How did we get from primates living in trees to a species that holds talks about its own origins? The guests of the latest talk in the “Science in the House” series, held on 27 October at Europe House in cooperation with the portal Nauka kroz priče, went looking for the answer.
Human evolution was discussed by Dr Mirko Đorđević, an evolutionary biologist at the “Siniša Stanković” Institute for Biological Research, and Dr Andrej Starović, an archaeologist and curator at the National Museum in Belgrade. The conversation was led by Marija Dragović and Slobodan Bubnjević.
What did the tree give us?
Our distant ancestors did not always walk upright. Life in the treetops gave primates forward-facing eyes, colour vision and an opposable thumb. Over time the brain, care for offspring and the ability to adapt developed. Evolution, however, was not a tidy ladder with humans waiting at the top. It looked more like a branching bush, with many species existing at the same time.
Why are human babies born so helpless?
Walking upright changed the structure of the pelvis, while the brain kept growing. As a result, childbirth became more complicated, and babies come into the world too undeveloped to cope on their own right away. Long-term care of children thus became an important part of human life. One archaeological hypothesis suggests that among the oldest human inventions was the baby carrier: a practical solution that frees the hands, but not the parents from worry.
What did fire change?
Stone tools, hunting and later the use of fire changed how our ancestors obtained food and gathered together. The hearth became a place of community, and cooking, according to some researchers, freed up time and energy for the development of communication. Slobodan Bubnjević wittily remarked that this left time for “chatting and for talks” too.
Neanderthals, too, were not just distant relatives from textbooks. They made jewellery, buried their dead and cared for members of their community. Modern humans interbred with Neanderthals and Denisovans, so we still carry part of their genetic heritage today.
What does Serbia say about it?
One of the most important traces of ancient humans in this part of Europe was found in the Balanica cave, in the Sićevo Gorge. A part of a lower jaw, more than 400,000 years old, shows that the area of today’s Serbia is important for the study of early human species. Research continues, and new discoveries are changing the picture of our distant past.
Humans were not a pre-imagined goal of evolution, but one of many branches of life. This was recalled by Andrej Starović.
“This planet can do without the human species, but we cannot do without this planet”, Starović said.
The next talk in the “Science in the House” series will be held on the last Tuesday of November. Science has many more stories for us.