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ScienceQuiet 7d · day 9

Giant eagles shaped human evolution by hunting our ancestors, study suggests

Researchers link predation by massive raptors to primate evolution, drawing evidence from the 2.8-million-year-old Taung child fossil.

newest coverage 7d agosummary written 8d ago10 pieces37 likes & upvotes2 comments Google NewsHacker NewsMastodon

What to know

  • Giant raptors that evolved after dinosaur extinction preyed on early human ancestors for tens of millions of years, potentially shaping primate evolution.
  • Fossil evidence from the 2.8-million-year-old Taung child shows talon marks consistent with eagle predation, matching damage patterns on modern primates killed by African crowned eagles.
  • Primatologist Scott McGraw argues bird predation was one of the most important selective forces in human evolutionary development.

“As long as primates have been around, there have been raptors. And raptors have always been preying on primates – including us and our relatives.”

Scott McGraw, Primatologist, Ohio State University · BBC ↗

Scott McGraw Primatologist, Ohio State University

Giant eagles shaped human evolution by hunting our ancestors, study suggests
bbc.com

How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage articlesposts

Peak 6 pieces in 3h at Oct 30, 5 AM; 10 pieces over 9 days (5 articles · 5 posts) Oct 30, 5 AM — 6 pieces · 5 articles · 1 post — Google News 4, Mastodon 2Oct 30, 8 AM — quietOct 30, 11 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Hacker News 1Oct 30, 2 PM — quietOct 30, 5 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Oct 30, 8 PM — quietOct 30, 11 PM — quietOct 31, 2 AM — quietOct 31, 5 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Oct 31, 8 AM — quietOct 31, 11 AM — quietOct 31, 2 PM — quietOct 31, 5 PM — quietOct 31, 8 PM — quietOct 31, 11 PM — quietNov 1, 1 AM — quietNov 1, 4 AM — quietNov 1, 7 AM — quietNov 1, 10 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Hacker News 1Nov 1, 1 PM — quietNov 1, 4 PM — quietNov 1, 7 PM — quietNov 1, 10 PM — quietNov 2, 1 AM — quietNov 2, 4 AM — quietNov 2, 7 AM — quietNov 2, 10 AM — quietNov 2, 1 PM — quietNov 2, 4 PM — quietNov 2, 7 PM — quietNov 2, 10 PM — quietNov 3, 1 AM — quietNov 3, 4 AM — quietNov 3, 7 AM — quietNov 3, 10 AM — quietNov 3, 1 PM — quietNov 3, 4 PM — quietNov 3, 7 PM — quietNov 3, 10 PM — quietNov 4, 1 AM — quietNov 4, 4 AM — quietNov 4, 7 AM — quietNov 4, 10 AM — quietNov 4, 1 PM — quietNov 4, 4 PM — quietNov 4, 7 PM — quietNov 4, 10 PM — quietNov 5, 1 AM — quietNov 5, 4 AM — quietNov 5, 7 AM — quietNov 5, 10 AM — quietNov 5, 1 PM — quietNov 5, 4 PM — quietNov 5, 7 PM — quietNov 5, 10 PM — quietNov 6, 1 AM — quietNov 6, 4 AM — quietNov 6, 7 AM — quietNov 6, 10 AM — quietNov 6, 1 PM — quietNov 6, 4 PM — quietNov 6, 7 PM — quietNov 6, 10 PM — quietYesterday, 1 AM — quietYesterday, 4 AM — quietYesterday, 7 AM — quietYesterday, 10 AM — quietYesterday, 1 PM — quietYesterday, 4 PM — quietYesterday, 7 PM — quietYesterday, 10 PM — quietToday, 1 AM — quietToday, 4 AM — quietToday, 7 AM — quietToday, 10 AM — quiet 1
Oct 31Nov 1Nov 2Nov 3Nov 4Nov 5Nov 6yesterdaynow · 11:26 AM ET
  1. 1

    Story circulates on social platforms and news aggregators

    The BBC article spreads across Mastodon, Hacker News, and Google News aggregators including Rediff and JournalArta, gaining visibility among science-focused communities.

    • knowprose@mastodon.social

      Remember: our ancestors were snacks. (Some may find the descriptions... harsh.) It may have been a constraint that helped us develop language. "Duck!" https://www. bbc.com/future/article/2026102 8-predatory-birds-the-size-of-a-small-aircraft-once-flocked-the-skies-some-of-them-ate-humans

      knowprose@mastodon.socialMastodon8d agoview on Mastodon ↗
    1 more of the top 2 · 2 posts in this stretch
    • us@pubeurope.com

      https://www. europesays.com/us/1153747/ Giant eagles once ruled the skies. They snatched human children, and shaped our evolution # Technology # UnitedStates # UnitedStates # US

      us@pubeurope.comMastodon9d agoview on Mastodon ↗
    all of them →
  2. background

    BBC publishes feature on giant raptors as drivers of human evolution — BBC Future publishes an article detailing how giant birds became apex predators after the dinosaur extinction and preyed on early human ancestors, potentially shaping primate evolution. The piece focuses on the Taung child fossil and research by primatologist Scott McGraw.

Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet

  1. 3 outlets Giant eagles once snatched human children

    first by Rediff, 9d ago · also JournalArta, BBC

    2 more headlines

What people are saying 0 voices from 0 sites · best of 2 · verbatim