TECTONIC HYPOTHESES OF HUMAN EVOLUTION

Gani and Gani discuss the tectonic hypotheses of human evolution. They assert that in Charles Darwin's original theory of natural selection, Darwin downplayed the role of the physical environment as a mechanism for evolution, stating instead that natural selection could drive evolutionary changes in the absence of any change in the physical environment or climate. Over the last century, the impact of geomorphic and climatic change on evolution, particularly human evolution, has gained considerable momentum. Tectonics can be seen as the root of Earth's changing and diverse landscapes, seascapes and their associated climates. The cyclic breakup and reassembly of the super-continents Rodinia and Pangea can be explained simply by the existence of one or two superplumes in the mantle. Only two superplumes exist today: one beneath Africa and the other beneath the Pacific. Perhaps, it is this African superplume that was ultimately responsible for driving human evolution in East Africa.