What would humans today look like if prehistoric hominids ate a vegetarian or vegan diet?
Small, short, weak, stupid, sickly and pale (obviously) with a higher propensity for degenerative diseases, general ill-health and lower maximum life-expectancy - but 'we' would very likely not look like anything at all: having become recently extinct a few million years ago.
Excellent question (one of best questions on this section of Yahoo!). So many silly (but sincere and innocent) answers.
You can TD all you like. It's called Science. I didn't make it up. TD'ing will not change objective reality just because you do not like it or it doesn't fit with your fantasy.
Physical (bodily) development only covers one part of this question as any genuine attempt at answering must also consider other wider implications. Without the development of pre and proto-homo sapiens' brain capacity and complexity (both largely attributed to a huge dietary increase in animal proteins and fats - a position regarded virtually universally and uncontested among anthropologists) then concurrent development of singularly advanced human traits would have been impossible. If pre- and proto-homo sapiens had been vegetarian (a diet devoid of animal proteins and especially fats necessary for nervous system growth, function, sophistication and health) then human prehistory would have been very different (if not entirely non-existent); the likelihood of developing complex behaviour such as, culture, abstract thinking, art, language, sophisticated tools and intelligence itself would have been almost certainly impossible.
A reason exists why most of the highly sophisticated and intelligent animals on the planet do so as carnivores or opportunistic carnivores. Such self-evident intelligence cannot become considered merely driven by behaviour which requires intelligence to outwit prey animals although this obviously must occur. Such outward behaviour requires internal sophistication which itself requires a physical mainframe upon which to operate (a nervous system capable of performing to such an advanced high level) and such a system requires different 'building' materials (to evolve and function) than what would become necessary if the species only had to outwit a blade of grass. That large and sophisticated central nervous systems, complex behaviour and carnivorous diets tend to occur within the same species does not happen merely coincidentally. These traits go hand in hand and exist intrinsically bound together. Without such a diet pre-homo sapiens would never have had the ability to capitalise (or fully develop and build) on our massive potential (bipedalism, grasping dexterous hands and an already good sized cranium).
In contrast (with a few exceptions: ie elephants due to shear size of cranial capacity and a few notable birds due to most other birds operating on idiot level) most herbivore species have very little reputation for any intellectual note whatsoever.
If you want a species (or a group of people?) to act like sheep - get them eating like sheep. This largely explains the popularity of such a diet among certain religions and prison camps or other institutions with a vested interest in social control.
If humans had naturally been vegetarian we would have almost certainly gone extinct long ago (or incapable of recognising our self-awareness - existence - had we somehow managed to survive). If humans had naturally been vegetarian (or largely herbivorous like all other apes*) and the species had survived, then we would almost certainly exist today as how you might imagine an advanced chimpanzee might live - some capacity for complex thought, rudimentary language and social organisation, but as different from humanity today as you might consider yourself next to an autistic child.
We owe our very species' development to eating meat (and especially animal fats). And lots of it. Our natural diet and heritage should become something to feel proud of, honoured and celebrated - not neurotically denied and demonised. Nothing else has shaped and/or facilitated Homo sapiens' almost vertical meteoric development. Nothing. Except perhaps that great big black monolith over there.
Vegetarianism?
How unnatural... unhealthy... stupid... ignorant... unecessary... insulting... offensive...
...how funny!What would humans today look like if prehistoric hominids ate a vegetarian or vegan diet?
We may of HAD to eat it, but studies show we've evolved from eating meat, we no longer need to, in fact our bodies and digestional system match that of a herbivore. Meaning meat takes an adverse effect on us if we're stupid enough tocontinue eating it. Hell we'll probably de-evolve. Into killers
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This answer is mainly speculation. Suppose the human race did start eating only vegetarian or vegan diets at a prehistoric age. This means we have up to some million years for evolution to take place in the hominid race. Because natural selection is a completely random process, it is entirely possible that we would look no different than we do currently, however it is more likely the human body would gain some new adaptions.
Starting from when were were simply monkeys on two legs, the tail proved useful in reaching higher areas or trees and other such climbing frames for security from carnivores, or maybe to reach the fruit that this tree bears. Should the human race have been herbivore, the tail would have seen its use become important, meaning that the homo sapiens without would have been at a disadvantage. "Tailed" Homo sapiens would have lasted longer and had access to more food, meaning they would produce more healthy offspring with tails, and implanting such an appendage into the human race for millenia to come.
