Humans and dinosaurs

[Chrystelia]

If the first humans came into existence during the dinosaurs period, and if you were the creator, how would you have equipped your humans to survive the dangers of that period, ie special abilities, extra senses etc etc
Any help is appreciated thanks.

 

[Urien]

Er... a gun.

In truth humans' natural intelligence and cooperation would probably have been enough.

By humans coming into existence do you mean just popping into existence with our current level of intelligence? If so that's a bit odd.

To get around that you could have humans crash land their ship, all modern equipment is lost, on a planet dominated by dinosaur or dinosaur like creatures.

 

[Chrystelia]

I don't know how to explain this ... came into existence, I meant human species. Anyone out there with better english than mine, if you know what I mean maybe you could help me get my point across if this is not enough.

I mean primitive humans, born in that period, so there will be no present-day tech, but they would have to develop different skills and other ways to survive, or is this impossible. Of course at first many will die but in time maybe, some will learn?

Er... a gun.

In truth humans' natural intelligence and cooperation would probably have been enough.

By humans coming into existence do you mean just popping into existence with our current level of intelligence? If so that's a bit odd.

To get around that you could have humans crash land their ship, all modern equipment is lost, on a planet dominated by dinosaur or dinosaur like creatures.

 

[Urien]

If they lack ther brainpower of modern humans then the dinosaurs will chomp on their sorry bones.

How primative? Neanderthal primative?

If you make them less than that then it will be hard to write from the angle of what in effect is a different species.

 

[Chrystelia]

well even neanderthals will do all they can to get away from danger? dinosaurs existed for 120 million years, enough time for humans to evolve, primitive at first, but the more intelligent will hopefully survive, and become more intelligent as time goes by? If this is a hopeless subject I'll drop. I'm not writing about it, just considering the possibility of the idea.

If they lack ther brainpower of modern humans then the dinosaurs will chomp on their sorry bones.

How primative? Neanderthal primative?

If you make them less than that then it will be hard to write from the angle of what in effect is a different species.

 

[j d worthington]

Well, to be honest, they simply couldn't evolve anywhere that the great lizards (or even their smaller cousins) were ... anything that couldn't dart down a very small hole would be munchies for any carnivorous reptiles, of which there were more than a few varieties. It took the majority of them being wiped out, and those who remained evolving into (eventually) birds that allowed our species to develop in the first place. Until that point, our ancestors were likely very close to shrews. Dinosaurs died out 64-66 million years ago, and the first recognizable hominids didn't evolve until roughly between 1.5 and 2.4 million years ago -- in other words, a gap of roughly 60 million years separates the two. The earliest primates date back roughly to just after their extinction, and were, as stated, very tiny mammals. The following links should give you a thumbnail sketch of the idea:

Early Primate Evolution:  The First Primates

Human evolution - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Evolution: Humans: Humankind

Dinosaur - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Now, if you are looking to write stories about humans and dinosaurs living at the same time, you'd have to have dinosaurs that had reasons for not using our ancestors as food in the first place, so that we could evolve. This is an idea that's been used before, so be careful how you approach it. However, if you are talking about dinosaurs as we tend to picture them ... the great lizards rumbling about the earth, like Tyrannosaurus rex and the like... it simply would not work with human beings without modern intelligence and weaponry... something they would not be likely to have a chance to evolve unless they were evolving without any contact whatsoever with the reptile species... a most unlikely prospect, and one that would take a lot of serious thought and explanation.

In other words, it can be done, but you're going to have to give some darned good reasons for our ancestors to have not become extinct, and full-blown hominids, let alone humans, would have been an excellent reason for the dinosaurs to extend their menu....

 

[Chrystelia]

This sounds crazily impossible, but I couldn't help speculating: what if there were humans or human-like species during the jurassic and cretaceous period? They of course as with most terrestrial species of that time were destroyed in the Chicxulub impact.

 

[Chrystelia]

Thanks JD... That was what I was thinking, that they were seperated for awhile and came in contact later on, but, well, since it's not possible, I'll end this here. Thanks.

 

[j d worthington]

Thanks JD... That was what I was thinking, that they were seperated for awhile and came in contact later on, but, well, since it's not possible, I'll end this here. Thanks.

Not impossible... just very, very improbable. Find a good rationale for this working, and you've good potential for a good story. Just be aware of the difficulties you've got to explain away. Look at it as a challenge, not a roadblock....

 

[Chrystelia]

Tried to post this yesterday but the site went down.

I was thinking along the idea of a protected realm dinosaur free environment controlled by divine beings. humans were able to evolve there. Humans were taught many things among them magic. After awhile some humans rebeled, and left the realm not believing that outside is a hell and a danger zone, thinking only of freedom. I was thinking of magic to repel the dinosaurs. Humans were a mistake in the order of things, sort of like someone up there pressed the button too early, and the creator was unwilling to destroy his creation, deciding instead to protect them from harm, providing all comfort and teaching them many things as a compensation as it were. Just an idea.

 

[j d worthington]

Now, that one could make an interesting situation. Question: Have the dinosaurs continued to evolve, or are they pretty much the sorts we think of when we use the word. Have they evolved a high intelligence, or are they still pretty much wild reptiles? Either way you've got room for stories ... or perhaps you may have many of the species remain beasts, but a very few have evolved in a much more isolated environment (where their more savage cousins would be less likely to wipe them out) and perhaps the two (humans and the evolving/evolved dinosaurs) meet?.... But if you've got divine intervention, or some sort of experiment by an alien intelligence going on, once again be careful to give a reasonable answer to why they wouldn't interfere to protect the humans (or wipe them out once they became too much of a nuisance) when they find themselves in this predicament. Come up with a good reason for that, and you've got plenty of room to tell either one tale or several.

 

[chrispenycate]

A bit like the Harry Harrison "West of Eden" trilogy, with mammals evolving in the colder, polar regions where reptiles are torpid, and easy to dodge. If humans were going to brachate, there'd need to be some serious forests; then the ice age would moify the stakes, and open up huge new grazing lands for the herds of bison and mastodon, and the hunters and scavengers (including hominids) that followed then.
Admittedly, Harison did have some sentient dinosaurs to liven things up, but I suspect the normal "if it moves, eat it" style would have been quite adequate in developing the reflexes and survival instincts of those early plains apes.

 

[j d worthington]

Yes, I'd thought of Harrison's books, but with the insertion of a creator and divine intervention, etc., it rather takes it in a different direction. Still, I think that had best be done rather lightly, as it can cause other problems. Done well, however, it has considerable potential.

 

[Chrystelia]

Haven't read Harry Harrison. The only dinosaur-related book I've read is Michael Chrichton's Jurassic Park. Thanks for the input, will keep them in mind when I start working on this idea but for now too much on my plate already!

 

[Steve Jordan]

I would never assume Humans couldn't survive in the dinosaur age. Remember, Humans survived during the end of the Big Mammals age, full of mammoths, bears, cats, etc, many times the size of today's animals, just as ferocious as dinosaurs, and a lot smarter. Humans were incredibly resourceful and cunning, more than many today give them credit for. Occupying areas with fewer carnivores, devising avoidance strategies, protective weapons, staying close to defensible positions or escape routes, camoflage... all of these tactics could be used to survive among the dinosaurs.

A (relatively) recent theory suggests that early man developed the layer of fat in his skin (similar to other aquatic mammals) by staying near the water's edge most of the time... they could catch and eat fish, and when carnivores came after them, they would run into deep water and swim to evade them.

Never underestimate the survivability of Man.