<< 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.
When and why did human brains decrease in size 3,000 years ago? Ants may hold clues. Frontiers. Oct 22, 2021.
Also
keyword 'nomade' | 'nomad' | 'nomads' | 'nomadic' | 'hunter-gatherers' in FonT
keyword 'nomade' | 'nomadi' in Notes (quasi-stochastic poetry)
keywords: evolution, brain, brain size, nomads, post-nomads, sociocultural effects
