We all know the Darwinian theory of evolution, but how we evolved as superior intelligent species amongst all the primates is still a mystery.
Humans have always prided themselves as superior species in terms of intelligence when compared with other animals. With the help of knowledge and intelligence for thousands of years, we are now capable of understanding and even inventing things that were considered impossible before. But we are often bewildered by a simple question. What made us different from all other species? Whatdid we do those others didn’t? Science says that till time we don’t have concrete proof (like time machine), we can’t be sure. But still, we have many interesting and sometimes weird theories about early human’s intelligence.
It all started with a single human
When we talk about evolution, science recognizes two paths through which change takes place. Firstly, little changes happen for quite a long time, and secondly, something drastic abruptly changes the entire species. Scientists have pondered with the first path (Darwinian theory of evolution), but there is quite a talk among intellectuals about the probability of macromutation. Colin Blakemore, a neurobiologist from Oxford University, suggests that one of our early ancestors was born with a genetic defect that made him or her smarter than his peers (something like mutants in X-men). And it is believed that this human was able to pass on his/her superior genes or mutation to his/her offspring.
A DNA glitch
The Human Genome Project has a strange finding that scientists got very curious about. According to them, humans have a duplicate gene which is called SRGAP2. This gene is responsible for brain development, and incidentally, no other primates have it. They assume that this duplicate DNA is a glitch in human evolution. Having said that, scientists believe that duplication of genes happens all the time. But most of the time, they are not active and are benign.
It happened accidentally by walking upright
Scientists have always believed in the past that we developed bipedal locomotion because of our superior intelligence. Now some studies suggest that the truth is entirely different, which is that nothing made us bipedal; we became bipedal on our own. We have a soft skull when we are born, and the brain continues to grow until two years of age. That led to us having bigger brains and much smarter.
So, what other theories do you know about human evolution?
