När förmänniskan blev den moderna människan
ShellfishHuman evolutionSouth AfricaMSAOut of Africa 2Aquatic Ape HypothesisArchaeologyArkeologiHistory and Archaeology
The subject of this bachelor-level thesis in archaeology in the transition from archaic sapiens to anatomically modern humans, and what might have caused this transition. A part of the study aims to prove or disprove whether an increased consumption of shellfish might have caused this development. Another part of the essay deals with the connection of said evolution and the suggested emergence of cultural and ritual practices in South Africa circa 100 000 BP and an evaluation of the arguments concerning the aquatic ape hypothesis, and their usefulness for the subject.The result of investigation of the theory about the increased consumption of marine resources as a probable cause of the last biological step of creating our species points to the conclusion that it is a probable explanation. There is even some evidence that there could be a connection between consumption of marine resources and the "Out of Africa 2"-theory. It is harder to find a proven connection between the suggested emergence of cultural and ritual practices, even some evidence seems to strengthen the idea. Finally I find that the aquatic ape hypothesis might deserve some revaluation by researchers. This because makes sense in the original version by Alister Hardy and Max Westenhöfer if you put it in the context of a short period of our evolution that is connected to the emergence of Homo sapiens sapiens.