamond speculated that their evolution deviated from ours via arriving on an island. Once they became isolated on the island, the Homo Florensiesis shrunk down over generations to survive better in a smaller place compared to the Homo Sapiens, who were still on mainland. Eventually, they met up once again, now two noticeably different humans, Diamond stated that it wouldn't be long before the more evolved Homo Sapiens could've wiped out the smaller, more primitive humans that had evolved to survive on the limited resources on their island. He also stated that the two populations did not have the capability to reproduce with those of the other species, which paved the way for the extermination of the Homo Florensiesis population. In conclusion, the discovery of an extinct relative of Homo Sapiens has caused people to consider not only the evolution of modern humans, but the evolution of species whom we share a common ancestor with.
The discovery of Homo floresiensis impacted the understanding of human evolution because it overall increased our knowledge of human evolution. Our understanding of interaction between earlier species has gotten better, because we now can understand homo floresiensis and and homo sapiens interactions. It has been determined that they probably did not engage in intercourse due to the fact that homo floresiensis were viewed as unattractive by homo sapiens. Also, the brain structures of the two different species were completely different. When investigating if these species lived amongst each other, it is also widely viewed that they did not because of how different their brain structures were.
Homo Florensiesis adds to the understanding of human evolution becuase it lets people realize that early humans were more capable than previously thought. Diamond says that the animals could swim and so the early humans may have swam to islands. This opens up the possibility that early humans were able to migrate between islands and interact with each other from different families. This also opens up the possibility that they were sophisticated enough to build rafts. Also, the early humans may have been able to communicate in order to prevent diseases from wiping out the entire population. Even though the population was eliminated, the process may have been prolonged through communication and agreeing to have more offspring, indicating that early humans understood fundamental science principles in order to sustain a dwarfed population with more members. Finally, early humans may have been capable of killing Komodo dragons. For this they must have had a type of weapon such as a spear, which was previously thought to have been created by Homo sapiens. These factors indicate that Homo Florensiesis may have been smarter than previously thought.
The discovery of Homo florensiensis impacted the understanding of human evolution because it provided new information and theories about human evolution based on environment and development. To start, Homo florensiensis is most probably a descendent of Homo erectus, and it evolved due to the small size of the island. Homo florensiensis evolved to be smaller, micropygmies in order to increase the size of the population that the island can sustain, and therefore the larger population ensures that they avoid dying out due to small population size problems such as genetic problems passed through inbreeding. Second, the Homo florensiensis proves that brain size does not matter, but the organization does. Modern humans have smaller brains than Neanderthals, but larger brains than the brains of the species of Homo florensiensis; however, modern humans are smarter and much more inventive, and therefore it was a reorganization of something in the brain, not brain size, that caused modern humans to be smarter. Lastly, the discovery of Homo florensiensis raises the question of what the result of a modern human trying to inseminate with the micropygmy would be. According to Jared Diamond, size and developmental differences make the likelihood of a viable hybrid very slight; the species are different. In summary, theories and information about human evolution based on environment and development are impacted by the discovery of Homo florensiensis.
Homo Florensiesis was first introduced to explain the evolution of several species and how they could have potentially interbred in the past. Diamond explains the hostility between homo sapiens with Florensiesis while on the island, and how the differences in the time and features of the two species, along with their natural behavior towards each other leads him to assume they have not had sex. Also, he explains further in the article that many species could not have co existed, and the hostility would have gotten the best of them and caused chaos so there would not be two separate species today. Diamond also explains how nothing is certain, and the historical ideologies to this article are merely his personal concepts drawn from data. The data explains how different species lived in different time periods, there was an extremely appalling decrease or increase in some of the physical features between different species, and there was an overwhelming amount of overall diversity. Some features, such as the size of the brain being 1/5 its former size, express confusion in whether or not it is possible for a correlation between animals. Also, there were small time periods of separation, and different species were appearing on different islands, and nobody really understands what happened during that time and how they got to be there. This leads to questions open for interpretation, and some data to explain the evolution of homo sapiens and their relations with other species.
