Rough and Tumble: Aggression, Hunting, and Human Evolution

223 Pages·2013·1.59 MB·English

by  Travis Rayne Pickering

Rough and Tumble
Aggression, Hunting,
and Human Evolution
Travis Rayne Pickering
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS

Berkeley • Los Angeles • London
Rough and Tumble
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Rough and Tumble
Aggression, Hunting,
and Human Evolution
Travis Rayne Pickering
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS

Berkeley • Los Angeles • London
University of California Press, one of the most
distinguished university presses in the United States,
enriches lives around the world by advancing
scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and
natural sciences. Its activities are supported by the UC
Press Foundation and by philanthropic contributions
from individuals and institutions. For more information,
visit www.ucpress.edu .
University of California Press
Berkeley and Los Angeles, California
University of California Press, Ltd.
London, England
© 2013 by The Regents of the University of California
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Pickering, Travis Rayne.
Rough and tumble : aggression, hunting, and human
evolution / Travis Rayne Pickering.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-520-27400-6 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Hunting, Prehistoric. 2. Hunting and gathering
societies. 3. Fossil hominids. 4. Human evolution.
5. Social evolution. I. Title.
GN799.H84P53 2013
599.9--dc23
2012027494
Manufactured in the United States of America
22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
In keeping with a commitment to support environmen-
tally responsible and sustainable printing practices, UC
Press has printed this book on Rolland Enviro100, a
100% post-consumer fi ber paper that is FSC certifi ed,
deinked, processed chlorine-free, and manufactured with
renewable biogas energy. It is acid-free and EcoLogo
certifi ed.
For whom I love the most
Anneliese and Grace—t he reason
Evelyn, Bob, and Lance—t he source
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Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 1
1 . A Man among Apes 5
2 . Prehistoric Bloodsport 20
3 . Tamping the Simian Urge 46
4 . Conceiving Our Past 65
5 . Death from Above 106
Coda 125
Notes 131
References 163
Index 203
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Illustrations
1. The 1.5 million-year-old skeleton of Nariokotome Boy / 11
2. The lower teeth of a modern human compared to the lower teeth
of Australopithecus / 31
3. The ferocity of male chimpanzees / 50
4. Duke University experiments on dog cognition / 60
5. An Australopithecus skull punctured by the teeth of
a leopard / 69
6. Bob Brain / 70
7. Stone tool cut marks on an antelope leg bone from Olduvai
Gorge / 75
8. A handax with microscopic evidence of early hominin wood-
working / 85
9. Bones of hunted animals and the world’s oldest spear from
Schöningen / 90
10. A Hadza hunter-gatherer shooting a poison arrow 92
11. The butchered and possibly cannibalized remains of an ape-man
from Sterkfontein Cave / 116
12. Eagle predation and feeding damage on the Taung Child
cranium / 122
ix