What changes can we expect for human evolution?

15th June 2024

Authored by Weirdsmiths

It is estimated that it has taken over 6 million years for humans to evolve from our ape ancestors to where we are today. In that very long time, the shape our living planet, its climate, biodiversity and overall liveability has changed dramatically multiple times, but never more quickly than it is changing now.

The last century alone has seen more change to the way of life of humans than ever before, with technological advancements, medicine, climate change and population growth all having a huge impact on our evolution. While we are now more likely than ever to survive illnesses, diseases and mutations, we are also exposed to a huge array of dangers that would have never impacted our ancestors of previous generations.

How these factors, and more, will impact our physical evolution is relatively unknown, however based on previous changes and developments, we can have a pretty good idea of what might happen to our species in the megaannums to come.

What changed in the past?

There are quite a few traits that we have maintained from our ancestral origins, such as our dexterity and movements, but there are also quite a few things that we’ve gained along the way. One of our most notable developments is that of our brain, specifically its size and complexity which has latterly allowed for the development of tools, as well as the capacity for languages and communication.

While our complex craniums have also allowed for a flourish of creativity and diversity, it’s not the only noticeable difference between humans and primates. Physical changes, such as walking on two legs and a lack of hair over our whole body, are both reflections of our habitable environment and our position on the food chain. As humans, our transportation is primarily by foot and on the floor; we don’t swing, so we don’t need a tail, but we also stand straight and tall.

The early discovery of fire and clothing reduces the need for large amounts of hair on our body, as we can regulate our temperature well with outside factors. In count, humans actually don’t have that much lesser of a hair count than apes, they’re just much shorter and fairer.

One of the largest factors in human evolution is our ability to hunt, protect and farm. Homo-sapiens and their direct ancestors have had no predator for almost all of their existence, rather being the apex predator that does not fit in the ecological food chain as standard. Using tools, such as spears, farming tools and harpoons, we have eradicated the need to use our bodies to survive.

While you might think apes are herbivores, most of them are actually omnivorous like us; they just often eat plants as they’re much easier to come by. While humans are now at a state of mass farming, meat has very much been on the menu from the very early days. It is known that large hunting parties of our ancestors would hunt mammoths and other large creatures to eat, subsequently skinning and cooking the meat in a fashion we would very much do today. While it seems simple to us, hunting and cooking are not really on the table for most apes, especially in a declining climate.

You also might think that we should have developed even further than we have given our huge advancements in farming and lack of hunting needs, but these are all very recent in the lifespan of humans.

So, what can we expect in the future?

Given that our bodies still contain things that, although not useless, are less used in modern day, like our tonsils and appendix; it is unlikely we will see any significant changes to our physical development any time soon… but, we can certainly expect there will be changes in the future.

Advancements in technology in the last century are so significant that it’s likely to have a drastic impact not only our physical development, but our mental and emotional too. If we isolate to something like digital screens on mobile devices or television, we are exposed to lighting and visuals that are eyes are simply not designed for. Using screen protectors, built in function or specialised glasses can all help to prevent blue-light damage to your eyes; but, it doesn’t seem that far fetched to imagine our eyes will develop to have their own filter at some point in time!

We can also look at giant factors like climate change and the impact that will have on our diet, welfare and general life on Earth. Currently, our lungs consume around 5-6ml of oxygen every minute, but this is at a time where we do still have a relative abundance of oxygen in the air. With a decline in coral, seagrass, trees and other flora, it could be expected that our bodies will have to develop to take in a wider load of oxygen while it can, but also use it more wisely within the body. Climate change also has an impact on our food chain, impacting animals and habitats the world over.

There are more people in the world now than ever before that choose to eat a meatless diet, with over 1.5 billion vegetarians and somewhere between 80-200 million vegans. A herbivorous dining plan might become a standard in the future as meat production becomes harder, whereas smart farming produce is much more achievable. Not only would this impact our physical builds, like muscle growth, it could also see some teeth becoming redundant, with our canines rarely being used for their main purpose due to the use of cutlery and utensils.

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