Evolution is an essential part of our lives that is typically brought on over a large amount of time and created through environmental changes. Humanity has changed quite a bit over time, including our full development of bipedalism and our larger brains but also by our ability to make tools, create art and to problem solve better than of our fore ancestors. One example being Homo floresiensis. Homo floresiensis is a regional archaic that comes from the small island of Flores, Indonesia and lived in the time of about 100,000 to 50,000 years ago. Since they were isolated on this island, it leads scientists to believe they must have had to walk across continents, or they must have traveled by water if there was still land mass. They stand about 3 feet tall, which is very similar to the australopithecines for example Lucy. There were many similarities between these two species, like how they both have incredibly small brains. What I found rather interesting about them is that the Homo floresiensis have a smaller brain than what they evolved from. Surviving on this island with such a small brain seems like it would have been struggle, However, they thrived enough to gain skills to be self-sufficient. 

One of the main tools used was stone tools for hunting. They also used animal bones, but they were found with stone markings on them. This lead scientists to believe that the stones were used to kill animals for food, before creating the tools. It was believed that they died because of modern humans coming and taking over the island. Although, after looking into this further, it was found that they did not exist at the same time as modern humans, making this theroy unfeasible. Another theory about them is that a volcano erupted and the volcanic ash killed all the vegetation and animals. This idea was due to the discovery of volcanic ash on fossilized remains from the island, which indicates that an eruption may have been the cause of their death. I found it very intriguing that scientists found the remains in a cavern in just 2004. The remains that were not in this location were most likely ruined quicker due to human interaction and environmental causes.

I strongly believe that the biggest factor in evolution is climate and it’s ever changing nature. As our climate grew harsher and colder, the species living on the land had to be able to evolve and adapt. What really shocked me from the lecture was that they actually had larger brains than humans around 1502cc, While humans range from only 1350cc-1400cc. After finishing these lectures, I realized that due to their large brain size, they developed even faster, leaving less time to learn things as children. I think that the large brain is the most important trait that comes from evolution that makes us the modern humans were are today. Without our large brains, we would still be surviving but we wouldn’t be doing as much. For example, cavemen starting to participate in things like art, and forming a sense of community, but would have gotten to see art to what it has been evolved as today.