Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, Rufus D. Smith Hall, 25 Waverly Place, New York, NY 10003, USA. E-mail:
Human Origins Program, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Post Office Box 37012, Washington, DC 20013-7012, USA. E-mail:
Science. 2014 Jul 4;345(6192):1236828. doi: 10.1126/science.1236828.
Integration of evidence over the past decade has revised understandings about the major adaptations underlying the origin and early evolution of the genus Homo. Many features associated with Homo sapiens, including our large linear bodies, elongated hind limbs, large energy-expensive brains, reduced sexual dimorphism, increased carnivory, and unique life history traits, were once thought to have evolved near the origin of the genus in response to heightened aridity and open habitats in Africa. However, recent analyses of fossil, archaeological, and environmental data indicate that such traits did not arise as a single package. Instead, some arose substantially earlier and some later than previously thought. From ~2.5 to 1.5 million years ago, three lineages of early Homo evolved in a context of habitat instability and fragmentation on seasonal, intergenerational, and evolutionary time scales. These contexts gave a selective advantage to traits, such as dietary flexibility and larger body size, that facilitated survival in shifting environments.
过去十年的综合证据修正了人们对人类属起源和早期进化的主要适应的理解。许多与智人相关的特征，包括我们的长线性身体、长后腿、大的能量密集型大脑、降低的性别二态性、增加的肉食性以及独特的生活史特征，曾经被认为是在非洲干旱和开阔栖息地的起源附近进化而来的。然而，最近对化石、考古和环境数据的分析表明，这些特征并非作为一个单一的整体出现。相反，有些特征出现的时间比以前认为的要早得多，有些则要晚得多。从 250 万到 150 万年前，三个早期人类谱系在季节性、代际和进化时间尺度上的不稳定和碎片化的栖息地环境中进化。这些环境为促进在不断变化的环境中生存的特征提供了选择优势，例如饮食的灵活性和更大的体型。
