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"Homo informatio".

Michael J Walker1

  • 1University of Murcia, Faculty of Biology, Spain.

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|October 4, 2025
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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Early hominin evolution diverged from chimpanzees due to mosaic landscapes, favoring small, cooperative social units. This led to enhanced cognitive abilities and information transmission in ancestral humans (Homo sapiens).

Keywords:
EvolutionHomininanInformationMixed-sex philopatrySmall-world networksZone of bounded surprisal (ZBS)

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Anthropology
  • Paleoecology
  • Cognitive Science

Background:

  • A phylogenetic split approximately 7.5 million years ago separated ancestors of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and hominins.
  • Pan troglodytes exhibit multifemale-multimale troops with promiscuous males and female offspring dispersing to other troops.
  • Widespread conjecture suggests Pan social structures reflect early hominin societies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To propose that approximately 4 million years ago, mosaic landscapes influenced hominin evolution differently from woodland-dwelling paninans.
  • To detail the ecological and social consequences that differentiated hominin evolution.
  • To explain the cognitive and social divergence of hominins from paninans.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative analysis of social structures and habitats of Pan troglodytes and early hominins (Australopithecus).
  • Ecological modeling of mosaic landscapes (grasslands and woodlands) impacting resource availability and social unit size.
  • Application of the free energy principle and active inference to explain cognitive evolution and information transmission.

Main Results:

  • Mosaic landscapes led to constrained foraging, necessitating small, omnivorous hominin social units.
  • Small unit size drove cognitive ingenuity, information transmissibility via active inference, and broadened 'zones of bounded surprisal' (ZBS).
  • Cooperation, mixed-sex philopatry, and dispersal in hominins fostered heterozygosity and cognitive awareness, contrasting with paninan social dynamics.

Conclusions:

  • Hominin evolution was shaped by environmental pressures favoring cooperation, cognitive development, and unique social structures.
  • These adaptations, including enhanced information processing and sociality, differentiated hominins from paninans and paved the way for Homo sapiens.
  • The evolutionary trajectory highlights a long period of adaptation and 'false dawns' before the emergence of Homo sapiens with advanced cognitive abilities.