Abstract
Abstract Homo sapiens’ life history pattern possesses both fast and slow components, in a combination that is unique among the extant great apes. One of the issues debated in current evolutionary research is the role played by phenotypic plasticity as a non-genetic means of adaptation to evolutionary challenges. While life history parameters are shaped at a species level by genetic adaptations via natural selection, they remain very sensitive to changes in the environment. Relying on updated evidence and on key explanatory tools of the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis (phenotypic plasticity, niche construction, and inclusive inheritance), it is likely that environmentally induced plasticity led the way in human life history evolution, promoting subsequent genetic accommodation. To the extent that culturally transmitted behaviors altered the selective pressures that acted on life history traits across generations during human evolution, a culturally driven plasticity dynamic shaping human life history traits can be identified. Two case studies in particular are discussed: the human adaptations to the domestication of fire and the self-domestication hypothesis.
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