Dinosaurs didn’t have intelligence for hundreds of millions of years. Why did humans have advanced civilization in just a million years?

Dinosaurs didn’t have intelligence for hundreds of millions of years. Why did humans have advanced civilization in just a million years?

It is a common question on the Internet: Why did dinosaurs fail to produce intelligence after hundreds of millions of years of evolution? Human beings, on the other hand, only took millions of years to develop an advanced intelligent civilization. Why is that?

To put it simply, dinosaurs did not need to evolve intelligence, nor did they have the ability and conditions to evolve intelligence, while human beings evolved intelligence can be said to be forced to.

Let’s start with why we evolved intelligence.

An important prerequisite for the evolution of human intelligence is the brain, and the evolution of the brain is fundamental. According to the current mainstream theory, the ancestors of modern humans came from East Africa, where Homo sapiens evolved and then spread around the world.

The nature of species evolution is actually genetic variation, but in the process of inheritance, variation is completely random behavior, we cannot predict the direction of variation.

Since evolution is variation, and variation is random, evolution is also random and directionless. In the course of evolution, nature makes choices all the time, and the ones that don’t fit will eventually be weeded out, and the ones that do will stay.

According to the mainstream theory of human origin, the ancestors of human beings are the apes living in East Africa. Due to environmental changes, such as the emergence of the Rift Valley in East Africa, the climate of East Africa went through great turbulence, and the dense forest eventually became grassland, and the apes living in the forest had to move from the forest to the grassland.

When they first came to the grassland, the apes were certainly not adapted to it, and it took millions of years of trial and error. Originally in the forest, with flexible skills, the ancient ape can be called the king of the forest, life is very comfortable. But when they came to the prairie, they fell from heaven to hell. Without the ability to run fast, it is difficult for an ancient ape to take advantage of a wild animal.

Over a long period of time, the apes have been severely tested. But one group of ancient apes stood out, starting by walking upright. The variation of upright walking is not achieved overnight, nor can it be changed at the will of the apes. Instead, it has been trial and error in the process of continuous variation, undergoing survival of the fittest, and finally the upright walking variant gene has the last laugh, which has been screened by nature.

Walking upright has huge advantages over crawling on all fours. Walking upright, for example, saves energy, frees up hands and allows the apes to move quickly when attacked by an animal. At the same time can also make use of attacks, greatly improve the efficiency of obtaining food. By walking upright, the apes also had a higher view of the beasts and were prepared in advance.

Survival is a basic skill that any species must possess, and walking upright would have made it much easier for an ancient ape to survive.

Now, walking upright also laid the foundation for later human civilization. Without upright walking, the large brains of the ancient apes would have had no support at all. Even with the relevant genetic mutations, intelligent civilization would not have evolved in the end, but only a flash in the pan.

However, the expansion of brain capacity is not all good, because the brain’s neural network is too complex, to maintain the brain needs a lot of energy consumption, scientists analyzed that human brain energy consumption accounts for more than 20% of the total energy needed by the human body, which was not friendly to primitive humans, because primitive humans have very limited means to obtain energy, energy is quite scarce. But in order to maintain the brain’s energy expenditure, they had to reduce the body’s other energy expenditure to keep the brain’s energy needs as high as possible.

The benefits of having a larger brain are numerous. That means stronger and more efficient abstract thinking skills, organizational communication skills, hands-on skills, etc. These increased abilities greatly enhanced the quality of life of both the hominids and the hominids, who soon rose to the top of the food chain.

When human beings were no longer tired for food, the society began to evolve a lot of different division of labor, and human beings also had enough time and energy to study science, art and other fields, which led to our modern civilization.

So why didn’t dinosaurs evolve an intelligent civilization?

To put it in plain English, because dinosaurs were completely the “rich second generation”, they lived in an evolutionarily perfect age, there was no conditions and motivation for the evolution of wisdom.

Dinosaurs lived at a time when plants and animals were everywhere, which was heaven for herbivores and meat-eating dinosaurs. The so-called born in distress and die in happiness, in such a beautiful living environment, they have no evolutionary wisdom power.

One more point, mentioned at the beginning of the article, is that evolution is a very random behavior, and even dinosaurs would have needed genetic variation in this aspect to develop intelligent brains. At the very least, even if a particular group of dinosaurs were genetically modified to be more intelligent, that wouldn’t give them an advantage, it would be a disadvantage, because intelligence means greater energy expenditure. Right

If there were no advantages, nature would not have evolved in this direction! For dinosaurs, their big mouth and big body is “ wisdom”, at the time, there is no better use of such wisdom!

