Solomon Harris

ERH-101-05

Essay 3

Help Received: None

Throughout time the theory of evolution has raised many questions pertaining to how and why humans have developed into the way we are today, and how we are capable of doing certain things that other organisms can’t or don’t do. One particular question raised around evolution revolves around the idea that humans are inherently good at long distance running. Many theorists believe developments through evolution gave humans this capability, while others believe other factors contribute to it. An article, “Why are humans good at endurance running? The answer is quite murky”, written by Timothy Kirn, discusses the several conflicting theories about the topic. The article refers back to multiple studies on the topic about the connection between long distance running and evolution. One study in particular that Kirn references, “The endurance running hypothesis and hunting and scavenging in savanna-woodlands”, written by Travis Pickering and Henry Bunn, is used the most throughout Kirn’s article, essentially as a basis for the two major arguments about the topic.

In Kirn’s article, he begins his writing by firing off with a question to get the reader think; “Did our stone-age ancestors chase down antelope across the hot, dry savanna, armed with nothing but maybe some blunt sticks or rocks, for hours on end, never letting the animals rest until they collapsed with exhaustion, and the hunters, glistening with perspiration, could go in for the kill?” He then provides a partial answer, saying that there really isn’t a full answer to the question yet, since the theory connected to the question has yet to be proven true. He continues by explaining this theory which he identifies as “persistence hunting”, the idea that early hunters would chase after their pray until it was physically incapable of  running away, allowing the hunter to kill it (Kirn). “The idea of ancient humans as persistence hunters, possessed of superior physical capability, has a certain romance about it and has become very popular with running enthusiasts.” This quote shows how prevalent this theory is in today’s society, but also uses a type of language that is not used in the study, particularly when he references present day runners and its popularity with them. For some reason, many long distance runners support the persistence running theory, believing that they attained their long distance running skills from their ancestors in ancient times. Throughout the beginning of the article, Kirn states several times how popular that theory is in communities outside of the runner community, despite there being “no hard evidence that ancient humans were persistence hunters”, one of the main reasons so many people disagree with the theory. 

As Kirn continues, he makes several references to previously conducted studies on the topic, essentially summarizing the studies’ main findings,going in chronological order of when they were written. First, he references David Carrier, the first person to suggest the idea of persistence hunting. Kirn states that Carrier’s beliefs were based upon specific observations such as humans ability to sweat, which helps them outlast their prey when chasing after it. While sweating allows humans to lose heat, and try to maintain steady breathing, animals are only able to pant, which at a high intensity can exhaust the animal quickly. (Kirn) Next, Kirn introduces Daniel Lieberman who bases his belief in the idea of persistence hunting with the claim that certain human bodily features show that it is what we were made to do. He claims that “arched feet, short toes, wide shoulders”and long Achilles tendons”, are all bodily features specific to humans that have developed over time allowing us to run longer. According to Lieberman, the same time humans began developing these features, was around the same time humans began hunting and meat became a main part of their daily diet (Kirn). Therefore, Lieberman claims “persistence hunting might have been an evolutionary driver.” The physical features are said to be the “best evidence” for humans having used persistence hunting for food. In response to both Lieberman and Carriers ideas, Henry Bunn, another researcher that Kirn references, believes that ancient humans would have needed more strategic methods of catching their prey rather than just chasing them until exhaustion. Bunn had the idea that the capability of tracking animals would have been vital to early humans attempts of hunting animals in case they ever lost track of their prey, an ability Bunn thinks early humans lacked at that point in their development into intelligent beings. Seeking further research on the topic, Bunn studied the Hadza people, a modern day, primitive-living group of people who he believed lived the same as early humans, in order to examine their methods of attaining food. He discovered that they rarely ran, and if they did it still wasn’t in pursuit of food. Bunn offers another method early humans most likely used, which consisted of the hunters hiding, sneaking up on prey and then attacking. This theory has been accepted by many of the persistence hunting opposers because there is proof of many early hunting societies being known to use this method.