The discovery of Homo florensiensis impacts the understanding of human evolution as it presents and explains new ideas as well as further develop the understanding of older discoveries. In the article, it mentions the works of J. Bristol Foster and Ted Case. Foster is the first to provide some explanations as why there is such a fluctuation in the sizes of different animal groups. One explanation ties into human evolution as the role of dominance is evident. It is discussed how the larger animal will most likely take the leading role. Case then wrote an even more in depth paper on the subject with new ideas and explanations. He explained that the species will evolve depending on the dominance occurring in the environment. For example, species of an animal that were the first to be introduced to an environment will now have taken that specific niche. When a new species comes, they will have to accept the fact that they are the lesser, smaller group and will therefore evolve that way. This explains why there is variations of sizes amongst different species in different environments.
The finding of homo floresiensis has helped the development in research among human evolution. This not only developed research but extended it to show that there are new types of humans in newfound areas. Homo erectus was found which cleared up the misconception that they were extinct. Homo forensics evolved from homo erectus due to the size of the island. Research in the modern era shows that homo floresiensis and Homo sapiens lived together around the same time. Different correlations can be made between different species. We can see how species adapted to their geographic environments which supports Jared Diamonds theory of geographic determinism.
The discovery of homo florensieses has influenced the understanding of human evolution in several ways. The first is because they are so small, smaller than any human ever discovered. Also, because it is thought to be a survivor of homo erectus, which was thought to have died off long before then. Secondly, it showed how humans of different species interacted with each other. Diamond states that he thinks it is viable that Homo sapiens and homo florensieses could have interbred.
The discovery of Homo floresiensis impacts the understanding of human evolution by showing the modern world that primitive humans or Homo floresiensis were found on relatively remote islands which raised the question of "How?". Diamond hypothesizes that there were either there was previous lands connecting the islands or the Homo floresiensis floated to the islands. This validated Diamonds geographic determinism as it proved that some factors contributed to the Homo floresiensis species migrating or being found on islands. The interactive activity validates fossil evidence by showing the many differences and "branch-offs" from the our most primitive ancestor.
ReplyDeleteThe discovery of Homo Floresiensis contributes to our understanding of how early modern humans interacted with other species. To begin, Homo Floresiensis raises questions of who first hunted and "killed the stuff." Due to Homo Floresiensis being able to prey on a very large and dangerous Komodo Dragon, Diamond asks if they were the first to invent advanced hunting techniques. In addition, it is unclear if Homo Floresiensis had sex with Homo Sapiens while possibly both were on the island of Flores. Diamond believes that it would have been impossible for the two to mate due to natural hostility. Moreover, Diamond does not think that the two species coexisted on the island. He believes that Homo Sapiens would have exterminated Homo Florsiensis. In general, Diamond portrays Homo Florsiensis as being inferior to Homo Sapiens in mental capacity and other features. In essence, the discovery of Homo Florsiensis influences our understanding of human accomplishments and how humans interacted with other species.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhen Homo Floresiensis was discovered, human evolution was impacted because it lead to questions about how humans cooperated and interacted with different species. According to Diamond, humans and the floresiensis would not have had sex together because of the bitterness humans are naturally born with, and given that size of the floresiensis is smaller than the humans, the humans would not find them appealing. Another human interaction aspect would be whether humans and floresiensis lived with each other on islands. Diamond supplies his position on that it is possible for human and floresiensis to have lived side by side, but rather unlikely. Given the dramatic difference between the human’s and floresiensis’ brains, it is unlikely that the two species would have lived next to each other and still be left with a completely contrasting brain structure. All in all, the discovery of homo floresiensis has given contemporary society a different view on human evolution because it provides Intel on how humans would have collaborated and connected with other species.