Finally, there is no high or low level of evolution. Evolution does not necessarily evolve in the direction of intelligence. The only purpose of evolution is to adapt to the environment, and there are many ways to adapt to the environment, intelligence is just one of them.

 

 

To see the national treasure dinosaur fossils!

To see the national treasure dinosaur fossils!

Are dinosaur eggs all big?

You know the first one on earth

What was a feathered dinosaur like?

Do you know which dinosaurs are named after Liaoning?

Want to know the answer?

Come on, let’s go to the show with B!

Today, August 25th

It was held by Liaoning Provincial Museum

“Happy Soil — Liaoning Paleontological Fossils Exhibition”

Officially launch

The answer to a long list of mysterious questions has been officially revealed

This is the first time for Liao Bo to hold the event

A large exhibition of fine paleontological fossils

The duration of the exhibition is

August 25 to August 8, 2023

The exhibition consists of five units

√ “ Prehistoric dinosaur Palace – Aquatic Vertebrates”

√ “ Dinosaurs, Birds and pterosaurs”

√ Lizards and Mammals Try to Survive on Dinosaurs’ Feet

√ “Ancient Verdant — Ancient Plants”

√ Flowers and Insects

Under the coordination of Provincial Department of Natural Resources

Curating team from the province 11 paleontological fossils

Collection unit of nearly 4000 pieces in the collection

Eighty-seven fine fossils were selected

And Liaoning Provincial Museum collection over the years

More than 40 fossils are on display

These ancient fossils are not ordinary

All beautifully preserved and unique

It’ll be a feast for your eyes

√ The first feathered dinosaur on Earth

√ The earliest angiosperms

√ First beak

√ The first dinosaur to dare to eat

Mesozoic mammals

√ The original feather

√ The earliest eutherans

Come and visit the exhibition

You can not only see our Liaoning fossil treasure

And a chance to see

A national treasure of a fossil

Liaoning Province is rich in paleontological and fossil resources. The total amount of fossils in Liaoning ranks among the top in China, and it is a world-renowned important fossil producing area. With a geological history of more than 3 billion years, there are many biota in Liaoning Province, among which the “Jehol biota” and “Yanliao Biota” demonstrate to the world in unprecedented detail the unique terrestrial and freshwater animal and plant communities ecosystem of the Mesozoic era.

In this exhibition, you can appreciate a number of precious national treasure fossils, these fossils are located in Liaoning, such as Dalian Museum of Natural History in Liaoning Changtu found name

“Round round egg” dinosaur eggs; There is also the Early Cretaceous meisaurus found in Lujiatun, Beipiao Shangyuan Town, Liaoning Province.

And these dinosaurs are named after Liaoning

I wonder if you’d like to see it

What do they look like?

China Liaoning Giant Dragon, Liaoning Strange Dragon,

Liaoceratosaurus Yanziogou, Liaoning Long-Sleeping Osaurus,

Dalian Dragon of Liaoning Province

Among them

And the world’s smallest ankylosaurus

Liaoningsaurus mirabilis

It was found in Yixian county, Liaoning province,

It is a strange Liaoning dinosaur fossil from the Early Cretaceous

It looks small and cute

And some dinosaurs

Named after the city in Liaoning Province

Beipiaosaurus accidentalis, Jinzhousaurus Yang

Sun Legend Dragon, Yang’s Chaoyang dragon

The exhibition was organized by Liaoning Provincial Department of Natural Resources and Liaoning Provincial Public Cultural Service Center, and organized by Liaoning Provincial Museum and Liaoning Museum of Paleontology. It was co-organized by Liaoning Provincial Natural Resources Affairs Service Center, Dalian Museum of Natural History, Chaoyang Bird Fossil National Geopark Museum, Chaoyang Jizan Tang Paleontological and Fossil Museum, BeipiaoSihetun Paleontological Museum, Yixian Yizhou Fossil Museum, Sino-German Paleontological Museum and Liaoning Technical University Geological Museum.