In Henry Bunn and Travis Pickering’s research paper, they discuss the idea of persistence running and how the theories supporting its prevalence in early human societies may not be as accurate as many people originally thought. They are aiming this article towards scientists and researchers, as well as anyone who believes the theory or is also questioning how accurate the theory is. The two authors begin by first stating the conception, about persistence hunting in their introduction, explaining its background and the specific details of the theory. Common conceptions about persistence hunting are that the desire to hunt and scavenge for food are behaviors that created an evolutionary need for humans to become better at endurance running, in order to satisfy that behavior. Bunn and Pickering then introduce a new component to the persistence hunting theory, tracking, an ability that would have greatly helped the hunters when on the search for food, mainly after losing an animal that they are tracking. Despite this, “there is no evidence that early homo possessed a penetrating projectile technology”, meaning they would have needed to be within very close range to attack and kill their prey (Bunn and Pickering). Another downside to the use of tracking is that it required “above average scientific intellectual abilities”, according to Liebenberg. Both Bunn and Pickering , as well as the researchers who support the persistence running theory, agree on the fact the persistence hunting isn’t common with hunting societies today, nor was it popular with those societies many other hunting societies in the past, except for those in extremely hot and open areas. (Bunn and Pickering) Bunn and Pickering’s research also utilizes a study of a tribe in Tanzania, the Hadza, who they noticed had also not even once practiced persistence hunting over the duration of the study on them. The authors use this study as further support to their claim that persistence hunting may not be so accurate after all.

When comparing the magazine article and the scientific study, there are several differences in the way the authors speak through their writing to try to convey a certain point. One distinct difference that the two texts hold is the word choice. The study uses complex scientific words, that the average person wouldn’t know the meaning of, while the article uses words that common people would be easily able to read and understand. This is most likely done, primarily to suit the targeted audience. Other scientists would probably prefer to hear more scientifically descriptive words and definitions in order to maintain some form of professionalism, just as the average person would prefer to see simple words that they could easily understand while reading jus to ensure understanding of the topic being discussed.

In Kirn’s article, when introducing Henry Bunn, he provides a background on him, including his university and job title. Kirn also shares with the reader, Bunn’s personal opinion on the topic of persistence hunting, which he considers something only “incredible naive” people would believe in; largely considering the fact that it has yet to really been proven 100% true. Kirn gives us Bunn’s personal account of when he first heard about the theory, as well his initial reaction to hearing it, which later prompted him to write his own scientific paper in response to it. In Bunn’s paper however, no personal opinions or beliefs are present; only scientific data and hard facts.  Another area where Bunn is shown giving his own personal account is in the magazine article, where he was discussing his study on the Hadza people. According to his observations of the Hadza people, “The only time Bunn ever knew the Hadza to run was when they were fleeing pelting rain, angry bees, or marauding elephants—and maybe occasionally to scavenge.” This not only negates the idea that many primitive societies used persistence hunting, but it also gave a personal experience the Bunn had and was able to share observed information from. Though the article gives the more personal account, the study says the same thing, however making it seem more like a fact than someone’s actual experience.

Overall, the tone that the article set made it feel as if a story was being told about the progression and creation of new and different beliefs about persistence hunting, rather than the scientific study’s bland, straight-forward  tone, that wouldn;t ge the average reader interested. It makes sense, however, considering that it is the media’s job to relay new information to the people, and trying to attract as many people as possible to read the article. The study’s job is to share with the reader all the facts gained through the research and/or study.

Works Cited:

Kirn, Timothy F., “Why are humans good at endurance running? The answer is murky.” Popular Science. 5 October. 2019, https://www.popsci.com/persistence-hunting-myth/. Accessed 21 October 2019.

Bunn, Henry T. and Pickering, Travis R., “The endurance running hypothesis and hunting and scavenging in savanna-woodlands.” Journal of Human Evolution, 53, 3 January. 2007, 434-438. ScienceDirect.