ReplyDeleteThe discovery of Homo Foresiensis has brought new information to the light and thus increased humanities understanding of the growth and development of our species through evolution. To begin with, it increased our knowledge of human interacting with similar species. This relates to whether or not the Homo Foresiensis and Homo Sapiense would have had sex; most likely they did not due to the natural human afinnity for bitterness along with the fact that the Homo Foresiensis would have been seen as unattractive and thus avoided, even if they had lived on the island at the same time there would have been natural hostility. Moreover, Diamond questions whether or not the Homo Foresiensis could have developed advanced hunting techniques, due to the possibility that they hunted the larger more formidable Komodo dragons. Furthermore, Diamond believes that is unlikely that the two species coexisted on the island at the same time due to the fact that the Homo Sapiens would have most likely killed the Homo Foresiensis. Diamond then goes on to state how the mental capacity and physical prowess of the Homo Foresiensis was inferior to that of the Homo Sapiens of the time. In Summary, the discovery of the Homo Foresiensis has affected the way in which humans view history in the way that Homo Sapiens interacted with other species and their own accomplishments.
ReplyDeleteThe discovery of the Homo Floresiensis had a somewhat profound impact on the way we viewed the relationships between organisms and their environment and how species were distributed planet wide while all stemming from an central point of origin. This new insight into human prehistory has allowed to see that humans themselves have evolved differently in different geographic areas particularly on islands. This evidence also supports the theory of geographic determinism with the respect that it shows that species adapted to their environments by shrinking which has to with the geography of the environment. Thus the environment affects their outcome as a species. In regards to the sparse fossil evidence, this may simply be the result of degradation of specimens over time.
ReplyDeleteThe discovery of Homo Florensiensis impacted scientists' work on evolution, because it showed that humans had to adapt to their environment and species, but that all humans came from the same ancestors. It demonstrated geographic determinism by showing how humans had to adapt to live in different areas, such as how they had to become smaller to live on these islands. The sparce fossil evidence does not help to prove the point because there is little to prove it with, but the lack of fossils may be due to the fossils eroding over time.
ReplyDeleteAll of the evidence posed in this article truly proves how much we still have to learn
ReplyDeleteabout our world. I believe that these new findings are incredibly strong support for the
theory of evolution because they all display similar characteristics, but hold slightly different properties that correlate with their given environments. This is also evidence for Jared Diamond’s theory of geographic determinism, which seems to be very solid in terms of paleontological findings. I was familiar with the cases of dwarfism and giantism present on remote islands, but had never considered that the same effects could have impacted the early humans. The theory behind the Homo Floresiensis fossils seems to be an early and far more extreme form of the same geographic determinism that we see in the modern world. For example, the majority of Africa’s population and other regions that are close to the equator have adapted to have dark skin in contrast to the populations of lighter skinned individuals in places such as Canada. This evolutionary difference displays the same central idea.
