Why did humans lose body hair in colder climates? (evolutionists only) I already know the creationist view.?

Question

I have a question for evolutionists on human body hair. I can understand our ancestors losing body hair while living in Africa or Mesopotamia (depending on your viewpoint.) How come our Homo-Erectus or Homo-Sapian anscestors (I forget all the different terms) didn't evolve thicker body hair as they moved into colder areas. If they were using animal furs to keep warm why didn't their bodies become covered in thicker hair. I will often grow my full facial beard out in the winter and it helps a little so why didn't our ancestors do the same? I went to a religious school so I didn't have the opportunity to learn this in Highschool.

Just so you know meisa the reason I asked is because several of the books I have read while doing my own research state that Homo erectus fossils have been found in areas of europe such as Germany and date from the time that much of europe was still extremely cold and in fact was still at the edge of the ice age. Thus my question as to why those particular human ancestors settling in that area (which are possibly mine since I am Germanic) would not have redeveloped thicker body hair.

Answer 1

Because, unfortunately, the only evidence we have of the physical features of hominid ancestors is from fossil evidence, we are currently unable to determine when human body hair became so thin. But humans do have hair all over their bodies -- every pore you have has a hair follicle in it. The thickness and growth rate of hair differs on different parts of the human body.

Characteristics don't just appear and disappear from the population; it takes many generations for an individual's mutation to spread through the genetic pool, and it only spreads if it the individual with the mutation is capable of bearing/siring children. This applies not only in the biological sense -- does the individual reach puberty, is the individual fertile, etc -- but also in the social sense. If a mutation, or some other characteristic of the individual, renders him/her an undesirable mate, then the trait dies out with the individual.

Because all humans share roughly the same hair pattern, I would have to ttheorize that the thinning of hair occured before the human exodus from Africa, and stayed present in the population because it was a socially appealing characteristic.

Disclaimer: this is off the top of my head, I have done no research in this area, and there is probably someone out there in the paleoanthropology field who has thought of this and done work on it.

Also, just an FYI: the terms are spelled Homo erectus (genus capitalized, species not) and Homo sapiens, and they should always be in italics (but don't ask me how to do that on here)

Answer 2

There's an old book that's probably out of print called "The Ascent of Woman". It says that mankind lost body hair because we spent a conciderable amount of time in water. Other evidence to back this up is we have in common with water mammals that we don't concentrate out urine (when we do it's a sign of dehydration) and we have tears. Seals, whales, dolphins and sea birds have tears but not land mammals. Would love to find a copy of that book.

Answer 3

I guess what I am trying to figure out is why you think the earth got colder. After the ice age the earth gradually heated up. This is when humans began to gradually lose hair. Civilized life began in Mesopotamia than it gradually moved down into the middle east and Africa, which was a warmer climate yet. I guess I am wondering what makes you think that humans lost hair in colder climates.

Answer 4

There is minimal advantage of body hair for humans to survive or thrive once they had furs or clothing. So the dynamic is sexual selection. People with less hair were preferred mates. One result is a greater degree of sexual dimorphism.

Answer 5

Good question; all our mamal siblings have fur, why do we not?

I think food and its preparation is the key. Primarily fire and salt separates us from animals. Maybe there is the missing link?

Answer 6

You only need to konw the creationist view those evolutionist people are freakin idiots what the heck do they know?

Answer 7

don't need it - look better without hair on back
What do those creationists know anyway except what they are told to believe ---- get a brain and be happy