13. What adaptations to heat did ''H. sapiens'' have?

When the first Homo Sapiens started evolving, the environment was rapidly changing. The formation of the Himalayas split the Homo Heidelbergensis into to groups. The Homo Sapiens lived in Africa. Africa had gotten surprisingly hotter after the formation of the Himalayas. The Homo Sapiens had to adapt to this warm environment. First, the skin got darker and absorbed more heat. This helped them maintain a cooler body temperature. They also got taller and thinner. This helped the heat spread throughout their body. The Homo Neanderthals got shorter and smaller limbs when they were attempting to adapt to the cold weather. The opposite happened to Homo Sapiens in the heat. This is how they adapted to a hotter environment.

Sources

"Walking with Cavemen" video

http://www.becominghuman.org/node/homo-sapiens-0

Leila Stocks