Zhang Li, deputy director of the Liaoning Provincial Museum,

It is the first time in the history of Liaobo that such a large scale of fine fossils are exhibited in Liaoning Provincial Museum. “Fossils are treasures given by nature, imprinted with the code of ancient life. Based on the latest scientific research achievements of paleontologists, this exhibition presents to the audience a variety of paleontological fossils from hundreds of millions of years ago in Liaoning, together with a wonderful multimedia display, art and science restoration of paleontological maps, rich plates and text descriptions, restoring the ancient life that was active in this happy land in Liaoning during the Mesozoic era.”

The secret of ancient life

Go and clock in

Reporter: Huai Ye

Photography is by Chang Shenggang

190 million years of dinosaurs come to see you

190 million years of dinosaurs come to see you

You Hailu, a researcher at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, excavates newly discovered dinosaur fossils in Lufeng, Yunnan province.

A pile of dinosaur bones is seen on a steep slope in Dinushan town, Lufeng City, Chuxiong prefecture, Southwest China’s Yunnan Province, Jan. 1, 2019. Only 3 meters wide on the platform, large and small dinosaur fossils lying in the red soil, canine teeth interlocking together, among them a thick femur and an oval abdominal ribs like a huge dandelion fan, clearly identifiable.

“There are fossils of three large, medium and small dinosaurs, belonging to the Early Jurassic sauropod group, about 190 million years ago, walking on two legs. Such a concentration of dinosaur fossils is rare in the world. The discovery of three dinosaurs at a time is a New Year’s gift for dinosaur researchers and enthusiasts.” You Hailu, the leader of the excavation team and a researcher at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told reporters.

After days of drizzling rain, the excavation team set up a plastic shed at the site, where Yuhailu and four team members dug through the wet earth and carefully removed dinosaur fossils of varying sizes, which were fixed with glue and plaster. “The fossils should be treated against weathering after exposure, and the fossils should be sketched on site to retain first-hand research data. During the excavation, we will fix and pack the fossils, and send the fossil bags to the warehouse of Lufeng Dinosaur Fossil Science Exhibition and Education Base for storage, which will be kept for future restoration, research and erection.” Yuhailu introduced the fossils while sorting them out.

“The bones of the three dinosaurs are intact except for the skull fossils. A dinosaur was about 7 to 8 meters long, about 5 meters long and about 4 meters long. Judging from the shape of the three dinosaur bones huddled together, the three dinosaurs probably lived together and died suddenly. Said Wang Tao, a member of the excavation team and director of the Lufeng City Dinosaur Fossil Protection and Research Center.

Wang’s colleague, Dong Qixing, and two graduate students in paleontology at Kunming University of Science and Technology, Zhao Zhenchen and Chen Lirunxuan, are also on the mountain every day. The excavation team was supported by a large number of experts and scholars, including Wang Qiang, expert on dinosaur eggs, Feng Wenqing, Technical Department of Vertebrate Paleontology Institute, Wang Yaming, China Geological Museum, Zhang Xinnan, Beijing Museum of Natural History, Ren Xinxin, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, and Wang Gongfu, Chuxiong Paleontological Fossil Research Center, etc.

How were these 3 dinosaurs discovered after 190 million years of sleep? On June 17, 2022, Kunming Natural Resources Comprehensive Survey Center was surveying on a barren mountain 30 kilometers away from Lufeng County. Zhao Jianbo, an assistant engineer, suddenly found a stone in the sandy soil of a steep slope, which was suspected to be a dinosaur leg bone fossil. He immediately contacted Wang Tao to check the site, and Wang Tao quickly confirmed that it was a dinosaur leg bone fossil.

On December 28, 2022, the Department of Natural Resources of Yunnan Province announced in Dinosaur Valley of Lufeng City that the dinosaur fossils discovered in Chuxiong Prefecture in recent years will be excavated and protected by the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. A total of nine dinosaur fossil sites will be excavated, including one dinosaur Mountain town in Lufeng City, two in Wande Town in Wading County, and six in Dazhuang, Damadi and Anlongbao towns in Shuangbai County.

According to Chen Jun, deputy director of the Yunnan Provincial Department of Natural Resources, the excavation of dinosaur fossils at the three sites was approved by the Ministry of Natural Resources on December 12, 2022. Most of the dinosaur fossils found this time are located on the slope, and the overall burial is shallow, and the shape of the bones is clearly distinguishable. Due to the severe weathering of the surrounding soil layer and natural phenomena such as rain erosion, some of the fossils have been exposed to the surface. It is urgent to carry out rescue excavation and effectively protect these national key conservation paleontological fossil resources.

