Ecological dominance and the final sprint in hominid evolution

Abstract

In contrast to many other models of human evolution the “balance of power” theory of Alexander has a clear answer to the question why a runaway selection process for unique social and moral capacities occurred in our ancestry only and not in other species: “ecological dominance” is hypothesized to have diminished the effects of “extrinsic” forces of natural selection such that withinspecies, intergroup competition increased (Alexander, 1989). Alexander seems to be wrong, however, in his claim that already the common HUCHIBO (Humans, Chimps, Bonobo's)-ancestor has crossed the ecological dominance barrier. In this paper an adapted version of Alexander's model is presented and several different ways are proposed to make this adapted version testable. A preliminary survey of the available paleontological and paleoecological data suggests that there is some evidence of a less vulnerable position towards predators in earlyHomo and that there are clear signs related to a crossing of the ecological dominance barrier inHomo sapiens sapiens.