Human Evolution: Dan Meno and the Archimedes of the Apes

His mother, a one and a half year old Kopa, tried to dip one of the dirty yams in the sea water. She immediately discovered that the sand was washed away from the root with the water, and the sweet potato remained clean in her hand. It was a first-rate discovery - one that could make all the members of the tribe happier and provide them with food

An explosive sound came from the kitchen, and my beloved rushed to the living room.

"What happened?!" she asked with wide eyes.

"evolution." I answered. "Human evolution live. Come sit for a moment, you have to see this."

We sat together and watched the teams competing in the reality series 'Survival' try to outdo each other.

"I don't understand," my partner said after a moment, "what are they trying to do?"

"Each team has a big box full of coconuts, and they have to fill the boat that is tens of meters away with them." informative. "And they have to do it before the other teams have time to fill their boat."

"And where is the evolution here?" she wondered.

"Do you see the small, sly one? His name is Dan Meno," I said, "and he found a new method of bringing the coconuts to the boat. Instead of everyone taking two or three nuts and running with them to the boat, Dan Mano stays by the box and throws the coconuts into his boat. From there, the rest of his crew pick up the coconuts and put them in the boat. This shortens the process a lot compared to running back and forth. He is really the Archimedes of the monkeys."

"Archimedes of the Monkeys?" asked the lady.

Well, sort of. The original Archimedes of the Monkeys, in fact, is not Dan Manu. This is a female roach monkey named 'Imo', and she can teach us about the evolution of great apes and the human race even better than Ed Meno.

Imo's story began on the island of Koshima in Japan, as part of a tribe of cockroach monkeys. The monkeys lived in nature as usual, in peace and happiness, until a new tribe invaded the island: human explorers. They wanted to study the monkeys' behavior closely, and for that they had to observe them. But it is difficult to see the monkeys among the trees, so the researchers used an age-old trick, scattering treats on the beach to entice the monkeys to come to them. Sweet potatoes, to be exact.

The monkeys happily flocked to the sweet potatoes, a gift from the carious humans. But there was a thorn in it: the wet sand stuck to the sweet potatoes, and the tribe members had to suffer from sand between their teeth. They tried to wipe the sand with their palms, but many grains always remained stuck to the sweet delicacy. It seemed that there was no way out of the trouble, until one young Kopa arose from the tribe, and solved the problem in an unexpected way.

His mother, a one and a half year old Kopa, tried to dip one of the dirty yams in the sea water. She immediately discovered that the sand was washed away from the root with the water, and the sweet potato remained clean in her hand. It was a first-rate discovery - one that could make all the members of the tribe happier and provide them with food that they had almost given up. Accordingly, when the sample demonstrated the technique to the rest of the group, the immediate reaction was an almost complete disregard for the idea. The monkeys all remained fixed in their ways and refused to adopt the new technology.

All but one. His mother's brother was ready to broaden his horizons, and tried to adopt the strange idea. His first sweet potato dip was a success, and the sweet reward was worth the dare. Now there were already two supporters of the new behavior, and from there the way was paved for a total social change. His mother's other brothers and sisters also started washing their yams, and from there the proceeds spread to the entire tribe. Only the adult males, the leaders of the tribe, never agreed with the new custom. "It? It's Barra it!"

"And how does this relate to evolution?" asked my wife.

"This is exactly what happened with Dan Mano," I explained, "he found a new and efficient technique to complete the task, and the competing teams imitated his actions and almost managed to win because of it. Here was a new pattern of operation that took root in the entire society of the human survivors on the island."

"But this is not evolution!" objected.

"It's not evolution of genes and mutations," I admitted, "but it's social evolution, and it's no less powerful. Think about the humans of almost three million years ago. They are not much more than apes that roam the savannahs and are exposed to any predator. But then they discover they can break rocks and turn them into pointed weapons. Suddenly they have protection from madmen. Suddenly they are able to kill their enemies from the other tribes much more easily, and add the new females to their tribe. And perhaps most importantly - their mind becomes the most powerful weapon, when they start planning how to create more sophisticated weapons. Whoever is smarter, gets an advantage in his generation. The survival of the wise."

"So the social evolution of the apes also promoted the biological evolution of man?"

"It's an option that seems plausible," I said, "but we're still not sure about it." But if so, it explains why man stood up on his hind legs, and why his brain grew so much. He needed his forehands to grasp tools, and there was a strong selection in favor of a more developed brain. At some point, about 50,000 years ago, the 'Great Leap Forward', as writer Jared Diamond calls it, took place. It happened when the brain was already developed enough to develop more complex customs: cave paintings, sewing clothes and burying the dead. And we are the descendants of the great apes who made that leap."

"And that's how we got from prehistory to Dan Meno." Long live, my wife reflected. "Do you think the cockroach monkeys will also reach it in a few million years?"

"I really don't know," I confessed. "Imo was named 'Archimedes of the Monkeys' because of her inventions and innovation. She went on to invent another technique for cleaning sand from wheat, by throwing it into the sea, against intuition, and then picking it back up when it was clean. She also discovered that it is possible to salt the sweet potatoes and improve their taste. Maybe if the roach monkeys have more such Archimedes, they will get on the fast track to evolution that favors the use of hands and a bigger brain. Maybe her descendants will survive better, and make their own discoveries. And maybe not. This is the influence of the genius on society - an influence that can lead to a far-reaching change in the evolution of an entire species."

"Good," said my partner, as practical as ever. "And maybe you want to invent some genius technique, so that I don't have to wash dishes today?"

I stretched. "No, my love. Maybe you have an idea for such a technique?"

“Oh,” she said, “I think I have. Where is the TV remote?"