Human Evolution

Evolution vs. Fundamentalism

The Three Chimps
Nature and Human Nature
 Evolution: Root of Biodiversity
• Individuals in a population differ in their
characteristics
– Characteristics are based on inherited genes
• Genetic differences arise because genes can
change (radiation, toxins) or get reshuffled (by sex)
– Individuals cannot change their characteristics
deliberately, only by accident or chance
• Individuals with certain characteristics (structural or
behavioral) survive and reproduce better than others
– With pressure from the environment, competitors,
predators, prey, etc., which also change or evolve
• Eventually, only those with favored characteristics
remain in a niche; unlucky ones go extinct
– “Those” refer not only to individuals but to entire taxa
 Some Notes about Evolution
• More than a theory but a scientific principle
• Despite claims by fundamentalists, evolution has
solid scientific bases
 Fossil record – evidence of change in structure in many
species, including humans
 DNA and organs – too similar in diverse species,
suggesting they had a common ancestor
 Vestigial structures – useless organs that may once have
been functional in an ancestor
 Direct observation – development of genetic resistance
to antibiotics by bacteria, pests to pesticides
• We can’t explain all traits of living things, but that
doesn’t mean evolution is wrong
– Fossil record can’t preserve everything
– Many unexplained traits were probably adaptive before
 Darwin vs. ID
• Fundamentalists: Genesis is fact, evolution is wrong
– Bishop Ussher (1650): Universe was created in 4004 BC
– Dinosaurs were wiped out during Noah’s Flood
• Creation Science (CS): Genesis has some historical
basis, and
– Evolution is just a theory with many weaknesses, so
– Biblical account should also be taught in science classes!
– US Supreme Court: No way, since there’s no S in CS; e.g.,
absolutely no proof dinosaurs and humans ever coexisted
• Intelligent Design (ID) – Ok, forget CS. But how do
you explain the complexity of life and human biology
except by invoking an intelligent designer?
– Scientists: Complexity can arise from simplicity. Also,
evolution has explaining power while ID does not.
– US Supreme Court again: ID is still CS; no to ID in schools
Evolution of
Primates
WRONG:

RIGHT:

Humans did NOT evolve from chimpanzees or monkeys!

 Evolution of Primates
• Humans, apes and
monkeys share a
common ancestor
• The more recently any
two species diverged,
the more alike they are
• Humans and chimps
differ only in 1.7% of
their DNA
• Humans and gorillas:
2.3% difference
 Humans and Relatives

• Several species of humans (Genus Homo) once coexisted!

• Based on genetic analysis, all humans alive today are descended from a
band of people who left Africa 50,000 years ago (just 2000 generations
back), probably as few as 10 people!
So what if we’re related to
apes?
What can we learn about human
sexuality, family, and society from our
primate ancestry?
Warning: For Mature Audiences
The Primates Gibbons:
• Mixed diet,
arboreal
• Couples mate for
life; territorial, not
very social

Gorillas: Vegetarian,
dominant male keeps Chimps:
harem; males much • Strong male bonds; dominant
bigger than females male mates with many females;
weaker males sneak away with
willing unfaithful females
• mixed diet, some cannibalism

Bonobo chimps:
• Vegetarian
• Egalitarian,
peace-loving
What About Us,
• highly social,
highly sexual
The Third Chimp?
 The Third Chimpanzee –
Physiology
• Full-time upright bipedal
– S-shaped spine, unlike apes’ straight spines; good for
walking full-time
– Centrally placed foramen magnum: allowed for a
language-capable voice box
– Straighter legs; non-opposable big toe on feet useless
for grasping
– Shorter, weaker arms useless for swinging from trees
• Moderate sexual dimorphism
• Stereoscopic color vision
• Tailless, generally hairless
• Very diverse diet; small canine teeth
 The Third Chimpanzee –
Behavior and Development
• Minimal olfaction
• Extended postnatal development stage
• No social grooming, but generally peaceful and
cooperative
• Capable of oral and symbolic communication
– Human brain size and capacity for language are
believed to have grown together (feedback)
– Language ability developed with intelligence, culture
– Language improved survival through cooperation
• Hidden ovulation, no estrus – unlike most
mammals
 The Naked, Deviant Ape
• Unlike other apes, ovulation is hidden even to the
female
– Without estrus, couples have sex anytime, rarely for
procreation
– Unlike other social animals, humans have sex in private
• Males and females form long-lasting bonds
– Child rearing is shared
– Couples generally faithful, but not always
– Males enjoy sex much more than females
• Big Questions:
– What selective advantages do these confer?
– More Whys: homosexuality, cheating on love; weird
disparities between the sexes
 Big Question:
What’s the advantage of hidden
ovulation?
Some theories
• Traditional male-1: To enhance
cooperation, minimize aggression among
males
– Assumes males will always try to maximize
number of mates and offspring, forsaking food
security and personal safety
– Concealed ovulation evolved to avoid the
scenario of men fighting over fertile females
 Why can’t we tell if a woman is fertile?

