Once We Were Not Alone Critique - Essay Example

In the article Once we were not alone by Ian Tattersall, the author points out that Homosapiens have inhabited the earth for 25,000 years or so. However, in 1960 there had been a hypothesis that only a single species existed on Earth because there was no ecological space for more than one species. But the fossil fuel excavation revealed that homosapiens existed on the planet about 1.8 million years ago. Since this fossil was founded in Northern Kenya the single-species hypothesis was abandoned. Then it was estimated that many forms of species have co-existed on earth since time unknown. The author suggests that fossils are direct to the fact that most successful animals shared somewhat similar biological histories.

But the homosapiens ability to compete and evolve has made it is single species to exist today in the world. The co-existing of different homosapiens and neanderthalensis have co-existed before but the latter has vanished from Earth due to evolution. Homosapiens like  Australopith from Australis, Ardipithecusramidus from  Ethiopia and Australopithecus anamensis from Kenya all existed on Earth for millions of years. The author states that these homospaiens have an ape-like look and were a small-brained, big-faced bipedal species. The remnants from different parts of the world have suggested that these co-existed and persisted before 2.2 million years. The caves in France were occupied around 11,000 years ago by homosapiens called Cro magnons. They were having lineage resemblance to the homosapiens of Africa. 

The author claims that Neanderthalensis in Europe were also homosapiens who existed in Europe some 30,000 years ago. They were also homoerectus in Java. The author suggests that the “Black Skull” found in Northern Kenya direst that homosapiens existed on earth around 2.5 million years ago. The author points out that many types of Australopith existed millions of years ago. However, the longevity of these species was only a few hundred or thousand years. But the African continent was home to many types of homosapiens according to the author.  As per (Tattersall, 1-7), “Nevertheless, even if average species longevity was only a few hundred thousand years, it is clear that from the very beginning the continent of Africa was at least periodically—and most likely continually—host to multiple kinds of hominids”.

The author claims that the early homosapiens had a different form rather than newer ones. They shared the same landscape and the same continent. These hominoids also reached China and Java from Africa about 1.8 million years ago. The European hominids fragmented from the African ones around 8, 00,000 years ago. The author claims that his colleagues point out that the diversification of homospaiens was exaggerated. The author suggests that there could have been a minimum of 20 or more hominids living on the planet millions of years ago looking at the fossil history. He claims that human evolution cannot be a struggle of a lone hero. The living style and burial ways of Neanderthal according to the author suggest that they did not want humans to invade their living space. The author wants to prove through his article that once homosapiens were not alone as now but co-existed with others of their owners. Read More