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Les derniers préhumains et les premiers humains

Yves COPPENS

fr Comptes Rendus Palevol 16 (2) - Pages 196-199

Published on 30 April 2017

This article is a part of the thematic issue From genes to culture

The last Prehominids and the first Hominids

The international expedition to the Omo region of Ethiopia clearly demonstrates for the first time in the 1970s that a discernable change from a probable moist climate regime occurred some 3 millions years ago. This climate change brought about an adaptation process and caused environmental adaptations for all vertebrates. This included ecosystems throughout the central, eastern, and southern regions of tropical Africa that surrounded the equatorial nucleus of dense forest. The Hominids who lived in these ecosystems did not escape these changes, but experienced five, maybe six adjustments to the climatic alteration, e.g., physical sturdiness, feeding habits, locomotion, central nervous system. As always in such circumstances, nature reacts by enabling variations on the same theme by providing answers, which are often comparable, but never the same! Similar to the instance of the vertebrates and Hominids cited above, the Human race, together with all its specific peculiarities, is an example of adaptations made necessary due to climatic and environmental variations.


Keywords:

Last Prehominids, First Hominids, Climatic changes, Ecosystems

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