Echoing Multiverse

 Homo Habilis as a species lived from about 2.8 - 1.5 million years ago.  They are best known for the vast quantity of stone tools found with their fossils, and according to Cat Bohannon, "associated intelligent sociality".  Old, sexist, white male anthropologists associated the development of tools with men's needs during the hunt.  However, based on primatology studies, that theory seems unlikely to be correct.  In modern chimpanzees (with whom we share 99 percent of our DNA), females are three times more likely than males to hunt with spears. Female chimps are also more adept than males at using stones to crack nuts.  In Eve:  How the Female Body Drove 200 Millions Years of Human Evolution, Cat Bohannon discusses how female chimps use sticks to stab sleeping bush babies (nocturnal squirrel-like creatures).  Using sticks while hunting allows her to keep her distance, which is important, since she's often carrying her offspring while hunting....

 Ardipithecus ramidus.  Our first great grandmother to walk upright.  The Eve of bipedalism.  Dating to about 4.4 million years ago.  Males and females of the species are similarly sized and both have canine teeth that are feminized.  The males don't bare their fangs to scare off rivals.  They don't have fangs.  Based on these features, it can be assumed that Ardipithecus society was likely relatively egalitarian and cooperative.  That's nice.  Inspired by Cat Bohannon's new book, Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution. Ardipithecus ramidus, Eve of Bipedalism, original painting by Echoing Multiverse available via Saatchi Art .  Stickers and other merch available through RedBubble or Fine Art America .

 Purgatorius, our earliest primate grandmother.  Purgatorius, Great Grandmother Primate, original painting by Echoing Multiverse available via Saatchi Art .  Stickers and other merch available via RedBubble or Fine Art America . Purgatorius fossils were first found by scientists in the 1960s on Montana's Purgatory Hill.  Her teeth were specialized for both crunchy bugs and squishy fruits.  Unlike her earlier ancestors, Purgatorius had hinged, rotating ankles, which were especially good for climbing trees and skittering along branches.  Life in the trees also selected for differences in sensory organs, compared to life on the ground.  Gradually, our sound sensors evolved.  Interestingly, they evolved differently in male and female primates. Today's primates are able to hear much lower frequencies than many other mammals.  Consider the dog whistle.  Or hearing range is low enough that we can't hear it.  The best theory for this ...

 Protungulatum donnae is the Eve of placental mammals.  The first mammal to give birth to live young.  She is "the lovely lady squirrel from whence all extant, placenta-having, non-marsupial mammals evolved." Our great-grand rat.  A very early ancestor Goddess.  She appears in the fossil record right about the time of the giant asteroid impact apocalypse and following apocalyptic winter that wiped out the dinosaurs.  She ate beetles and didn't have to worry about keeping her eggs warm.  She was small, about squirrel sized.  The mutations that led to live birth apparently gave her a post apocalyptic advantage, as her DNA lives on.     Eve of the Apocalypse. Protungulatum donnae, in her burrow, resting after live birth. (Not to scale).  Original painting by Echoing Multiverse available via Saatchi Art .  Stickers and other merch available via RedBubble or Fine Art America .   Inspired by Eve: How the Female Body D...

 Religion is thought to have begun as ancestor worship.  Today I present the ancestor Goddess Morganucodon, who lived roughly 205 million years ago.  She is the Eve of Mammalian milk.   Morganucodon, Eve of Mammalian Milk.  205 million years ago, in her burrow.  Inspired by the new book, Eve:  How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution, by Cat Bohannon.  Original painting available via Saatchi Art .  Prints, stickers, and other merch available through RedBubble or Fine Art America . Morganucodon's fossils were initially found in Wales, but since have been found as far afield as China.  She was a widely spread, highly successful creature, about the size and shape of a mouse.  She is the most well known species of early mammal, one of the first to evolve lactation.  She could hunt for beetles alone at night, under cover of darkness and return to her burrow in the morning, full of nutrition to share with ...