Chuxiong Prefecture enjoys the reputation of “Kingdom of dinosaurs” and “storehouse of fossils”. This was once a haven for dinosaurs. Since the discovery of the first complete dinosaur skeleton fossil in 1938 in Shawan area of Lufeng County, more than 410 individual dinosaur fossils have been unearthed in the whole prefecture, among which more than 70 are in good condition, and a large number of dinosaur footprints have been found, especially those from the Early Jurassic. Currently, 14 species are known, accounting for 64% of the Early Jurassic dinosaurs in China. It is also one of the two best preserved sites of this period in the world (the other is South Africa).

According to the preliminary analysis of some dinosaur fossils uncovered so far, except for the dinosaur fossils in Dazhuang Town of Shuangbai County, which belong to the middle and late Jurassic period, the other eight sites belong to the Early Jurassic period. Among them, according to the fossils found in Wande Town, Wuding County, it is inferred that the local dinosaurs lived in the earliest Jurassic period, earlier than the dinosaur fauna represented by Lufeng Dragon in Lufeng Basin. The dinosaur fossil site to be excavated in Lufeng City is located in Chuanjie Basin, and the preliminary conclusion is that the newly discovered dinosaur has a large individual size, which will provide scientific basis for the comparative study between the dinosaurs in Lufeng Basin and the dinosaurs in Lufeng Basin, and further promote the in-depth study on the diversity, distribution and evolution of dinosaurs in Lufeng.

Then we will go to the Jinsha River Grand Canyon in Wuding County to excavate dinosaur fossils at two sites. After the Spring Festival, we will move to Shuangbai County, where there are more dinosaur fossils at six sites. We will finish the rescue excavation work in three counties in August.” “Wang Tao said.

“The excavation site in Wuding County may be the earliest site of dinosaur bones ever found in China.” “With the further excavation of dinosaur fossils, more and more detailed discovery, research, deduction and restoration will outline a more comprehensive existence of Early Jurassic dinosaur fossils in Yunnan, providing valuable scientific basis for the study of the origin and evolution of life,” Youhailu said.

Research has found that ‘vegetarian’ dinosaur ancestors actually liked meat

Research has found that ‘vegetarian’ dinosaur ancestors actually liked meat

The full text of the report, titled “Ancestors of ‘vegetarian’ Dinosaurs actually liked Meat,” was published on Live Science on Tuesday.

It has long been thought that Tyrannosaurus Rex was a carnivore, while the pliosaurs quietly nibbled on leaves. However, the results of a new study suggest that dinosaurs had a far more diverse diet than previously thought.

To get a better idea of what different dinosaurs actually ate, paleontologists at the University of Bristol in the UK scanned the skulls of several dinosaurs — including the smaller alveodon and the long-necked Diplodocus, both of which are thought to be herbivorous — and created 3D models of their teeth.

Lead author Antonio Mayoral, a senior research fellow at the University of Bristol’s School of Earth Sciences, said: “Teeth can provide clear clues about what animals eat because they are the tools they use to break down food. Different tooth shapes can effectively handle different types of food.”

He added: “In dinosaurs, we see teeth in an amazing variety of shapes, from knife-like, conical, triangular, leaf shapes. This suggests that dinosaurs developed different feeding habits and a wide range of diets. What’s interesting is that many of these tooth shapes are present in the very earliest dinosaurs, suggesting that they may have always had a very diverse diet.”

In fact, the ancestors of plant-eating dinosaurs didn’t make themselves strictly “vegetarians.” Instead, they were likely to gorge on meat and insects, just as carnivorous dinosaurs would have preyed on them.

“This study is the first modern statistical demonstration that early dinosaurs explored different types of food and were ecologically diverse,” Mayoral said.

“Our results suggest that two of the three plant-eating dinosaur lineages were not originally herbivores,” he said. Sauropods, early relatives of Diplodocus and other large long-necked dinosaurs, transitioned from carnivores to herbivores during the Triassic. And the early ornithischian dinosaurs that formed the later Triceratops and Hadrosaurs probably preferred an omnivorous diet.”

The findings were published December 16 in the journal Science Advances.

The first fossilized theropod dinosaur footprint in Xizang has been officially named

The first fossilized theropod dinosaur footprint in Xizang has been officially named

New progress has been made in the study of Mesozoic dinosaur tracks in eastern Tibet, according to the Wuhan Geological Survey Center of the China Geological Survey.

