1.5-2 million years ago untill 12-10,000 years ago the agricultural revolution
People started hunting large ungulates, or hoofed mammals. They were very dedicated to hunting, and it was an important part of their subsistence. You cannot have alpha males if you are going to have a hunting team that shares the meat fairly even-handedly, so that the entire team stays nourished. In order to get meat divided, you have to stomp on hierarchy and get it out of the way.
Selection pressure against alpha-males huge for 2 million years, then it flipped 10,000 years ago? Heard something about this on the (zomg socialist BBC) radio the other day but can't find what it was.
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