Now, in a similar time period, there could be other mutations. Because we are omnivorous our teeth follow a specific shape and set, with sharper teeth near the front (the canines and incisors) and teeth for grinding near the back (molars). A herbivores mouth however follows a different pattern, favoring the grinding teeth over the sharper teeth. If this is so, then it's no doubt natural selection would step in again, giving the mutations of teeth better suited to eating plant matter the upper hand. These would be able to eat more types of plant, and therefore will be able to live longer, and produce more offspring with these new teeth.
So there you have it, two differences in the human body we would experience should we all be herbivorous. Of course, like i said before this is mostly speculation and it could just as easily go in a completely new direction than that.What would humans today look like if prehistoric hominids ate a vegetarian or vegan diet?
It is believed we started off eating vegetarian diets, our teeth are not designed to chew meat neither are our bodies designed to digest meat. we evolved from foraging for fruit to eating meat because we could'nt find enough natural food. But this would of been once we started fires as our bodies can't digest raw meat. I also don't think we would look much diffrent apart from we would of been more healthy less dietry diseases blood pressure cholesterol heart problems diabetes and so on.
Okay, duh! If people struggling to survive didn't eat animal products, we'd all be goners. I'm only speaking for my vegan self here, but I'm not against animal products. It's how animals are treated. And plus, we have other sources. So those people wouldn't treat the animals badly, so they'd eat them and then people later would go veggie and we'd all be swell. :)What would humans today look like if prehistoric hominids ate a vegetarian or vegan diet?
Do gorillas and orangutans look weak? Are you stronger than an orangutan? They are herbivores. Maybe we would look like them.
Thumbs down all you like, but I'm 100% certain no human being is stronger than a healthy adult orangutan.
Edited: Did you ever see a wolf, coyote, lion or tiger land on the moon? They hunt to survive. There was no reference to intelligence in the original question. I suppose an organutan could land on the moon if NASA chose to send one of these apes as an astronaut. Dogs and chimpanzees have been sent into space. What does that have to do with anything?
Upon what evidence do you base that statement?
Edit: You seemed to be asserting that present day humans would be less robust and weaker. Your question seemed rhetorical.
I think majority could be healthy and fit!
I mean if they ate vegetarian then surely they couldn't become unhealthy, catch chronic decease, and etc.
Oh, I definitely see your point. Just look at the herbivorous elephant...weakest animal I have ever seen.
THE SAME AND EVERYONE WOULD UNDERSTAND
monkeys
We'd look pretty freak in gorgeous :)
Firstly, I am no scientist (however my daddy is)
Me, my sister and my dad are all veggies so we chat about stuff like this sometimes.
We wouldn't have survived firstly. In 'prehistoric' times we didn't eat veggies or fruit etc we just ate meat (some sources tell us) simply because, why would we pick berries with hardly any energy content when we can have a big mammal full with protein and fats?
Vegan's are only able to live now because of all the supplements. Otherwise they'd be very unhealthy (I presume). Back then they'd just die, because they wouldn't have energy to go out and farm with!
However as times have gone on, we now can eat healthy without being cruel, or needing animals! We have supplements, nuts, fish (I have a problem with farming not if you catch is for food, but it's not been brought up to die) etc you can eat everything you want just not meat. I thought it would be really hard as I love meat but it's really no different :\ I can just walk passed cows without feeling guilty!
But to answer your question, what would we look like today? We wouldn't be here. We 'd die out!
Having said all this, this is all a matter of opinion, I am no expert! I've just based my ideas of theories nicked from others and had a little gander.
LoVe %26amp; PeAcE 鈾?br>
Edit: Humans are omnivorous. So we need both protein and fruits etc all in moderation :-) and all these silly answer about strong omnivorous lol well we're designed much differently! e.g. Cows are made to live on grass, however if I was about to munch on some grass somehow I wouldn't survive (mainly becuase I don't have two stomachs) Don't listen to some stupid Y/As people, they're truly deluded!
Mostly gummy with 2 buck teeth shorter and more smelly less intellegent because we would not have had to work out how to hunt and survive.
Edited: We became as smart as we are because we had to for survival also do you think organutans can land on the moon?
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