Pinch points of Human History…Did They Give us the Tools to Survive?

This is no doubt a vast subject that scientists are just beginning to understand, but “pinch points of human history” (calamitous events that greatly reduced human population numbers) have had a major effect on our current genetics, habits, and adaptability. From the climate transitions of Homo Erectus and Homo Sapiens eons ago, to the relatively recent epidemics of disease, conquest, and alcoholism (and perhaps even the current unprecedented selection for nurturing and intelligence), the “population funnel” effect has had (and will have) an enormous effect on survival (and evolutionary) outcomes.

Was the transition from Neanderthal to Cro-Magnon as simple as going from beings that looked like Andy Rooney to David Soul? If so, was this accomplished by female choice? If Neanderthal triumphed in combat, did he feast on Filet Magnon?

Human Population Bottlenecks, the Effects: Often caused by environmental factors (volcanoes, glacial periods, disease), human population bottlenecks are possibly the drivers of human evolution. These are “bad news, good news” events, as along with massive die-offs are adaptations that allow future generations to survive. The exact nature of these die-offs are not clear, but advances in genetics are zeroing in the timing (and even the genetic circumstances) surrounding these events. Next, geologists, anthropologists, biologists, and atmospheric scientists are collaborating on which environmental events may have been implicated. These events are a mixed genetic blessing: Those surviving the die-off have often developed the genetics or…