The size, location, and extinction of Homo Floresiensis are all subjects that create many questions. Jared Diamond answers the question of their size by explaining the evolutionary advantage of a small population on an island. Because there is limited space on an island, smaller humans allow for a larger population and lesser chance of inbreeding. Diamond also explains how these humans might have gotten to the island, suggesting that they may have walked, swam, built rafts, or floated on logs. The most unlikely of these options is that they built rafts, because they may not have had the mental capacity to build them. The Homo Floresiensis most likely went extinct because they did not have a large enough gene pool. In other species, this could be solved by the addition of outsiders, however the differences between Homo Sapiens and Homo Floresiensis were too great. The two species would likely not have been able to produce fertile offspring, nor would they have wanted to. If the two had existed on the same island, the larger species would likely have eradicated the smaller species.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteRemarkable discoveries by archeologists within the field of human evolutionary studies and biology can certainly have a colossal impact and as a result change aspects and understandings of the field itself. One notable discovery occurred in the 1970s when Australopithecus afarensis, or Lucy, was discovered. Jared Diamond believes that the discovery of the Homo florensiensis is “big” and perhaps one of the greatest discoveries of the field in the past decade. Homo florensiensis were once native to the island of Flores, and debates have been raging on between experts in the field of how this species could have migrated to the very secluded island. Jared Diamond suggests three theories: swimming, floating, or grabbing onto a log. It is also vital to take into account that the water gaps between the islands tens of thousands of years ago were much less significant, thus swimming could be a viable theory in this regard. Paleoanthropologists and archeologists were able to conclude that this species of hominids were on average three feet tall and were late descendants of Homo erectus. Moreover, Diamond argues that the possibilities of Homo sapiens and Homo florensiensis are exceptionally low, for the much more dominant sapiens could have easily killed them off within the span of a century. In addition, Diamond heavily stresses the fact the possible intercourse between sapiens and florensiensis could not have occurred simply because of the aggressive behaviors that the florensiensis could have acted upon their sapien counterparts during the process. Lastly, the florensiensis were well adapted to their environment because of theories that exist regarding dwarfism that occurs to some species when exposed to secluded island environment. Therefore, since the species was physically smaller than other homos at the time, they were fit to adapt to their environment. In essence, this discovery allowed biologists and anthropologists to ask many more questions and allowed them to explore aspects that were previously unknown to them.
ReplyDeleteDiscoveries by archeologists has raised the question on how creatures interact with their environment. The discovery of Homo Floresiensis impacted the understanding of how human evolutions has occurred. One can see the impact with the transitions from Sahelanthropus tchadensis, the earliest homin, to the Homo sapiens, the modern homin. They show the movement from smaller to largest brain size and overall size. There are also pygmy humans which have adapted on smaller islands. They adapt to be smaller in size in order to maintain population density, resources, and reduction of impact on the island. One can see the a similar impact of size on rodents, elephants, monkeys, goats, etc. On the mainland the creatures are their "normal" size, yet on the islands in order to adapt and service on the island they must become smaller in size.
ReplyDeleteThe discovery of homo floresiensis helps humans better understand human evolution. This discovery showed that new discoveries are still possible even in the modern era. The discovery also shows that there different forms of humans in places that one would never expect human to be found in. This shows that different species of humans co existed together, like Homo sapiens and homo floresiensis. It also shows that this is a survivor of the late homo erectus, which was previously long gone. This also shows the that the skull of homo floresiensis leans more to being related to homo erectus.
ReplyDeleteThe discovery of Homo Florensiesis impacted the understanding of human evolution by showing that we do not know everything yet. The fossils that were found of this species of human was thought to have been extinct long before the time they were found to be from. Diamond suggests that they were able to arrive on the island either by swimming, floating, or being brought to it by a floating bank that broke off the mainland. All humans came from the same ancestors but just like animals, when they become isolated on an island, they follow a different evolutionary path. Just like gigantism and dwarfism of animals on islands, the primitive humans could have evolved to be better suited to survive on the island. Based on darwinism, Homo Florensiesis could have become extinct when larger, more evolved humans were born and were better suited to survive in the more "modern" times. Nobody knew that this species still existed during the time period that it was found to be from which has caused many people to rethink human evolution and for people to look for new evidence of the path that the humans evolved on.
ReplyDeleteThe discovery of Homo Florensiesis impacted the understanding of human evolution by showing that we do not know everything yet. The fossils that were found of this species of human was thought to have been extinct long before the time they were found to be from. Diamond suggests that they were able to arrive on the island either by swimming, floating, or being brought to it by a floating bank that broke off the mainland. All humans came from the same ancestors but just like animals, when they become isolated on an island, they follow a different evolutionary path. Just like gigantism and dwarfism of animals on islands, the primitive humans could have evolved to be better suited to survive on the island. Based on darwinism, Homo Florensiesis could have become extinct when larger, more evolved humans were born and were better suited to survive in the more "modern" times. Nobody knew that this species still existed during the time period that it was found to be from which has caused many people to rethink human evolution and for people to look for new evidence of the path that the humans evolved on.
