b'Paleo PunchesDrew Davis CampbellSponsor: Dr. Shelly Yankovskyy, Department of AnthropologyThis paper aims to examine the research conducted by Dr. David Carrier who makes the case that there is compelling evidence that our early hominin ancestors behavior and habits in interpersonal interaction and violence were more explanatory than previous theories have suggested. The origins of the evolutionary pattern of robust early hominin skull features in conjunction with the biomechanical ability to form a buttressed fist support explanation based on notions of ancestral altruism. The intersection of the perpetuation of intraspecies violence and the departure from overbuilt skulls to reinforced, yet more gracile structures lends evidence to the beginnings of proto-ethical altruism in the behavior of hominins which eventually make up the history of present-day humans.The dominant theories predating this research leans heavily on environmental and dietary changes as the primary driving forces; however, these theories do not fully explain the patterns addressed in the research produced by Dr. Carrier.Arguments provided by Tim Phillips to explain human altruism in an evolutionary context pair well with the observations made by Carrier to explain the origins of patterns observed in modern humans. 97'