Thinking Like an Anthropologist Essay:
Brainy Chefs-How Cooking Ignited the Evolution of our Brains
Context of the Assignment:
Two million years ago a gene mutation, MYH16, was introduced into the hominin population. This mutation rendered the gene responsible for producing some jaw muscles used in chewing and bite force inactive. This weaker jaw could have resulted in our extinction, but Richard Wrangham argues it might be one part of the mystery for how hominin evolution resulted in modern humans having a large brain size but this is only one part of the story.
PROMPT:
What evolutionary factors led to our massive brain size?
Your argument you should include:
Wrangham’s cooking model
Consider the potential benefits and drawbacks having a large brain has
Likewise, your essay must make an argument and must be supported by specific evidence from the reading and lecture
Your essay response must also include:
an argument
evidence from the reading and lecture
an analysis of your evidence
an essay structure, complete with an introduction, body paragraph and a conclusion
Length: 2 double-spaced pages (about 500 or more words)
Resources:
Textbook Chapter 11
Our Lecture on Cooking and Brain Size: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IMx6LFBtkI
Interesting SciCafe event, presented in collaboration with The Leakey Foundation, called The Raw Truth About Cooking with Rachel Carmody https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaOHTp07Vgw
Last Completed Projects
| topic title | academic level | Writer | delivered |
|---|