• Traditional male-2: Women are receptive

all the time to keep the male happy and
willing to help raise the family
– Avoids the assumption about men in the
previous theory, but still assumes their
dominant role
– Objection: If the female’s continuous
willingness for sex is important for
monogamy, why do gibbons who rarely have
sex remain monogamous?
 Why can’t we tell if a woman is fertile?
More theories
• Modern male (D. Symons): Male chimps
are more likely to share food with a fertile
female than with one who isn’t
– Assumes women evolved perpetual
receptiveness to get a steady supply of food
from many males
– Allows females with weak mates to remain
well nourished
 Why can’t we tell if a woman is fertile?
More Theories
• Equality (R. Alexander and K. Noonan): With
visible ovulation, a husband would mate with
wife only if she is fertile. On other days he could
neglect her to look for another fertile female.
– Hence, women evolved hidden fertility to keep men at
home, trying to get her pregnant all the time
– If he wanders off and another male comes along
when she is in estrus, he may end up raising another
man’s child
– Wife benefits by keeping him at home, husband
benefits in staying home by ensuring his paternity of
her children
 Why can’t we tell if a woman is fertile?
More Theories
• Feminist-1 (S. Hrdy): Nursing mothers are
infertile. Many male animals (not just
primates) kill babies not their own in order
to allow the female to become fertile again
– Women evolved concealed ovulation and
mate with many men
– Since each male thinks that a baby can be
his, he may protect it or even help raise it
– This means females, not males, need to be
adulterous (polyandrous)
 Why can’t we tell if a woman is fertile?
More Theories
• Feminist-2 (N. Burley): Human childbirth
is uniquely dangerous and painful due to
size of baby’s head at birth
– Human baby’s head size increased with
intelligence
– Women would avoid giving birth if they could.
Such women would not leave many
descendants
– Hence, hidden ovulation evolved to prevent
women from avoiding pregnancies
Which of the six theories is right?
• J. Diamond: Any of the six could be true
eons ago, but correct theory must continue
to be applicable today
– This eliminates Modern Male plus both
Feminist theories
– Correct theory must be one or a combination
of the other three
• Preferred by many is the Equality theory:
concealed ovulation means sex for a fun
and happy union, allowing couples to enjoy
each other, stay together
 The Science of Adultery
• If men and women are supposed to be faithful to
their mates, then
– Why are human males bigger than women (like harem-
keeping gorillas)?
– Why do men enjoy sex much more than women?
– Why do some men seek many partners?
• Whatever human nature is, culture has replaced or
restrained it
• Still, can understanding human nature be a non-
religious, culture-free basis for ethical behavior?
– What can we learn about right and wrong by observing
nature?
Homosexuality: Is it natural?
 What About Homosexuality?
• If gayness prevents reproduction, why does it
persist in a population?
– After all, non-adaptive behavior should disappear,
unless. . .
– There is a hidden benefit, as in (1) sickle-cell anemia, or
(2) risk taking
• Theory: Gay individuals help rear children of
relatives, improving the family’s chances of
survival and propagation of its shared genes
– In other animals, it may be a form of population control
• If homosexuality is natural, does that make it OK?
 Some Guesses to Hard Questions
• Female menopause: loss of fertility with age
– Makes old, wiser females focus in participating
in rearing of grandchildren
– Children born to older women tend to suffer
more from genetic disorders
• Why no male menopause?
– Men don’t help much in rearing children
anyway; are expected to be dead before losing
interest in sex
 Final Notes
• Our bodies are due to our evolution,
including many of our behaviors
– Language and big brains plus culture gave us
clear advantages, even if . . .
– Some features hard to explain as advantageous
• Why go to war, fight to death?
• Why engage in destructive behavior, abuse drugs?
• Stumper: Does procrastination have a hidden benefit?
 Final Notes
• To explain adultery (including homosexuality
and aggression) is NOT to defend it
– Understanding human nature humbles and
equalizes us
– Whatever our nature, humans are assumed to
be capable of choice and control of their actions
– Culture, laws, norms, morals may not be
biological, but they’re now part of being human
 Final Notes
• Naturalistic Fallacy – Human ethics
(separating good from bad) CANNOT be
based on observations of nature
• So why bother relating early human behavior
with modern society?
– We cannot fix what we cannot understand, nor
can we fix what is not broken, e.g.,
• Homosexuality: its existence in nature should mean
compassion, not scorn nor a cure, for gays
• Adultery: no basis to justify as natural
– On other issues: Don’t expect Nature to give us
clear answers
 What we are certain of :
To love, be loyal, nurture
and cooperate is our nature