Through generations of culture, experiences, and technological developments, humans often forget that the world was not always as it is today. For millions of years, the earth has been evolving and creating new life. As climate changes, species find newer and better ways to adapt to the environment in order to have the most reproductive success. The genetic traits that are best adapted to its environment are passed on to the next generation developing a better and stronger population. Upon developing larger brains and tools, Homo sapiens dispersed across the world facing different climates and environments depending on their location. As humans encountered new climates they found physiological and behavioral ways to adapt as well as succeed in colder and warmer regions of the world. For my art piece, I am going to explore different physical traits that emerged in humans across the globe as a result of climate differences. My piece will indirectly show evolution in cooler environments. This depiction will emphasize the key evolutionary traits that allowed the same species to thrive in different environments. There are clear distinctions between Homo sapiens across the globe. These differences occurred as a result of the evolutionary adaptation to different climates and lifestyles. Migration to cooler environments caused humans to evolve physiologically and behaviorally in order to not only survive but thrive in colder weather

Observing different primates can be an interesting activity as a human. When watching an ape one can draw many similarities in their anatomy and behaviors to Homo sapiens. This is because we are all related to each other and as a result of particular circumstances, we have all evolved to become separate species. 8 million years ago, hominids first appeared on the planet (Bales 2019). Ardipithecus Romulus, the first of the hominid lineage still looked ape-like but had developed bipedalism as a result of becoming more terrestrial animals. Through evolutionary changes, these early hominids evolved to become fully bipedal, meat-eaters, and as seen with Homo habilis, toolmakers. The creation of tools soon paved the way for the more modern looking hominid which was Homo erectus, this species was now able to shape new tools in order to keep them for multiple hunting, they had shorter arms, longer legs, and most importantly had bigger brains. 

The earliest direct ancestors of Homo sapiens, otherwise known as LCAs’, descended from different parts of Africa (Fuentes 2017). Being that human ancestry is purely from a warm and tropical continent, means that the human body was not initially adapted to a cool climate. As humans evolved, learned to use tools, and made technological advancements, people began dispersing all over the world (Colagrossi 2018). Quickly, humans could be found in all corners of the globe. Tools and tool-making were essential to the dispersal of Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens. Leaving Africa and populating different corners of the globe, meant these tropically accustomed bodies had to find ways to battle and succeed through colder weather. Although Homo sapiens is the most recent beings in the hominid lineage, researchers in the 1990’s found some traces of Homo neanderthalensis DNA in modern-day humans. Homo neanderthalensis, lived about 40,000 years ago in Europe. They had shorter and stockier bodies in an attempt to adapt to the cold as well as larger noses in order to humidify the cooler dry air. Unlike Homo sapiens living in Africa during this time, Neanderthals were forced to have a more meat-based diet due to the harsh winters they endured. It is unclear if Neanderthals became extinct as a result of climate change or because Homo sapiens drove them to extinction. Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens having different features that serve distinct purposes for weather show the impact the environment has on a species physiological traits.

When looking into different regions of the world such as West Africa, SouthAsian and East Asian people who are descendants of those who evolved there tend to have wider but shorter noses (Zaidi AA, Mattern BC, Claes P, McEvoy B, Hughes C, et al. (2018) A primary and crucial function of the nose is to warm the air it breathes to core body temperature and soak it with water vapor before it reaches the lower respiratory tract. Because the nose is vital in regulating temperatures, many believe that the physical differences found across populations are related to the distinct climates endured by their ancestors. Although this theory is not completely proven, based on date, there is more probability that this is the explanation as opposed to genetic drift. Those who have European ancestry tend to have a narrower but longer nose. When looking at this data and analyzing the specific width and height of the nose, researchers found a possibility that climate and surroundings allowed for these evolutionary differences within the same species across the world. Those who evolved in colder temperatures have narrower longer noses specifically so that there is less air going into their nose and they can withstand colder temperatures. Smaller noses with less air going into them are preferred in colder temperatures as the nose has an easier time and wastes less energy regulating the temperature. Like the nose, there are many reasons why such a vast variety of different hair colors and textures developed in the population. There are some theories that point to sexual selection in order to explain this. But, it is proven that straight hair conducts more heat and preserves it which is why most Europeans developed this genetic trait as they endured the coldest winters. People in warmer climates developed, shorter curly hair that allowed for a lot of air to flow through, and this served as a cooling mechanism. 

As homo sapiens evolved culturally and created different norms for their societies, people began being discriminatory towards others who did not share the same physical features as them. Skin pigmentation has grown to be at the root of many of these racist discriminatory events that are seen in modern-day societies. Before the world built by humans existed, there were ancestors who shared features similar to an ape. Through dispersal, evolution, sexual selection, and adaptation to climate, people developed distinct features that allowed them to cope with their environment and have more reproductive success. Differences in skin tones are produced by melanin (O’Neil 2013). No matter how light or dark skin, melanin is always present within humans. There are two forms of melanin, pheomelanin which ranges tones from yellow to reds and eumelanin shows tones from browns to blacks. People living in tropical latitudes, as well as less forested areas, needed stronger protection from the powerful ultraviolet rays of the sun. With little protection from the sun, eumelanin became prevalent within these populations. The darker pigments within the skin protect the skin from cancers as well as other harmful skin conditions. Lighter skin resulted in cooler climate populations that had less exposure to the sun. While there are different theories as to why not everyone got the same protection, it is thought that without a demand for this skin tone, the body did not need to evolve and have the same kinds of protections (Frost, 2008). 

