Final answer:
The evolution of human-like hominids was greatly influenced by environmental changes such as climatic shifts that led to colder conditions, alterations in available food sources, and the consequent need to adapt their survival strategies.
Step-by-step explanation:
The evolution of human-like hominids, such as the transformation toward bipedalism, was a response to various environmental shifts. These changes required anatomical reorganization for which the associated benefits, like the ability to carry tools or improved thermoregulation, had to be significant for natural selection to favor them. As the Pliocene epoch turned colder than the Miocene, it brought forth changes in sea levels and an increase in polar ice, which opened up previously inaccessible areas for migration and led to significant evolutionary developments.
The Early Hominin Migrations were driven by the need to follow food sources and adapt to new environments, showcasing the inherent migratory behavior of human species. With Homo erectus, substantial advancements in controlling the environment and adapting through new subsistence systems such as agriculture were evident. Climatic changes, like the shift to dryer conditions in Africa, led to migrations and instrumental shifts in survival strategies, such as the development of tools and the emergence of new skills.
Adaptations included increased brain size (encephalization), which according to the "expensive tissue hypothesis", necessitated dietary changes towards higher-quality, nutrient-dense foods to meet the brain's energy demands. The complexity of human evolution is underlined by the vast biological and cultural diversity that emerged, ultimately demonstrating the resilience and adaptability of the genus Homo to varied and changing environments.