Meat eating led to earlier weaning, helped humans spread across globe
Diets rich in meat helped early mother's wean their babies at an earlier age and allowed them to have more children, behaviors that may have helped humans spread more quickly across the world and had a profound effect on human evolution, according to new research. Researchers from Lund University in Sweden, publishing their work in the open-access journal PLoS ONE, found a clear connection between eating meat and weaning at an earlier age. They discovered that all mammalian species stop suckling when their brains have developed to a particular stage, with carnivores reaching that stage more rapidly than herbivores or omnivores. "Eating meat enabled the breast-feeding periods and thereby the time between births to be shortened," said Elia Psouni, lead author of the study. "This must have had a crucial impact on human evolution." Because human mothers wean their young so quickly, they "can potentially contribute a larger number of individuals to the human population during their reproductive years," Psouni told
Meat eating led to earlier weaning, helped humans spread across globe
When early humans became carnivores, their higher-quality diet allowed mothers to wean babies earlier and have more children, with potentially profound effects on population dynamics and the ...
Wed 18 Apr 12 from Phys.org
Meat eating led to earlier weaning, helped humans spread across globe, Thu 19 Apr 12 from Labspaces.net
Pass me another mammoth rib: Eating meat 'helped early man spread more quickly and profoundly affected evolution'
The high-quality diet allowed mothers to wean babies earlier and have more children, meaning that human communities grew faster, according to researchers from Lund University in Sweden.
Thu 19 Apr 12 from Daily Mail
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Carnivorous habits are behind the evolutionary success of humankind. When early humans started to eat meat and eventually hunt, their new, higher-quality diet meant that women could wean their ...
Mon 23 Apr 12 from Laboratory Equipment
Meat eating behind humans' spreading over the globe
Carnivory is behind the evolutionary success of humankind. When early humans started to eat meat and eventually hunt, their new, higher-quality diet meant that women could wean their children ...
Fri 20 Apr 12 from e! Science News
Meat eating behind evolutionary success of humankind, global population spread, study suggests, Fri 20 Apr 12 from ScienceDaily
Meat eating behind humans' spreading over the globe, Fri 20 Apr 12 from Science Blog
Meat eating behind humans' spreading over the globe, Fri 20 Apr 12 from Eurekalert
Meat-rich Diet Lead To Earlier Weaning, Helping Speed The Spread Of Humans
Diets rich in meat helped early mother's wean their babies at an earlier age and allowed them to have more children, behaviors that may have helped humans spread more quickly across the world ...
Thu 19 Apr 12 from RedOrbit
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