A new study of Homo naledi has added fresh detail to one of the most debated questions in human evolution: how much can brain size really tell us about behavior?
The other great apes have smaller brains than modern humans because they are mostly vegetarian. Large brains need lots of calories. When calories are scarce large brains are selected against. This may have been a factor in Neanderthal extinction.
Avian dinosaurs mostly fly, and their brains have been subject to millions of years of selection for aerodynamics. Thus despite their relatively small brain size, tool making has been observed in corvids. They can also recognize individual humans even through clothing changes. So small brain size doesn't mean less intelligence.
So H. Naledi may have been an intelligent vegetarian, and the associated technology may have been plant based, and just didn't survive the ages.
The other great apes have smaller brains than modern humans because they are mostly vegetarian. Large brains need lots of calories. When calories are scarce large brains are selected against. This may have been a factor in Neanderthal extinction.
Avian dinosaurs mostly fly, and their brains have been subject to millions of years of selection for aerodynamics. Thus despite their relatively small brain size, tool making has been observed in corvids. They can also recognize individual humans even through clothing changes. So small brain size doesn't mean less intelligence.
So H. Naledi may have been an intelligent vegetarian, and the associated technology may have been plant based, and just didn't survive the ages.