TY  - BOOK
AU  - Maslin,Mark
AU  - Leakey,Richard E.
TI  - The cradle of humanity: how the changing landscape of Africa made us so smart 
SN  - 9780198704522
AV  - GF701 .M37 2017
U1  - 599.93/8 23
PY  - 2017///
CY  - Oxford
PB  - Oxford University Press
KW  - Human evolution
KW  - Intellect
KW  - Africa, East
KW  - Human beings
KW  - Effect of climate on
KW  - History
KW  - Effect of environment on
KW  - Landscape changes
KW  - Climatic changes
KW  - Paleoclimatology
KW  - Paleoecology
KW  - fast
KW  - Evolution
KW  - gnd
KW  - Klimaänderung
KW  - SCIENCE / Life Sciences / Evolution
KW  - bisacsh
KW  - Rift Valley
N1  - Includes bibliographical references (pages 199-225) and index; Early human evolution -- Tectonics and climate -- Cradle of humanity -- Global climate change -- Celestial mechanics -- African climate pulses -- The social brain -- The future of humanity
N2  - POPULAR SCIENCE. Humans are rather weak when compared with many other animals. We are not particular fast and have no natural weapons. Yet Homo sapiens currently number nearly 7.5 billion and are set to rise to nearly 10 billion by the middle of this century. We have influenced almost every part of the Earth system and as a consequence are changing the global environmental and evolutionary trajectory of the Earth. So how did we become the worlds apex predator and take over the planet? Fundamental to our success is our intelligence, not only individually but more importantly collectively. But why did evolution favour the brainy ape? Given the calorific cost of running our large brains, not to mention the difficulties posed for childbirth, this bizarre adaptation must have given our ancestors a considerable advantage
ER  -