Early humans were prey, not predators, research found

For decades, textbooks have painted dramatic pictures of early humans as hunters using tools that quickly rose to the top of the food chain. The story was that Homo Habilis, one of the earliest representatives of our genus, was one of the first predators to rule over predators and lead humans on the path towards the highest predator.

However, new research applying artificial intelligence shows that this rise to power is much slower, more complicated and far more risky than previously thought.

The findings suggest that Homo Habilis was not yet in control of that world two million years ago. Instead, perhaps by leopards, the little brave humans were still being preyed upon. In other words, our ancestors remained vulnerable for much longer than scientists believed.

The evidence comes from bones discovered in the All-Bai Valley in Tanzania. This is the site that produced some of the most important human origin clues.

Anthropologists previously believed that markings on those bones were caused by the use of tools or cleaning. But the team led by Manuel Dominguez Rodrigo, anthropologist at Rice University and co-director of the Institute for Evolution in Africa, wanted to test that assumption with new technology.

They taught machines under the guise of deep learning algorithms to recognize subtle tooth mark patterns in various carnivorous animals. They supplied the system with thousands of samples. It has learned to convey bites produced by lions, hyenas, wolves, crocodiles and leopards.

When AI scanned fossils of homohabilis on an all-by, the findings were dramatic. “We found that these early hominids are consumed by other carnivorous animals rather than taking over the landscape at this time,” explained Domínguez-Rodrigo. The leopard signatures were recurring with confidence.

This confuses traditional stories. For many years, researchers believed that about 2.5 million years ago, humans could use stone tools and collective action to cover large cats and hyenas. It would have been a transition from prey to predators.

But there's another story about bites. Homo Habilis remained on the menu almost half a million years later, despite its brain being developed and increasing tools. “The origins of the human brain do not mean that we knew everything right away,” Dominguez Rodrigo said. “This is a more subtle story. These early humans, these homohabilis, weren't that what changed.”

Instead, researchers suggest that the power balance has shifted much more unevenly and gradually than was thought. Perhaps Homoerectus, which existed alongside Habilis, played a major role in the rise of human hunting domination.

What's new in this study is not as much of a discovery as the method. For many years, human scientists have simply looked at fossil bones, focusing on wounds, fractures, and dents, and attempting to determine whether the damage was caused by tools, predators, or forces of nature. However, it has always been hypothesis that various predators would leave their corresponding tooth markings.

Artificial intelligence turned it over into your mind. Deep learning algorithms can now detect microscopic patterns that most scientists cannot see, and claim that not only predators were involved, but which predators were involved. “AI is a game changer,” said Domínguez-Rodrigo. “It's a stable approach to what we thought for 40 years. For the first time, we can determine who was eaten, not only was these people eaten.”

It is now possible to associate bones with specific predators. Scientists can return to their collection of fossils from across Africa and the world to solve long-term problems created. Did they first become the lords of their landscapes? Which predator was the most deadly?

The findings also reveal how homohabilis has lived their daily lives. As leopards are likely to hunt them, these early humans may have spent most of their time avoiding danger. They may have lived in hiding, cleaning up leftovers from cleaning, or hunting small prey, rather than chasing openly the big game. Their stone tools may have contributed to survival, but they are not sufficient to protect them from ambushed cats.

Prey was more impacted than survival strategies. It had an impact on how our ancestors evolved. Continuous threats from predators will prefer attention, cooperation and accommodation. Rather than a simple ascendance to domination, the human story is like a difficult struggle between conformity and small victory.

This study also raises new questions about the role of homoerectus with a larger brain and endurance runner body. Did Electus become a top dog earlier with his cooperative hunt? Or did it occur more in more advanced species? The evidence is still weak, but the leopard bite reveals one thing. Homo Habilis was not yet the “king of beasts.”

Domínguez-Rodrigo and his collaborators Marina Vegara Riquelme and Enrique Baquedano consider only the first of this study. Supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, the Ministry of University and Culture, they want to apply AI tools to other fossil records. Through space-based patterns of geographical ages, they want to construct a more inclusive mosaic of humans as they transition from prey to hunters.

“It's very exciting to be the first person to look at something for the first time,” Dominguez Rodrigo said. “Revealing places that have been hidden from the human eye for over two million years contributes to the way we reconstruct who we are. It's a privilege and very inspiring.”

These discoveries change the perspective on human evolution. Instead of a smooth leap from victim to predator, this process appears to be stumbling, full of vulnerability and accommodation. AI presents a spectacular new window for researchers to investigate ancient fossils and uncover information that was previously invisible.

For humans, this study reminds us that flexibility and determination are not immediately dominant, but defined by our ancestors. That perspective may be a model for today's survival, cooperation and environmental research.

It also shows how new technology can shed new light on one of the first mysteries of who we are and where we came from.