# How would a very early Homo sapiens do today? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 23, 2022, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-a-very-early-homo-sapiens-do-today/970129 "2022-08-23T00:30:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2022, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-a-very-early-homo-sapiens-do-today/970129/21 "2022-08-23T21:24:43Z")
> [@zimaane](#): > > There is some evidence of an increase in cognitive ability around 50,000 - 75,000 years ago, in the form of abstract art, burials, and more elaborate stone tools. This might be linked to the rise of language, a genetic change, or it might not have happened at all. You are speaking of the [Great Leap Forward](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavioral_modernity#Great_leap_forward) hypothesis which, depending on which variation you chose, says that _fully modern_ humans didn’t arise until 100,000 or 50,000 (or somewhere in between those two) years ago. Language ability has long been a favorite guess at the key difference, but it’s not the only possibility. It should also be noted that average cranial/brain size for _H. sapiens_ and _gone down_ slightly from neolithic times. Why? dunno. My _personal_ guess might be that our brains became better organized, allowing us to do the same, or even more, with less. This would be a good thing for a number of reasons, from making the birth process slightly less fraught with problems to saving on the energy needed to grow and maintain more brain tissue (which is greedy for both oxygen and calories). But I’m not a scientist, so consider that a just-so story/possibility. Back to the OP - depending on whether or not the Great Leap Forward thing is a thing or not, your hypothetical kid from 100,000 years in the past might _look_ like a modern human, but something may be off in their brain. They might have problems with language. They might have difficulty with abstract thought. They also might have a better memory than us (or maybe not) or some other advantage which may or may not make up for what we would perceive as deficits. _Something_ changed about 75,000 to 50,000 years ago in _H. sapiens_, as that is when we start to see two things: a migration out of Africa (which could be down to environmental/external factors and not us/internal factors) and a sudden growth (as near as we can tell from the archaeological record) in both complexity and diversity of things like burial practices, tool making/use, art (this is when cave painting took off), long range trading routes (continent spanning, in fact), and so on. Was it due to some sort of critical mass of population and accumulated cultural learning? Or did something “click” the in brains of a small population that later when on to conquer the world, perhaps allowing for modern language or some such? > [@Akaj](#): > > Would digestion be a problem? Our modern diets are far more complex than what the kid’s parents ate. I don’t know how much of our gut chemistry is inherited and how much is environmental, but either way I suspect the kid might not be ready for mac & cheese. Actually, are diets are LESS diverse than those of hunter-gatherers, even those living in marginal environments today. HG’s in ancient times existed in highly productive environments that are now taken over by agriculture (or cities). However, the retain-lactase-beyond-weaning trait didn’t become common anywhere until after the domestication of animals. The kid, most likely, would be lactose intolerant once past toddler stage, and if he (or she) had a problem with mac’n’cheese it would probably be due to the dairy component. > [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Gluten tolerance might be more of a problem, because gluten was not standard in diets 150,000 years ago. Actually… we don’t know that. We do have evidence that at least some pre-agricultural societies gathered and made use of wild grains so at least some people had some gluten in their diet, but on the other hand they probably didn’t consume it in large quantities on a daily basis, which may or may not make a difference. > [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Huge numbers of people worldwide have intolerances or allergies to foods today. There’s been a world-wide trend that when you eliminate intestinal parasites from a population their rate of allergies increases. Presumably, if said ancient baby has worms the child will be de-wormed upon arrival in our time. Will that create a problem? Damnifino. Likewise, a rise in literacy rates is linked to increase myopia in a population. Left in the past, the tyke would presumably not have allergies and not require eyeglasses but raised in the modern world both of those may ensue due to the change of environment. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2022, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-a-very-early-homo-sapiens-do-today/970129/22 "2022-08-23T21:31:19Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > > [@Akaj](#): > > > > Would digestion be a problem? Our modern diets are far more complex than what the kid’s parents ate. I don’t know how much of our gut chemistry is inherited and how much is environmental, but either way I suspect the kid might not be ready for mac & cheese. > > Actually, are diets are LESS diverse than those of hunter-gatherers, even those living in marginal environments today. HG’s in ancient times existed in highly productive environments that are now taken over by agriculture (or cities). > > However, the retain-lactase-beyond-weaning trait didn’t become common anywhere until after the domestication of animals. The kid, most likely, would be lactose intolerant once past toddler stage, and if he (or she) had a problem with mac’n’cheese it would probably be due to the dairy component. Ignorance fought. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2022, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-a-very-early-homo-sapiens-do-today/970129/23 "2022-08-23T21:46:12Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > I suspect the kid would grow up to be a dentist in Scarsdale, or similar. Ooooh, _burn_. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2022, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-a-very-early-homo-sapiens-do-today/970129/24 "2022-08-23T21:51:41Z")
Mac & Cheese can still be on the menu. Just don’t use milk in your sauce. Use butter and a very old cheddar. That keeps the lactose to minimal levels. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2022, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-a-very-early-homo-sapiens-do-today/970129/25 "2022-08-23T23:56:01Z")
Or, you know, give the person lactaid tablets to supply the missing enzyme. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-a-very-early-homo-sapiens-do-today/970129/26 "2022-08-24T03:10:15Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > If the baby _didn’t_ seem indistinguishable from today’s children, there’s something wrong with the designation _homo sapiens_. Yeah, human babies are born in an abbreviated form making it difficult to discern physical differences between early and modern humans. IOW, all babies look alike. Unless there is some skin or eye color not now known no early human baby would look any weirder than the baby your cousin’s step-daughter had with that musician. OTOH, as adults early humans could look decidedly strange with odd bodily proportions and all the possible characteristics of hair and skin, including some that have disappeared. These would be superficial characteristics, nothing that would prevent early and modern humans from reproducing with each other. Apparently nothing was preventing Neanderthal and early humans from reproducing with each other either. Their babies might also look no weirder than the previously mentioned cousin. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2022, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-a-very-early-homo-sapiens-do-today/970129/27 "2022-08-25T22:38:57Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Suppose I fire up my time machine, which isn’t in anything as cool as a DeLorean. (It’s a Kia Forte.) Sorry, I have to fight the hypothetical here… it’s well known that (as a time machine) the Kia Forte can only transport 1 human at a time. You would need at least a Mazda3 to bring back a baby. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-a-very-early-homo-sapiens-do-today/970129.md?page=1)