Sopra summary, the notion that shifts con human life histories, accompanied by improved intelligence, are an evolutionary response to a dietary shift towards high-quality food resources that are difficult puro acquire has already been suggested by Kaplan . Our model is innovative mediante that it suggests per mechanism for such verso dietary shift that could have propelled hominins esatto a new evolutionary stage.
Conclusion
For more than two decades a view dominated anthropological discussions that all modern human variation derived from Africa within a relatively recent chronological framework. Recent years challenged this paradigm with new discoveries from Europe, Inclinazione, and other localities, as well as by new advances per theory and methodology. These developments are now setting the stage for a new understanding of the human story mediante general and the emergence of modern humans per particular (ed.g., , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ). Analysis of their dental remains suggests verso much deeper time frame between at least some of the ancestral populations and modern humans than that which is assumed by the “Out of Africa” model. This, combined with previous genetic studies (e.g., , , , ), lends support puro the notion of assimilation (addirittura.g., ) between populations migrating “out of Africa” and populations already established mediante these parts of Eurasia.
It is still premature to indicate whether the Qesem hominin ancestors evolved durante Africa prior onesto 400 kyr , developed blade technologies , , and then migrated sicuro the Levant to establish the new and unique Acheulo-Yabrudian cultural complex; or whether (as may be derived from our model) we face per local, Levantine emergence of verso new hominin lineage. The plethora of hominins sopra the Levantine Middle Paleolithic fossil primato (Qafzeh, Skhul, Zuttiyeh, Tabun) and the fact that the Acheulo-Yabrudian cultural complex has mai counterparts sopra Africa may hint mediante favor of local cultural and biological developments. This notion gains indirect support from the Denisova finds that raise the possibility that several different hominin groups spread out across Europe and Oriente for hundreds of thousands of years, probably contributing to the emergence of modern human populations , , .
It should not che as verso surprise that H. erectus, and its successors managed, and per fact evolved, esatto obtain verso substantial amount of the densest form of nutritional energy available mediante nature – fat – esatto the point that it became an obligatory food source. Animal fat was an essential food source necessary sopra order puro meet the daily energy expenditure of these Pleistocene hominins, especially taking into account their large energy-demanding brains. It should also not che razza di as per surprise that for per predator, the disappearance of 
a major prey animal may be verso significant reason for evolutionary change. The elephant was per uniquely large and fat-rich food-package and therefore per most attractive target during the Levantine Lower Palaeolithic Acheulian. Our calculations esibizione that the elephant’s disappearance from the Levant just before 400 kyr was significant enough an event to have triggered the evolution of verso species that was more adept, both physically and mentally, esatto obtain dense energy (such as fat) from per higher number of smaller, more evasive animals. The concomitant emergence of verso new and innovative cultural complex – the Acheulo-Yabrudian, heralds verso new servizio of behavioral habits including changes per hunting and sharing practices , , that are relevant sicuro our model.
If indeed, as we tried esatto esibizione, the dependence of humans on fat was so fundamental to their existence, the application is made possible, perhaps after some refinement, of this proposed bioenergetic model esatto the understanding of other important developments durante human evolutionary history
Thus, the particular dietary developments and cultural innovations joined together at the end of the Lower Paleolithic period sopra the Levant, reflecting verso link between human biological and cultural/behavioral evolution.