Human Bio-Cultural And Social Evolution PDF

LOOKING BACK: HUMAN BIO-CULTURAL AND SOCIAL EVOLUTION  Lesson 1 Biological and cultural evolution from homo habilis to homo sapiens in the fossil record. *Trace the biological and cultural evolution of early to modern...

LOOKING BACK: HUMAN BIO-CULTURAL AND SOCIAL EVOLUTION  Lesson 1 Biological and cultural evolution from homo habilis to homo sapiens in the fossil record. *Trace the biological and cultural evolution of early to modern humans.  According to Banaag of 2012, evolution is a natural process of biological changes occurring in a population across generations. It helps us identify and analyze man’s physiological development which is important to his subsistence. More so, the evolution of man became an important concern in the emergence of different societies. All of the human’s social drives developed long before he developed intellectually.  They therefore, are instinctive. Such instinct of a mother’s love. Compassion, cooperation, curiosity, inventiveness and competitiveness though ancient are also embedded to humans. They are all necessary for the human survival. Hence, man’s progression and characteristics are essential in understanding the capability for adaptation.  The Biological and Cultural Evolution The Hominids Hominids arose in central Asia around 750 000 years ago and subsequent increasingly developed populations, influenced by climatic and geological conditions, continued to inhabit the vast steppe regions and contiguous mountain ranges throughout the millennia. Most notable are the Bronze Age peoples who practiced hunting, farming, and fishing along with rudimentary animal husbandry. With the advent of horse riding, a nomadic life style arose, which marks the beginning of the Early Iron Age. Australopithecus The first definite Hominid, their teeth share basic hominid characteristic of small canine, flat and thickly enameled molars and a parabolic dental arch, and there is ambiguous evidence that even the earliest australopithecines were bipedal. Bipedal refers to using two feet in moving.  The Homo Habilis Nickname: Handy Man Discovery Date: 1960 Where Lived: Eastern and Southern Africa When Lived: 2.4 million to 1.4 million years ago Homo habilis lived 2.4 million to 1.65 million years ago. Homo habilis face illustration, front view Height: average 3 ft 4 in - 4 ft 5 in (100 - 135 cm) Weight: average 70 lbs (32 kg) Overview: This species, one of the earliest members of the genus Homo, has a slightly larger braincase and smaller face and teeth than in Australopithecus or older hominin species. But it still retains some ape- like features, including long arms and a moderately-prognathic face. Its name, which means ‘handy man’, was given in 1964 because this species was thought to represent the first maker of stone tools. They species are known from Tanzania, Kenya and South Africa. Species with a brain broca’s area which is associated with speech in modern humans and was the first to make stone tools. The ability to make and use tools is unique quality to humans such that the species is recognized to be the first true human. The specie names mean “Handy Man”. Lived about 2.4 to 1.4 million years ago scavenging for food.  The Homo Erectus Discovery Date: 1891 Where Lived: Northern, Eastern, and Southern Africa; Western Asia (Dmanisi, Republic of Georgia); East Asia (China and Indonesia) When Lived: Between about 1.89 million and 110,000 years ago Homo erectus lived between about 1.89 million and 110,000 years ago. Image of reconstruction of Homo erectus based on ER 3733 by John Gurche Height: Ranges from 4 ft 9 in - 6 ft 1 in (145 - 185 cm) Weight: Ranges from 88 - 150 lbs (40 - 68 kg) Overview: Early African Homo erectus fossils (sometimes called Homo ergaster) are the oldest known early humans to have possessed modern human-like body proportions with relatively elongated legs and shorter arms compared to the size of the torso. These features are considered adaptations to a life lived on the ground, indicating the loss of earlier tree-climbing adaptations, with the ability to walk and possibly run long distances. Compared with earlier fossil humans, note the expanded braincase relative to the size of the face. The most complete fossil individual of this species is known as the ‘Turkana Boy’ – a well-preserved skeleton (though minus almost all the hand and foot bones), dated around 1.6 million years old. Microscopic study of the teeth indicates that he grew up at a growth rate similar to that of a great ape. These species name “Upright Man” with body proportion similar to that modern humans. Lived 1.89 to 143,000 years ago; adapted to hot climates and most spread in Africa and Asia. They were the first hunters with improvised tools such as axes and knives the first major innovation in stone tool technology, and were the first to produce fire.  