COM.on C.A.3:e15/121-125     Online published on Dec.31, 2009.
doi:10.4236/coca.2009.31015
ARGUMENT
Development of Hunting and its Influences on the Evolution of Early Homo

LIU Zhenyang

School of Medicine, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032 China

ABSTRACT: Those oddly–shaped fossils excavated provided increasingly strong evidences for the early emergence of hunting-collection lifestyle of early Homo species. By studying the hunting model still in existence, scientists proposed an endurance running hunting hypothesis. In this hypothesis, early hominine hunters chased after ungulates for food by endurance running, driving some mammals to exhaustion, or gradually approached them and kill them with sharp weapons. This hunting model exerted a dramatic influence on human evolution, changed human body, social behaviors, and territory awareness. However, there is ongoing debate on the existence of hunting lifestyle for the early hominines. Some scientists argued that early Homo were not real hunters. According to some new data and reassessment of old data, early hominines were thought to be scavengers, or even worse, they themselves might be the food for larger predators. Despite these disputes, it is generally believed that a hunting-collection lifestyle had been established in the early hominine society. The impact of hunting lifestyle on human evolution should be well-recognized.

Key words: Endurance running; Human evolution; Carcass foraging; Early Homo; Hunting

Recieved: Dec.13 2009   Accepted: Dec. 15,2009  Corresponding: besuretowin@gmail.com


《现代人类学通讯》第三卷e15篇 第121-125页  2009年12月31日网上发行

热点争议

狩猎的发展及其对早期人类进化的影响

刘振洋

复旦大学上海医学院 上海 200032

摘要:考古发掘出土的化石提示我们:狩猎-采集社会的星星之火已经在早期人类的时代萌芽。科学家们通过对现代社会狩猎方式的研究并加以比较,提出了长跑狩猎的假说。在这个假说中,我们的祖先们的捕猎对象常常是食草的有蹄类动物。在猎取的过程中,猎人们持续追逐猎物,直至其精疲力竭;或是最终得以靠近,用石器捕杀猎物。这样的狩猎方式对人类进化产生了巨大的影响。反映在人类生理结构的优化,社会行为和领土意识的改变等方面上。但对于早期人类狩猎者的身份,科学界的争论一直没有停歇过。也有一些研究表明,早期人类被认为是卑微的食腐动物,仅仅靠打理食肉动物的残羹剩饭苟且过活。如果防范稍有疏忽,早期人类还有可能沦为食肉动物捕食的对象。不过,狩猎-采集的社会模式在早期人类时代已经初步确立,应当肯定这种生活方式对人类的进化产生的影响。

关键词耐力跑;人类进化;早期人类;狩猎;食腐者

 

收稿日期:2009年12月13日  修回日期:2009年12月15日 联系人:刘振洋 besuretowin@gmail.com


全文链接 Full text: [PDF]

参考文献 References

1. Bunn HT (1981) Archaeological evidence for meat-eating by Plio-Pleistocene hominids from Koobi Fora and Olduvai Gorge. Nature 291:574-577.

2. Hill K (1982) Hunting and Human Evolution. J Hum Evol 11:527.

3. Bunn HT, Kroll EM (1986) Systematic butchery by Plio-Pleistocenehominids at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Curr Anthropol 27: 431-452.

4. Pickering TR, Bunn HT (2007) The endurance running hypothesis and hunting and scavenging in savanna-woodlands. J Hum Evol 53:434-438.

5. Rüdiger Vaas, 石左虎 (2003) 智力发展的突变. 世界科学 5:38.

6. Newman RW (1970) Why Man is such a Sweaty and Thirsty Naked Animal: A Speculative Review. Hum Biol 42:12-27.

7. 徐峰 (2005) 人类的毛发是如何变少的. 百科知识  1:32.

8. Bramble DM, Lieberman DE (2004) Endurance running and the evolution of Homo. NATURE 432:348-352.

9. 木人 (2005) 奔跑是人类进化的关键. 大科技 2:46.

10. Rolian C, Lieberman DE, Hamill J, Scott JW, Werbel W (2009) Walking, Running and the evolution of short toes in humans. J Exp Biol. 212:713-721.

11. 吴汝康 (2002) 人类的诞生于进化. 清华大学出版社,北京 131-141.

12. Newman RW (1970) Why Man is such a Sweaty and Thirsty Naked Animal: A Speculative Review. Hum Biol 42:16.

13. Folk GE, Jr (1969) Introduction to Environmental Physiology. First Edition LEA and Febriger, Philadelphia.

14. Liebenberg L (2006) Persistence Hunting by Modern Hunter-Gatherers. Curr Anthropol 47:1017-1023. 

15. Pickering TR, Bunn HT (2007) The endurance running hypothesis and hunting and scavenging in savanna-woodlands. J Hum Evol 53:435-436.

16. Steudel-Numbers KL, Wall-Scheffler CM (2009) Optimal running speed and the evolution of hominin hunting strategies. J Hum Evol 56:359.

17. Leakey R  (1994) The Origin Of Humankind Basic Books New York First Edition 72-73.

18. Speth JD (1989) Human Evolution: New Questions: The Evolution of Human Hunting. Science 243:241-242.

19. Lee RB (1979) The !Kung San. Men, Women, and Work in a Foraging Society. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.