Did early hominins evolve on the savannah? Almost anyone who reads works on paleoanthropology would say “yes.” I would like to explain why I’m tempted to say “no.”
A long time ago, I was chatting with an ornithologist. We were discussing the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, the southern third of which consists of the classic North American prairie landscape. I casually referred to some “prairie birds”, including among them the willett and the killdeer. My friend corrected me. “Those aren’t prairie birds at all,” he said. “They live on the riverbanks. That’s a totally different ecosystem. It doesn’t matter that it’s only a few hundred yards wide and six hundred miles long, it’s not the prairie. Different plants and animals, living a different lifestyle.” This was something I hadn’t grasped. The prairies of Saskatchewan support species like the lark bunting, the bobolink, the western meadowlark, and the sharp-tailed grouse, which all nest, feed and frolic on the grasslands, and are all bona fide “prairie birds”. Further to the north, in the great Canadian forest, you will find woodland species like the blackpoll and Tennessee warbler, the pine siskin, and the nuthatch. But the willett and the killdeer live and work in a riparian niche, the complex ecosystem of riverbanks and lakesides, which is fundamentally different from the grasslands that surround them. Read more »