The Homo Sapiens Sapiens Homo sapiens sapiens, in anthropology and paleontology, the subspecies of Homo sapiens that consists of the only living members of genus Homo, modern human beings. Traditionally, this subspecies designation was used by paleontologists and anthropologists to separate modern human beings from more-archaic members of Homo sapiens. H. s. sapiens is thought to have evolved sometime between 160,000 and 90,000 years ago in Africa before migrating first to the Middle East and Europe and later to Asia, Australia, and the Americas. Currently, H. s. sapiens is the only widely accepted subspecies of H. sapiens, and the necessity of this designation remains a matter of debate, since traditional taxonomic practice subdivides a species only when there is evidence of two or more distinct subgroups. Several subspecies of H. sapiens have been proposed.  The Homo Sapiens Homo sapiens, (Latin: “wise man”) the species to which all modern human beings belong. Homo sapiens is one of several species grouped into the genus Homo, but it is the only one that is not extinct. The name Homo sapiens was applied in 1758 by the father of modern biological classification (see taxonomy), Carolus Linnaeus. It had long been known that human beings physically resemble the primates more closely than any other known living organisms, but at the time it was a daring act to classify human beings within the same framework used for the rest of nature. Linnaeus, concerned exclusively with similarities in bodily structure, faced only the problem of distinguishing H. sapiens from apes (gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans, and gibbons), which differ from humans in numerous bodily as well as cognitive features. (Charles Darwin’s treatise on evolution, On the Origin of Species, would come 101 years later). Subspecies known as Cro-Magnon characterized to be anatomically modern humans and lived in the last Ice age of Europe 40,000 to 10,000 years ago. They were the first to produce art in cave paintings and crafting decorated tools and accessories.  SIMPLE DIFFERENTIATION OF THE CULTURAL EVOLUTION PALEOLITHIC AGE Unpolished stone implements Hunting and gathering Nomadic way of living NEOLITHIC AGE Polished stone tools Domestication of plants and animals Living in permanent places Early societies started to emerge as a result of man interaction with his environment. Every society is organized in such a way that there will be rules of conduct, customs, traditions, folkways and mores, and expectations that ensure appropriate behavior among members (Palispis, 2007 p.254).  Lesson 2 Cultural and Socio-Political Evolution from Hunting and Gathering to the Agricultural, Industrial, and Post-Industrial Revolutions *Explore the significance of human material remains and arte factual evidence in interpreting cultural and social, including political and economic, processes. *Recognize national, local, and archeological and historical sites as venues to appreciate and reflect on the complexities of bio-cultural and social evolution as part of being and becoming human.  A. The Neolithic Revolution According to V. Gordon Childe the term “Neolithic Revolution” is also called the “Agricultural Revolution”. It describes the origin and impact of food production-plant cultivation and animal domestication. “Neolithic” which means “New Stone Age” which is referred to techniques of grinding and polishing stone tools. More so, the main significance of the Neolithic was the new total economy rather than just the tool-making techniques. And now, Neolithic refers to the first cultural period in a given region in which the first signs of domestication are present. The economy based on food production produced substantial changes in human lifestyle (Kottak, 2009). 1. Neolithic Stone Tools Neolithic period began when first human settled down and began farming. They continued to make tools and weapons from flint and some kinds of tools. 2. Fertile Crescent, a Cradle of Civilization. The Fertile Crescent is the region in the Middle East which curves, likes a quarter-moon shape, from the Persian Gulf, through modern- day southern Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and Northern Egypt. It contains comparatively moist and fertile land. The region is often called the “cradle of civilization” which saw the development of some of the earliest human civilizations.  B. Early Civilization and the Rise of the State The emergence of Civilization according to Kottak, 2009 states that most ancient civilizations have been studied by archeologist rather than historians because those civilizations evolved before the advent of writing. The earliest Neolithic societies were egalitarian- people did not differ much in wealth, prestige, or power.  2. The Cradles of Civilization Is the term that refers to civilization that emerged independently. All of these civilizations developed around rivers, it provided enough water for large-scale agriculture, enabling people to abandon a hunter gatherer lifestyle and to grow and store surplus food. A. Tigris-Euphrates River Civilization of Mesopotamia. The most known ancient civilization was in Mesopotamia, in a region which lies in modern Iraq. It is sometimes called the Fertile Crescent because it is a crescent-shape area between Tigris and Euphrates river. B. The Nile Valley Civilization of Egypt. Egypt was known as the Gift of the Nile because the annual flooding of the Nile made possible for agriculture on which Egyptian civilizations was based. C. The Yellow River Civilization of China. In 3000 B.C. the Yellow River Valley was settled by farmers. Chinese legends holds that Xia dynasty arose and flourished during the prehistoric period. D. Indus Valley Civilization of India. The ancient civilization of the Indus Valley, located in modern Pakistan, is unique because unlike the continuously existing civilization of Mesopotamia, Egypt and China it rose and fell, leaving only mysterious ruins to testify to its existence.  