# evol: nomads, a whole story of human evolution.

<< In pursuit of knowledge, the evolution of humanity ranks with the origins of life and the universe. And yet, except when an exciting find hits the headlines, palaeoanthropology and its related fields have gained far less scientific support and funding – particularly for scientists and institutions based in the African countries where so many landmark discoveries have occurred. >>️

<< Even the term “human” is arguable. Many scholars reserve it for modern humans like us, even though we have Neanderthal genes and they shared at least 90% of our hominin history from its beginnings around 8 million years ago. The essence of hominin evolution ever since has been gradual change, with occasional rapid phases. The record of evolution in our own genus, Homo, is already full enough to show we cannot separate ourselves with hard lines. >>️

<< Nonetheless, there is enough consensus to thread the story of human evolution all the way from early apes to modern humanity. Most of this story centres on Africa, of course, where countries such as Kenya, South Africa and Ethiopia are rightly proud of their heritage as “cradles of humankind” – providing many of their schoolchildren with a much fuller answer then those in the west to this deceptively simple question: how did we get here? >>️

John Gowlett. The whole story of human evolution – from ancient apes via Lucy to us – in one long read. theconversation.com. Nov 25, 2024.

https://theconversation.com/the-whole-story-of-human-evolution-from-ancient-apes-via-lucy-to-us-in-one-long-read-243960

Also: Nomads, evolution, in https://www.inkgmr.net/kwrds.html 

Keywords: Nomads, evolution

# ethno: apropos of Nomads, an Aboriginal ritual passed down for 500 generations.

AA << excavated at Cloggs Cave near Buchan, in the foothills of the high country near the Snowy River in East Gippsland, Victoria. >>️

<< What (AA) found was extraordinary. Under the low, subdued light in the depth of the cave, buried under layers of ash and silt, two unusual fireplaces were revealed by the tip of the trowel. They each contained a single trimmed stick associated with a tiny patch of ash. >>️

<< The role of these fireplaces in ritual

Local 19th-century ethnography has good descriptions of such fireplaces, so (AA) know they were made for ritual practices performed by mulla-mullung, powerful GunaiKurnai medicine men and women. >>️

<< The Kurnai practice is to fasten the article [something that belonged to the victim] to the end of a throwing stick, together with some eaglehawk feathers, and some human or kangaroo fat. The throwing stick is then stuck slanting in the ground before a fire, and it is of course placed in such a position that by-and-by it falls down. The wizard has during this time been singing his charm; as it is usually expressed, he ‘sings the man’s name,’ and when the stick falls the charm is complete. The practice still exists. >>️

<< Nowhere else on Earth have archaeological expressions of a very specific cultural practice known from ethnography, yet traceable so far back, previously been found. >>️

Russell Mullett, Ashleigh Rogers, et al. Oldest living culture: our new research shows an Indigenous ritual passed down for 500 generations. theconversation.com. Jul 1, 2024. 

https://theconversation.com/oldest-living-culture-our-new-research-shows-an-indigenous-ritual-passed-down-for-500-generations-230782

Bruno David, Russell Mullett, et al. 

Archaeological evidence of an ethnographically documented Australian Aboriginal ritual dated to the last ice age. Nat Hum Behav. doi: 10.1038/ s41562-024-01912-w. Jul 1,  2024. 

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-024-01912-w

Also: ethno, Nomads, gris-gris, behav, in https://www.inkgmr.net/kwrds.html 

Keywords: ethno, Nomads, gris-gris, behaviors

FonT: the image cited regarding mulla-mullung entities is very intriguing ... 

# behav: ADHD may have been a feature of nomadic exploration among hunter-gatherer societies

<< All mobile organisms forage for resources, choosing how and when to search for new opportunities by comparing current returns with the average for the environment. In humans, nomadic lifestyles favouring exploration have been associated with genetic mutations implicated in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), inviting the hypothesis that this condition may impact foraging decisions in the general population. >>️

David L. Barack, Vera U. Ludwig, et al. 

Attention deficits linked with proclivity to explore while foraging. Proc Royal Society B.  doi: 10.1098/ rspb.2022.2584. Feb 21, 2024. 

https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.2584     

<< Is it a legacy of the hunter-gatherer world? >> Arjun Ramakrishnan

Chen Ly. ADHD may have evolved to help foragers know when to cut their losses. newscientist.com Feb 21,2024.

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2418114-adhd-may-have-evolved-to-help-foragers-know-when-to-cut-their-losses

Also: nomads, bushmen, behav, uncertainty, curiosity, in https://www.inkgmr.net/kwrds.html

Keywords: adhd, nomads, hunter-gatherers, behavior, behaviour

# life; a hypothetical externalization of knowledge effects; humans are thought to have decreased in brain volume since the end of the last ice age (3,000 y.ago)

<< Human brain size nearly quadrupled in the six million years since Homo last shared a common ancestor with chimpanzees, but human brains are thought to have decreased in volume since the end of the last Ice Age. The timing and reason for this decrease is enigmatic. Here (AA) use change-point analysis to estimate the timing of changes in the rate of hominin brain evolution. (They) find that hominin brains experienced positive rate changes at 2.1 and 1.5 million years ago, coincident with the early evolution of Homo and technological innovations evident in the archeological record. But (AA) also find that human brain size reduction was surprisingly recent, occurring in the last 3,000 years. >>

Jeremy M. DeSilva, James F. A. Traniello, et al. When and Why Did Human Brains Decrease in Size? A New Change-Point Analysis and Insights From Brain Evolution in Ants. Front. Ecol. Evol.,  doi: 10.3389/ fevo.2021.742639. Oct 22, 2021. 

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2021.742639/full

When and why did human brains decrease in size 3,000 years ago? Ants may hold clues. Frontiers. Oct 22, 2021.

https://phys.org/news/2021-10-human-brains-decrease-size-years.html

Also

keyword 'nomade' | 'nomad' | 'nomads' | 'nomadic' | 'hunter-gatherers' in FonT

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/search?q=nomade

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/search?q=nomad

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/search?q=nomads

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/search?q=nomadic

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/search?q=hunter-gatherers

keyword 'nomade' | 'nomadi' in Notes (quasi-stochastic poetry)

https://inkpi.blogspot.com/search?q=nomade

https://inkpi.blogspot.com/search?q=nomadi

keyword 'ctz' entities in FonT

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/search?q=ctz

keywords: evolution, brain, brain size, nomads, post-nomads, sociocultural effects

# art: Nomadic masters; Neanderthals created art.

AA << analysed samples of red residues collected from the flowstone surface and compared them with iron oxide-rich deposits in the cave. They concluded that the ochre-based pigment was intentionally applied, i.e. painted -- by Neanderthals, as modern humans had yet to make their appearance on the European continent -- and that, importantly, it had probably been brought to the cave from an external source. >>

<< variations in pigment composition between samples were detected, corresponding to different dates of application, sometimes many thousands of years apart. Thus, it seems that many generations of Neanderthals visited this cave and coloured the draperies of the great flowstone formation with red ochre. >>

<< This behaviour indicates a motivation to return to the cave and symbolically mark the site, and it bears witness to the transmission of a tradition down through the generations. >>

Neanderthals indeed painted Andalusia’s Cueva de Ardales. CNRS. 

Aug 2, 2021. 

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210802160624.htm

Africa Pitarch Marti, Joao Zilhao, et al. The symbolic role of the underground world among Middle Paleolithic Neanderthals. PNAS. 118 (33) e2021495118; doi: 10.1073/ pnas.2021495118. Aug 17, 2021. 

https://www.pnas.org/content/118/33/e2021495118