Evolution: fathers caring for a child and man as a long-distance runner

Why are Homo sapiens biologically programmed to care for children, unlike fathers among other apes? Men who care for infants experience profound biological changes. A few weeks before the baby is born, they experience a sharp increase in prolactin levels – a hormone that encourages caring behavior and creates a bond with the infant. In the months after birth, testosterone levels in men decrease and the levels of another bonding hormone – oxytocin – increase.

Anthropologists believe that slow running over long distances was an effective way for human ancestors to hunt wild animals. Research suggests that persistent pursuit of prey was more popular in hunter-gatherer societies than previously thought, and hunting may have helped humans adapt to long-distance running. Some runs were longer than 100 km, and snowy and harsh winter conditions did not discourage human ancestors from endurance hunting expeditions.

In a cave in East Timor, archaeologists from Australia and Great Britain discovered thousands of stone artifacts and animal bones dating back 44,000 years bearing traces of human life. In that region, along with neighboring Indonesia and Australia, one can find some of the oldest evidence of human presence on Earth. The island of Timor lies south of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, where there is a 45,500-year-old life-size painting of a warty pig. According to researchers, it may be the oldest cave painting on Earth.