Has human evolution led to the ability to pursue prey over long distances?

Before the advent of rifles, many cultures around the world practiced hunting by chasing prey over long distances. Researchers have discovered that the energy gained from hunting can far exceed the energy spent running, reinforcing the argument that humans evolved to run with endurance.

“I think our paper makes a very strong case for its importance in the past,” he says. Eugene Morin At Trent University, Canada. “What was once considered trivial is now being shown to be a common strategy around the world.”

Humans are athletes with extraordinary endurance and can run tens of kilometers faster than animals such as horses. Our muscles are built for stamina, not power, and sweating profusely helps us stay cool.

“These properties can only be explained in the context of running,” says Morin. “And there aren't many reasons why humans run long distances other than hunting.”

Humans are thought to have evolved to chase prey until it becomes exhausted or overheated and can no longer run.

This idea, known as the endurance running hypothesis, has been hotly debated. One criticism is that running uses more energy than walking. Another is that there are few reports of modern humans using this hunting technique, suggesting that it is not very efficient.

So with Maureen bruce winterhalder Researchers at the University of California, Davis were the first to estimate the energy expended to catch prey during sustained hunting and the energy gained by catching prey of different sizes. According to their model, running is better than walking for all but the smallest prey.

That's because running doesn't use a lot of energy per kilometer, but it can significantly reduce your tracking time. For example, it is more efficient for him to run 4 kilometers to catch an animal than to walk 8 kilometers.

In reality, walking usually doesn't work at all, Morin said. That's because endurance hunting often relies on pushing the prey so hard that it overheats. “Most of the time, this requires running,” he says.

Morin and Winterhalder also examined descriptions of various peoples written by anthropologists and missionaries since the 1500s. They found about 400 accounts of endurance hunting from around the world, most of which predate his 1850s.

For example, accounts from the Beohook people of Newfoundland describe long-term pursuits of deer. “The deer will easily outrun the pursuer at first, but after four or five miles, they will stop and say goodbye.” [sic] Overtaken; again he departs and is overtaken again. He is overtaken again and again.” Another account describes the patient hunting of a herd of goats in Hawaii.

run on the snow

To Morin's surprise, while previously known cases were from hot, dry regions, there were also reports from colder regions. “We hunted elk by cornering them with snowshoes. We could run all day long like wolves,” the Gwich'in people, who live in Alaska and Canada, are reported to have said.

The ideal conditions for this are thick snow with a crust strong enough to support snowshoers, but not strong enough to support heavier prey, Morin says. .

They also point out that being able to run long distances was once a highly valued ability, and there are numerous reports that long-distance running races have become part of the culture of people around the world.

“It's hard to argue with their analysis, which clearly supports other anatomical, physiological, archaeological, and genetic evidence that humans evolved to run long distances for hunting,” Dr. says. Daniel Lieberman One of the proponents of the endurance running hypothesis at Harvard University. “Prior to the invention of modern technology, the pursuit of sustainability through endurance running was widespread and highly successful.”

“I think their reviews are very interesting,” he says carla wall scheffler Seattle Pacific University he was critical of the hypothesis. However, she also points out that of all hunting reports included in the study, only 2 percent mentioned endurance running.

henry van The University of Wisconsin-Madison professor said he remains skeptical of this hypothesis. Bunn believes this method would not have worked in the bushlands where humans evolved, where hunters would quickly lose sight of fleeing prey. He also believes that hardy hunters primarily take young or old animals, but his team has found one of the 2-million-year-old ruins of animals slaughtered in their prime. Found a tooth.

Based on similar hunting accounts, Wohlschaeffler recently argued that women participate in hunting much more often than one might think. Morin says there are “many” examples of women and girls participating in running races, but of the accounts of endurance hunting he and his colleagues examined, women did it. It was found that only 2% of the cases were described as such.