Adapting to new, unknown environments influenced evolution and allowed Homo sapiens to become the societal and multicultural primates that run the earth today. While evolution occurred in Africa, it is known that people were able to spread across the world using tools, developing bigger brains as well as traveling in communities in order for cooperative breeding and assigning distinct roles. Moving across the world meant new encounters with never-before-seen climates, changes in dietary preferences as well as adapting to the colder weather. Before Homo sapiens branched out of Africa, the earliest extinct ancestors to humans, the Homo neanderthalensis had already lived in Europe (Colagrossi 2018). Some breeding between these two Hominid species allowed for humans to develop some of the adaptations to cold that Homo neanderthalensis had already developed through enduring harsh winters. After Homo sapiens left Africa and migrated to these colder environments such as Europe, they were forced to change from a primarily plant-based diet to a more meat-centric one. Cold and harsh winters did not allow for the plants and fruits that naturally grew in Africa, so humans had to adapt and hunt different types of mammals that they encountered throughout the year and changes in season. During an experiment led by scientists at the University of California Irvine, it was found that upon human migration North, there were mutations that resulted in a change in the DNA that allowed Homo sapiens to conserve body heat as well as produce heat in order to stay warm during the winters. Because in Africa, people did not need to have cold climate adapted bodies, this energy was used in order to run faster, longer, and function better. The mutation in DNA upon migration to colder environments meant that humans could no longer run as fast and well but could live and survive in these colder environments. These behavioral shifts are what allowed humans to become diversified and thrive across all corners of the globe.

Human evolution has gone through many stages to create a vast variety of humans. For my art piece, I will create a sculpture in the form of an assemblage. The base of the piece is a 16” x 16” square. This piece was created using fake plants, clay, and white spray paint in order to portray a cold temperature environment. Initially, I created a bust that could be seen from any angle, I made this sculpture of human gender and environment neutral head that focused on the brain as a way of passing information through generations. In an attempt to crystalize the head, the sculpture broke into various pieces. While no longer having my sculpture and very little time, I was able to save certain key features of the bust, such as the lips, part of the nose, the brain, and the eyebrow area. I left these features to dry and returned to them later. I quickly got the feeling that I had scavenged these human remains, not that I had made them. I decided to create an environment with these broken pieces hidden throughout. To me, this piece represents human evolution and adaptation but I decided to steer away from the literal and narrative aspects art contains in order to leave room for interpretation from the viewer. I hope that when seen in a gallery space, the viewer looks closely into the piece trying to decipher why things are positioned where they are. I hope that my piece provokes people to think about evolution and how the world came to be as it is today. 

The modern world is filled with an endless variety of Homo sapiens. Height, skin color, nose shape, and even hair texture came to be as a means of adapting to the environment one lives in. While it is known that all humans came from Africa, the evolution of tools made it possible for Homo sapiens to disperse which expanded and created endless possibilities for humans. Through changes in climate and evolutionary adaptation, humans came to resemble each other depending on their environment, region, and climate. Homo sapiens who evolved in a colder climate developed a narrower but longer nose, straighter hair that radiates heat, lighter skin, and other physical traits that show how their bodies developed and adapted to their cool environment. People who were in a more tropical environment evolved differently in order to remain cool and not overheat. Humans from warmer temperatures tended to have a wider but shorter nose that gave them the possibility of breathing more air. Warmer weather also allowed for curly short hair in order for there to be a breeze and cooler temperatures through the hair as well as darker skin in order for the Ultraviolet rays of the sun not to penetrate the skin and cause skin cancer. I hope to depict these physiological traits within my artwork while emphasizing why they came to be. My piece will show these physical traits as a form in which the human body has adapted to its environment over time. It is important that my piece explains through visual language why these specific features were and still are important to the Homo sapien success across the globe. The physiological traits people often take for granted, emerged for the specific reason of human survival all around the globe. While some people are evolutionized to be more receptive to the cold, all humans have different internal heating and cooling mechanisms in order for us to thrive and survive in all kinds of climates. As the world continues to progress and develop artificial ways of dealing with temperature and climate, it is interesting how humans will evolve and adapt to this newly created, technological environment.

Citations

Fuentes, A. (2017). The creative spark how imagination made humans exceptional. New York, NY: Dutton.

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The Early Pleistocene human dispersals in the Circum-Mediterranean Basin and initial peopling of Europe: Single or multiple pathways? (2013, July 23). https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1040618213003698?via=ihub

Climate Effects on Human Evolution. (2018, September 14). http://humanorigins.si.edu/research/climate-and-human-evolution/climate-effects-human-evolution

Churchill, S. E. (1999, January 04). Cold adaptation, heterochrony, and Neanderthals. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/(SICI)1520-6505(1998)7:23.0.CO;2-N

Climate Effects on Human Evolution. (2018, September 14). http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/homo-neanderthalensis

Zaidi, A. A., Mattern, B. C., Claes, P., Mccoy, B., Hughes, C., & Shriver, M. D. (n.d.). Investigating the case of human nose shape and climate adaptation. https://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.1006616

Jablonski, N. G. (2013). Skin: A natural history. Berkeley: University of California Press. https://www2.palomar.edu/anthro/adapt/adapt_4.htm

Ruff, C. B. (1991). Climate and body shape in hominid evolution. Journal of Human Evolution,21(2), 81-105. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/004724849190001C