Why has testosterone hindered human evolution?

Scientists conducting a new study of ancient human skulls have concluded that “the technological breakthrough of primitive people in the field of invention of tools and in primitive arts, which took place 50,000 years ago, coincided with the decline of testosterone levels in individuals of the human species.’

Although the fossil record shows that the human race has existed for 200,000 years, it took about 150,000 years for human society to begin to form.

The beginning of this process is associated with a serious breakthrough in the ability to create tools for catching and labor.

History shows that it was during this period that people began making tools from bone and horn using heat and flint. They also created for the first time weapons for fighting at a distance, devices for catching fish and birds. At the same time, the constant use of fire also began.

However, scientists are still not clear what was the main reason for this primitive technological revolution. Perhaps some brain mutation took place that made man smarter?

Or is it possible that the beginning of the consumption of thermally processed food served to begin with? Or, at the same time, language emerged as a means of communication between people and this gave rise to technological progress?

The study authors presented another theory in their report published in the journal Current Anthropology. In their study, they examined more than 1,400 ancient and modern human skulls.

Most of them belonged to people living in the 20th century from 30 different ethnic groups, but among them were 13 skulls that were more than 80,000 years old and 41 skulls aged 10,000-38,000.

The study of the skulls showed that the changes in the structure of the skulls correspond with the technical progress of mankind.

At this period, that is, 50,000 years ago, the large rough and prominent forehead and oblong face of ancient man was replaced by the more pleasant, rounder and more feminine face of modern man.

According to the scientists, this proves that the level of testosterone or the amount of its receptors has gradually decreased in humans.

Based on this, the researchers hypothesized that reducing the activity of the male sex hormone led to the improvement of people’s ability to communicate and interact with others, their aggression decreased and they were now more competitive.

These new skills of people created conditions for collective work, which was also a prerequisite for the realization of the first technological and social successes.

To illustrate how their theory works in terms of evolution, the authors refer to a famous study of Siberian foxes.

Its results showed that these animals had evolved to acquire traits previously inherent in sexually immature specimens and after several generations of selective selection in breeding them – they became docile and were already fit for domestication.

Brian Hare, one of the authors of the study, points out that the process that led to evolutionary changes in animals probably took place in ourselves. And this would help us better understand the development of our own species.

Lead author of the study, Robert Zieri, a graduate student in biology at Utah State University, USA, writes in conclusion:

“Modern technological innovation, culture, and art date back to the time when people’s facial features began to change and they began to improve their social habits. In order for prehistoric people to live near each other and to pass from generation to generation the developed technologies, they were bound to become more tolerant of each other. Key to the success of human evolution is our ability to cooperate, communicate and learn from each other.”