The footprints of the first Jurassic theropod dinosaur in Tibet, discovered in Kaluo District of Changdu City, Tibet, have been officially named as Agnetang Stiphosaurus. The related research results were published in the Earth Science, a famous Chinese geoscience journal.

The first fossil of theropod footprints found in Xizang

Level exposure of the Anetang fossil point

It is understood that the fossil discovery site is located in Anetang Village, Ritong Township, Karuo District, Qamdo City. It was formed in the middle Jurassic period about 170 million years ago. The fossils are preserved in the bottom of the rock strata with exquisite convex traces, which are partially exposed due to road construction and slope cutting and the collapse of the rock mass in the later period. Under the careful repair of scientific and technical personnel, they can be fully displayed.

Trace photo of the Anetang fossil site

Photographs of fossil footprints (a-b: Agnetang Stiltosaurus; c-d: Theropod footprints of undetermined species)

“The surface area of the fossil outcrop is about 4m2, and the layer is nearly upright. Four continuous tracks of Agnetang Stiotaposaurus formed a row, and no wakes were found. Footprint length is less than 15 cm, width is about 8cm, length to width ratio is 1.85; The three functional toes had clear pads, sharp claws and similar widths, with a width of about 1.7cm. Toe Ⅲ was the longest with a width of about 12cm. The length of the other two toes was about half that of toe Ⅲ, but toe Ⅳ was slightly longer than toe Ⅱ with a very weak value. Ⅱ Obvious indentation at toe end; The Angle between the two lateral toes is about 50°.”

According to the discoverer Yao Huazhou and Dr. Li Yan-gui from Wuhan Geological Survey Center, the thin toes and sharp claw marks of the footprint fossil indicate that the trackmaker is a carnivorous dinosaur. Its morphological characteristics are closer to the typical type of the footprints of the most common stilbosaurus in China. Because it is the first theropod footprint fossil found in Tibet, it has obvious features and is beautifully preserved. It is of great significance to reveal the features of the potential dinosaur fauna in Tibet and the geological changes of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, so the fossil was named “Anetang Stilfosaurus” after the site where it was found.

Paleoenvironmental conditions of Middle Jurassic in Qamdo area

It was perfect for dinosaurs

According to Dr. Li Yangui, the footprints of Stilposaurus are the most common small theropod footprints in the Jurassic period, which were found in contemporaneous strata in the adjacent Sichuan Basin and Central Yunnan Basin. The analysis of the footprint data showed that the body length of the trace-making dinosaur was about 1.3m, and the hip height was less than 0.7m. Surprisingly, on the surface of the same rock layer, a series of tracks composed of 9 continuous large theropod footprints (Theropoda igen. et isp.indet., genus undetermined) and clear wakes were retained, and the wakes showed regular ground wave swing between the tracks. In order to maintain the balance of the body, the tails of theropod dinosaurs usually do not touch the ground, and only under special circumstances, such as crouching, jumping, turning rapidly or slowing down, will leave very short trails. If the trails of theropod dinosaurs appear continuously and regularly, they can only be caused by the conscious behavior of the tracer dinosaur or its own body structure. At present, there are no reports on theropod footprints that can be compared with the preserved contrails, which is a new type. The present research results show that the features of dinosaur footprints in the Middle Jurassic in eastern Tibet are different from those in neighboring areas.

According to Yao Huazhou and Li Yangui, Kaluo District of Qamdo was an ocean 200 million years ago, and then it was transformed into an offshore inland basin due to the gradual uplift of the Earth’s crust. About 170 million years ago, the Qamdo area was dotted with many large and small lakes, and there were rivers running through them. The common cross-bedding, ripple marks and mud cracks are the common lacustrine and fluvial sedimentary structures. According to the analysis of the two rows of trace data, the motion speed of the dinosaur was very low and in a state of slow walking, and there is no evidence of tracking or hunting between the two tracers, they may just pass by the same lake shore. Due to the formation and preservation conditions of footprints, each step of the sediment moisture on the lake beach during the tracing process, the residue of footprints, drying and curing, late sediment filling and consolidation diagenesis, and fossilization is very critical. Different footprints are preserved on the same level, and the time interval between the two types of footprints must not be very long. It also reflects that the paleoenvironmental conditions of the Middle Jurassic in Qamdo area were suitable for dinosaurs to survive.