ReplyDeleteThe discovery of Homo floresiensis improved our understanding of human evolution because of the fact that the Homo floresiensis was not the same species as a Homo sapien, which is what modern human are. The main question brought up in the interview is "How did Homo floresiensis reach these islands if they were most likely not intelligent enough to make boats?" One answer is that they swam from the mainland to the islands of Flores. These "creatures" were around during the ice age and the sea levels were much lower, shorting the distances from the lands. A second explanation brought up by Diamond was that they may have actually been intelligent enough to put together a small raft made out of bamboo or other materials they could find. His third explanation was that they floated on large pieces of bark which were like tiny islands. Dwarfism played a major role for the Homo floresiensis. When they arrived on the island they began getting smaller and smaller due to the fact that larger creatures living on small islands cause them to shrink. Diamonds belief of geographic determinism corresponds to human evolution. These species changed overtime to be more adapted to the environment so they could be more successful. Charles Darwin's definition of evolution is presented in a similar way to the way Diamond explains in the interview. To conclude, the discovery of Homo floresiensis improved our understanding of human evolution.
ReplyDeleteThe discovery of Homo Floresiensis has allowed humans to gain knowledge on how early humans interacted with other species that they may have been in contact with. The discovery also gives us an insight and better understanding of parallel evolution to Homo sapiens. Evidence that has been discovered has led to researchers to believe that Homo Floresiensis and Homo Sapiens to have co-existed during the same time period. Whether the two species came into contact with one another or not is unknown. Evidence has also shown that Homo Floresiensis most likely created weapons and tools to help their survival in the areas that the species was located. This evidence gives us a better understanding of Homo Sapiens. Homo Floresiensis has contributed positively to our research and understanding on Homo Sapiens and also how the species may have interacted with one another.
ReplyDeleteThe discovery of Homo Florensiesis impacted our understanding of human evolution by providing insight on a different species of human that failed to outlast us Homo Sapiens or at least coexist along side us in modern eras. In his interview, Jared Diamond speculated that their evolution deviated from ours via arriving on an island. Once they became isolated on the island, the Homo Florensiesis shrunk down over generations to survive better in a smaller place compared to the Homo Sapiens, who were still on mainland. Eventually, they met up once again, now two noticeably different humans, Diamond stated that it wouldn't be long before the more evolved Homo Sapiens could've wiped out the smaller, more primitive humans that had evolved to survive on the limited resources on their island. He also stated that the two populations did not have the capability to reproduce with those of the other species, which paved the way for the extermination of the Homo Florensiesis population. In conclusion, the discovery of an extinct relative of Homo Sapiens has caused people to consider not only the evolution of modern humans, but the evolution of species whom we share a common ancestor with.
ReplyDeleteThe discovery of Homo floresiensis impacted the understanding of human evolution because it overall increased our knowledge of human evolution. Our understanding of interaction between earlier species has gotten better, because we now can understand homo floresiensis and and homo sapiens interactions. It has been determined that they probably did not engage in intercourse due to the fact that homo floresiensis were viewed as unattractive by homo sapiens. Also, the brain structures of the two different species were completely different. When investigating if these species lived amongst each other, it is also widely viewed that they did not because of how different their brain structures were.
ReplyDeleteHomo Florensiesis adds to the understanding of human evolution becuase it lets people realize that early humans were more capable than previously thought. Diamond says that the animals could swim and so the early humans may have swam to islands. This opens up the possibility that early humans were able to migrate between islands and interact with each other from different families. This also opens up the possibility that they were sophisticated enough to build rafts. Also, the early humans may have been able to communicate in order to prevent diseases from wiping out the entire population. Even though the population was eliminated, the process may have been prolonged through communication and agreeing to have more offspring, indicating that early humans understood fundamental science principles in order to sustain a dwarfed population with more members. Finally, early humans may have been capable of killing Komodo dragons. For this they must have had a type of weapon such as a spear, which was previously thought to have been created by Homo sapiens. These factors indicate that Homo Florensiesis may have been smarter than previously thought.
