Summary of CARTA: How Humans Evolved the Capacity to Change the Entire Planet with Leslie Aiello

00:00:00 - 00:20:00

This video discusses how humans have evolved to be able to change the entire planet, and how this has been a part of our history for a long time. The increase in population numbers is due to advances in public health and medicine, as well as energy efficiency. Without these advances, our population would be much smaller.

• 00:00:00 The paper published by Wil Roebroeks and his colleagues from the University of Leiden in the Netherlands demonstrates that the environment around the intensive Neanderthal occupation at Neumark-Nord 2 and 1 was a much more open country environment than what's found in nearby comparative sides without the intense Neanderthal occupation. Roebroeks and his colleagues emphasize that it's very difficult to get this type of information and that you need a closely stratified site and you also need comparative sites that are equally stratified to be able to track the pollen through time. They also note that one of the reasons we may not pick up this trace of humans affecting their local habitat is that they had relatively small population numbers.
• 00:05:00 The population pyramid has advanced, as more and more individuals survive into reproductive years. The Gray Ceiling hypothesis posits that larger brains in non-human primates are unable to support higher fertility rates and thus the ability to expand the population has been limited. Humans have bucked this trend by producing infants that are smaller and less mature in relation to their brain mass. This allows for more population growth.
• 00:10:00 The human species evolved with a higher total energy expenditure, a smaller gut, and high cooperation and food sharing. These adaptations allowed humans to become successful hunters and gatherers.
• 00:15:00 The video discusses how humans evolved over time, with particular focus on the Agricultural Revolution and how it led to increased fertility and productivity.
• 00:20:00 This video discusses how humans have evolved to be able to change the entire planet, and how this has been a part of our history for a long time. The increase in population numbers is due to advances in public health and medicine, as well as energy efficiency. Without these advances, our population would be much smaller.