Which hominid had the largest brain

We are, after all, highly social and group-obsessed creatures. The conclusions we can draw from this model are really limited, says Amy Bauernfeind , a comparative neurobiologist at the Washington University School of Medicine.

Models are always going to be a simplification of reality. The reality is that a lot of the factors that led to the evolution of our big brains are hard to disentangle from one another. That the evolution of the human brain is so hard to model speaks to an intriguing fact, however: The brain expanded under very specific evolutionary conditions. Understanding the forces that shaped the human mind could, one day, help us understand how rare our intelligence is, not just on planet Earth but possibly in the broader universe.

For now, the ultimate answer to the size of our brains is elusive. But scientists suspect there is an answer. Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment: to empower through understanding. Financial contributions from our readers are a critical part of supporting our resource-intensive work and help us keep our journalism free for all. Please consider making a contribution to Vox today to help us keep our work free for all. Cookie banner We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from.

By choosing I Accept , you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. Why do humans have such huge brains? Scientists have a few hypotheses. Reddit Pocket Flipboard Email. Three explanations for why we have such big brains First off, why should we care about this question? They are: Environmental: Physical challenges — like finding, hunting, or remembering sources of food — provided selection pressure for bigger brains.

Social: Interacting with others — either cooperatively or competitively — favored people with brains large enough to anticipate the actions of others. Cultural: People who were able to hold on to accumulated knowledge and teach it to others were most likely to reproduce. One of these cultural factors could have been cooking. As biological anthropologist Richard Wrangham famously argued in his book Catching Fire , when we learned to cook food, we got access to more easily digestible calories, which freed up energy and time develop bigger brains.

The ultimate answer to the size of our brains is elusive The conclusions we can draw from this model are really limited, says Amy Bauernfeind , a comparative neurobiologist at the Washington University School of Medicine. Delivered Fridays. Thanks for signing up! Check your inbox for a welcome email. This dramatic expansion in the size of the human brain had an immediate effect on the lifestyle and social structure of hominids.

A combination of a growing brain case relative to a narrow pelvic outlet meant that mothers had to give birth to children earlier, and that newborn babies were thus relatively immature. This meant that infants depended on parental care for increasingly prolonged periods. Due to its vulnerability during infancy, a young hominid would have had a far greater chance of survival if its mother and father remained in a monogamous relationship — a trait that was advanced through natural selection.

Our large brains have saved us from extinction. We have learned to shape our world to a large extent to suit ourselves and to adapt with ingenuity to situations beyond our control. The evolution of the brain has enabled us to develop complex computer technology that can perform billions of calculations a second, build vehicles that can carry us all over the world and even beyond it, broadcast messages to millions of people simultaneously, develop medicines and health care that can prolong lives, and develop culture that enriches our lives daily.

But our modern brains have also helped us to invent weapons of mass destruction …. Pontzer, H. Locomotor anatomy and biomechanics of the Dmanisi hominins.

Journal of Human Evolution 58, Rightmire, G. Human evolution in the Middle Pleistocene: The role of Homo heidelbergensis. Evolutionary Anthropology 6, Ruff, C.

Body mass and encephalization in Pleistocene Homo. Nature , Shipman, P. Ungar, P. The diets of early hominins. Science , Dental microwear and diets of African early Homo. Journal of Human Evolution 50 , Walker, A. The Nariokotome Homo erectus Skeleton. Did we destroy the Neanderthals? Did primates raft from Africa to South America?

What influences the evolution of humans and our primate relatives today? What is it like to search for hominin fossils or to study wild apes? What tools can we use to study rare, endangered primates and help to conserve them in a rapidly changing world?

These are some of the diverse questions answered in this topic room. Our bodies are records of our evolution. Look at an unfolding embryo, a genome, or a skeleton and you will see our inner fishes, our inner mammals, our inner apes.

We carry within us physical evidence of the developmental processes and biological traits that humans share with all — yes, all — other organisms.

What, if anything, unites primates as a single group, and how do primate adaptations reflects our evolutionary past?

What did the earliest primates look like and how are they related to modern forms? How has climate change influenced the diversification of different primate groups? How do primates navigate arboreal and terrestrial habitats? What processes are involved in fossilization and in dating fossils from the distant past? Why do many primates live in groups? Why do some male primates commit infanticide?

Why do some females form strong bonds? What do primates eat and how do they live in ecological communities with other animals? How do primates communicate? Do primates deceive each other? Unraveling the sociality and ecology of our closest living relatives, the non-human primates, can help us shed light on the selective pressures that shaped humans through evolutionary time.

Citation: Van Arsdale, A. Nature Education Knowledge 4 1 About two million years ago, a new set of fossils began to appear in the human fossil record. Designated as Homo erectus, they show evidence of increases in both body size and brain size.

Aa Aa Aa. Increased body size. As the body size of hominins increases, the brain size increases as well Ruff et al. While the smallest-bodied early H. However, in addition to the absolute increase in brain volume that accompanies an increase in body size, there is also a proportional increase. This is referred to as encephalization , and is an important characteristic of H.

Throughout the evolutionary history of H. The large body and large brain of H. Larger biological structures, particularly energy-intensive ones like muscles and brains, require greater energy inputs to maintain.

Thus, H. Reduced post-canine dentition size. The change in ecology associated with H. Relative to earlier australopiths and contemporary robust australopiths Paranthropus , the size of the post-canine dentition premolars and molars and the molarization of the premolars are dramatically reduced in H. The corpus of the mandible i. Toothwear analyses suggest that across their range, H. The food an organism ingests can also produce subtle changes in the chemistry of body tissues you actually are what you eat , including the dentin and enamel that make up the crown of a tooth.

Using this information, investigations of the stable isotope chemistry of H. Whatever the flora and fauna H. Summary Homo erectus represents a significant transformation from previous hominins, like the australopiths, to a species much more similar to modern humans. Acheulean - Lower and Middle Pleistocene hominin stone tool industry. New York, NY: Vintage, Share Cancel.