How did humans evolve from being effected by the environment, to affecting the environment?
Historically, hominid species have been a tribal species, or one that herds together in small groups for survival. Cooperation between individuals gave them a better chance at surviving predator attacks, as well as a better chance of finding sources of food. This social cooperation that developed between individuals in species groups also led to the evolution of greater intelligence and better communication skills. For example, as humans evolved over time, we developed a greater brain capacity. Our oldest known direct ancestor, Australopithecus afarensis, who lived in Africa 3-4 million years ago, had a brain capacity of only 450 cubic centimeters (cc) (Figure 5.5). Our next ancestor in the human lineage, A. africanus, lived between 2-3 million years ago, and had a slightly bigger brain size of approximately 500 cc. Figure 5.5 Brian size versus height of different hominids http://www.nature.com/news/2004/041025/images/4311043a-F2.jpg Our oldest known ancestor in the Homo genus, Homo ha