ReplyDeleteThe discovery of Homo florensiensis impacted the understanding of human evolution because it provided new information and theories about human evolution based on environment and development. To start, Homo florensiensis is most probably a descendent of Homo erectus, and it evolved due to the small size of the island. Homo florensiensis evolved to be smaller, micropygmies in order to increase the size of the population that the island can sustain, and therefore the larger population ensures that they avoid dying out due to small population size problems such as genetic problems passed through inbreeding. Second, the Homo florensiensis proves that brain size does not matter, but the organization does. Modern humans have smaller brains than Neanderthals, but larger brains than the brains of the species of Homo florensiensis; however, modern humans are smarter and much more inventive, and therefore it was a reorganization of something in the brain, not brain size, that caused modern humans to be smarter. Lastly, the discovery of Homo florensiensis raises the question of what the result of a modern human trying to inseminate with the micropygmy would be. According to Jared Diamond, size and developmental differences make the likelihood of a viable hybrid very slight; the species are different. In summary, theories and information about human evolution based on environment and development are impacted by the discovery of Homo florensiensis.
ReplyDeleteHomo Florensiesis was first introduced to explain the evolution of several species and how they could have potentially interbred in the past. Diamond explains the hostility between homo sapiens with Florensiesis while on the island, and how the differences in the time and features of the two species, along with their natural behavior towards each other leads him to assume they have not had sex. Also, he explains further in the article that many species could not have co existed, and the hostility would have gotten the best of them and caused chaos so there would not be two separate species today. Diamond also explains how nothing is certain, and the historical ideologies to this article are merely his personal concepts drawn from data. The data explains how different species lived in different time periods, there was an extremely appalling decrease or increase in some of the physical features between different species, and there was an overwhelming amount of overall diversity. Some features, such as the size of the brain being 1/5 its former size, express confusion in whether or not it is possible for a correlation between animals. Also, there were small time periods of separation, and different species were appearing on different islands, and nobody really understands what happened during that time and how they got to be there. This leads to questions open for interpretation, and some data to explain the evolution of homo sapiens and their relations with other species.
ReplyDeleteThe discovery of Homo florensiensis impacts the understanding of human evolution as it presents and explains new ideas as well as further develop the understanding of older discoveries. In the article, it mentions the works of J. Bristol Foster and Ted Case. Foster is the first to provide some explanations as why there is such a fluctuation in the sizes of different animal groups. One explanation ties into human evolution as the role of dominance is evident. It is discussed how the larger animal will most likely take the leading role. Case then wrote an even more in depth paper on the subject with new ideas and explanations. He explained that the species will evolve depending on the dominance occurring in the environment. For example, species of an animal that were the first to be introduced to an environment will now have taken that specific niche. When a new species comes, they will have to accept the fact that they are the lesser, smaller group and will therefore evolve that way. This explains why there is variations of sizes amongst different species in different environments.
ReplyDeleteThe finding of homo floresiensis has helped the development in research among human evolution. This not only developed research but extended it to show that there are new types of humans in newfound areas. Homo erectus was found which cleared up the misconception that they were extinct. Homo forensics evolved from homo erectus due to the size of the island. Research in the modern era shows that homo floresiensis and Homo sapiens lived together around the same time. Different correlations can be made between different species. We can see how species adapted to their geographic environments which supports Jared Diamonds theory of geographic determinism.
ReplyDeleteThe discovery of homo florensieses has influenced the understanding of human evolution in several ways. The first is because they are so small, smaller than any human ever discovered. Also, because it is thought to be a survivor of homo erectus, which was thought to have died off long before then. Secondly, it showed how humans of different species interacted with each other. Diamond states that he thinks it is viable that Homo sapiens and homo florensieses could have interbred.
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