Ability To Consume Alcohol May Have Shaped Human Evolution

sciencehabit writes Craving a stiff drink after the holiday weekend? Your desire to consume alcohol, as well as your body's ability to break down the ethanol that makes you tipsy, dates back about 10 million years, researchers have discovered. The new finding not only helps shed light on the behavior of our primate ancestors, but also might explain why alcoholism—or even the craving for a single drink—exists in the first place.

Comments

Birds Get Drunk Too, and maybe the squirrels

[Gim Tom]

I read the article and while interesting it doesn't fully explain a phenomenon I have observed first hand for many years. I have two wild cherry trees on my property and sometimes the cherries remain on the tree long enough to begin fermenting. When this happens every bird for miles fights over the boozy cherries! The squirrels also seem to prefer these somewhat fermented cherries. Humans may have evolved a better way to metabolize ethanol, but I don't think we were the first creatures to appreciate a wee dram every now and then.

Re:Birds Get Drunk Too, and maybe the squirrels

[kwiecmmm]

Many animals have been known to get drunk. I once saw a nature special where a lot of African animals ate the fruit off a grove of trees and all got drunk. After this happened most of them passed out next to each other. So there was an awesome site of monkeys, zebras and lions all sleeping a few feet away from each other.

I think what the article is pointing out is that our ability to process more alcohol allowed us to eat more fruit without getting drunk, which allowed us to be more mobile and defend territory better while not getting drunk. It also probably helped us defend ourselves better against predators, than those that were drunk.

Re:Of course it did

[jellomizer]

Your problem is you are missing the idea of balance.
If you get drunk too quickly, then you are open up to predation, or allowing the sick and weak to mate with you, creating weak and sick offspring.
However if you don't get enjoyment from the buzz, then you may starve due to not having a diverse food source.

Now balance isn't ying and yang or positive vs negative.
The function of benefit vs loss over consumption is not linear but much more complex.
Let's say the benefit of a buzz grows linerally, while the disadvantage grows exponetionally. You will be receiving a net benefit until you reach eqalibram. As there are point in a lineral function early on the exceed an exponential function.