3. Features of Civilizations Perry in 1983 states that historians use the term civilization to distinguish between pre-historic societies and the considerably more advanced societies that developed later. The following are features of civilization: A. Cities Civilized societies were urban societies, for civilization developed in cities. They were larger and more complex than villages. They had palaces, temples, markets, workshops, and homes. B. Writing Written language enabled people to preserve, organize and expand their knowledge. It made it easier for government officials, priests, and merchants to carry out their duties. C. Specialization Civilized societies were specialist-artisan, merchants, priests, record- keepers, government officials, farmers. In exchange for the food they got from the villages, city dwellers supplied farmers with good manufactured in the city. It encouraged trade, local and regional, and trade encouraged the exchange of ideas. D. Government In civilized societies government became more organized. There were rulers who issued laws and officials to carry them out. E. Religion Civilized societies had organized religions with a powerful, trained, and wealthy priesthood. From the priesthood, people derived their values and attitudes toward life.  4. Democratization Is a process by which democracy expands within states across the world. Both as a process and as a concept, democratization draws on long history. It might be most readily understood as a concept that encapsulates the expansion of a set of related political ideals with different intellectual vintages that gain public prominence during the emergence of capitalist modernity. According to Shively of 2005, he mentioned that democracy is a state in which all fully qualified citizens vote at regular intervals to choose, from among alternative candidates, the people who will be in charge of setting the state’s policies. Democracy comes from the Greek word demokratia: demos means “people” and kratia means “government”. Therefore, democracy is “government of the people”. At the present time the world democracy has rather magical connotation and somewhat tranquilizing effect. Any citizen who persuaded that its own government system is a democratic one is likely to accept the political power exercised by that system.  Summary The physical as well as the mental development of early human beings helped them understand and adapt to their existing environment. Thus, their adjustment served as the onset of their culture. Cultures enables the members of society develop ways of coping with the exigencies of nature as well as ways of harnessing their environment (Panopio, et al. 1994 p. 37). The changes made by man through his interaction with the environment established by the different cultural evolution which determine man’s sociocultural development. Post-test Directions: Choose the best answer. ______1. The natural process of biological change occurring in a population across successive generations. a. Evolution b. Culture c. Political Science d. Sociology ______2. This specie is also known as the “Handy Man” a. Homo Erectus b. Homo Habilis c. Homo Sapiens d. Homo rudolfensis ______3. The earliest tool used by pre-human primates. a. Spears b. Broken pebbles c. Gatling gun d. Arrows ______4. It refers to the period of flaked and polished stone implements. a. Mesolithic b. Paleolithic c. Neolithic d. Marsupial period ______5. It refers to a high level of cultural and technological development of human beings. a. Society b. Community c. Civilization d. Nation ______6. Types of societies that was organized along male-centered kinship groups. a. Pastoral societies b. Horticultural societies c. Industrial societies d. Agricultural societies ______7. What does subsistence farming involve? a. involves producing enough food to feed the group b. involves producing too much food for the group c. no food produced for the group d. none of the above ______8. The following are the cultural development of Paleolithic Age except one. a. use of simple pebble tools b. learned to live in cage c. discovered the use of fire d. food producing cultures ______9. This subspecies known as Cro-Magnon characterized to be anatomically modern humans lived in the last Ice age in Europe. a. Homo sapiens sapiens b. Homo habilis c. Homo erectus d. Homo floresiensis ______10. The following are characteristic of Post-industrial Societies except. a. knowledge and information are the hallmarks of this society. b. it is characterized by the spread of computer industries. c. depends on specialized knowledge to bring about continuing d. neighborhood is solid Choose an Experience Adventure Enthusiasm Discovery