CHW3M - Intro + Human Evolution

Intro to civilizations Human evolution

What are the elements of a civilization?

• Centralized government (laws, taxes, military)

• Specialization in occupations (jobs)

• Agricultural intensification (farming, food supply)

• Science and writing (inventions, historical records)

• Merchants and trade (economy, currency)

• State religion (culture)

• Class structure

• Rivers and civilization (water source, food supply)

Centralized government

• Laws to regulate society

• The pre-civilized societies, individuals took it upon themselves to correct a wrong they suffered

• Small scale warfare and raids carried out

• Eventually, leaders were appointed to solve disputes and prevents chaos

Specialization in occupations

• Surplus food and leisure time supports people to engage in other pursuits

• Increasingly complex society needs specialists: tax collectors, record keepers (inventory and food), judges (ensure law is obeyed)

• Trades developed: weaver, carpenters, coppersmiths, goldsmiths, tanners, bakers

• In leisure time, arts and architecture also developed

Agricultural intensification

• Planning and coordination of irrigation projects, building dikes to reclaim land, and development of a calendar system to plan planting and harvesting

• Dramatic increased in agricultural productivity

• Secure year-round food supply

• Creates leisure time

Development of science and writing

• Medicine, math, architecture

• For practical reasons or curiosity, people explored the natural world and how it works

• Made advancements in metallurgy

• Led to invention of the wheel, baked bricks, mortar, simple machines, and specialized tools

• Needing to note inventory of how much food was needed to feed the population and animals required writing

• Recording religious texts also required writing

Merchants and trade

• The nature of trade changed

• Before it was raw materials such as obsidian, amber, and shells

• With specialized trades, trades shifted to manufactured goods, and luxury items prized by the wealthy: rare dyes, ivory carvings, precious stones

• Merchant class developed, leading to shops and markets, leading to the development of currency

• Long distance trade developed, leading to more movement of people between civilizations

State religion

• Some argue religion is not an essential for civilizations

• Strong link between religion and authority of the government

• Religion legitimized government, and government protected and promoted religion

• Concept of God gives a reason for authority

Class structure

• Equality was lost as specialized trades emerged

• Private ownership of land developed

• Desire to own more land and hire others to work at the land, leading to slavery

• Unequal wealth distribution leading to formation of classes

• Nobles and commoners had sharp division

• Wealthy people were educated, being in jobs like scribes, priests, advisors, military commanders, and government leaders

Rivers and civilization

• Most common characteristic of early civilizations is they developed along river valleys

• Mesopotamia = Tigris and Euphrates rivers

• Egypt = Nile river

• India = Indus River Valley

• China = Yellow River

• Rivers provide steady water source, fertile soil, and fish

• Facilitated communication, trade, exchange of ideas

Young-earth creationism

• The belief that the God of Judaism or Christianity created the Universe

• The earth is around 5,700 and 10,000 years old

• Humans were created as they are now

Old-earth creationism

• The belief that God created the universe, but does not follow the history of the Torah/Bible

• Believes the events of Genesis should be taken figuratively

• Humans were created as they are now

Theistic evolution

• The belief of evolution set in motion by God

Atheistic evolution

• The belief of evolution being a cause and not set in motion by any god

Natural selection & survival of the fittest

Environmental changes cause species to adapt in order to survive.

The species that is most fit for that environment lives longer than those without, therefore they can live long enough to reproduce offspring with those features.

What is prehistory?

• Period before written records appeared, which occurred approximately 3500 BCE

• Includes the stone age (Paleolithic and Neolithic)

• Early societies maintained history through oral stories and art

• Without written records, primary sources are used to research early hominids: skeletal remains provide clues such as diet (teeth), speech (jaw), walking upright (hinged foot, straight backbone, hip), size, age, appearance

What are examples of man-made artifacts, and what can they indicate?

• Tools and weapons

• Remains of settlements

• Artwork

• Indicates basic way of life, cultural development, clothing, religion, and social organization

What is cuneiform?

• One of the oldest forms of writing known

• Means "wedge-shaped”

• Written on baked clay tablets

What is hominid biped?

• Known as australopithecus (“Ape people”)

• Primates that walk on two feet

• 6 mya (this is when humans diverged from apes)

• Brain capacity 350-500 cc

• Had no language or home

• Curved spine

• Ape from waist up, biped from waist down

• Used tools like bones, twigs, and rocks, but could not make tools

Who is homo habilis?

• “Homo” aka genus “human”

• 2.5 mya

• Nicknamed the “handy man”

• Ate a lot more meat

• Used a lot more tools

• Same height as australopithecus, but had double the brain size

• More human, less ape

• Rapid climate change challenged homo habilis to adapt for survival, which doubled the brain size

• Began to make tools

Who is homo erectus?

• First to leave Africa

• Had no language or home

• Probable use of fire

• Made primitive tools

• First creature that started to look like us

Who is homo sapiens?

• Homo sapiens neanderthalensis (“Neanderthals” named after Neander Valley in Germany)

• “Wise man”

• Originated in Eastern Africa

• Known as “Cradle of Man”

• Found caves to make homes out of

• Had a language of repetitive sounds

What was neanderthal society like?

• Hunted and scavenged

• Males lived separately from women and children

• Women and children gathered plants near caves

• No evidence of society

• Mating was random

• No interaction between groups

• No laws, with only a primitive religion

• Most children died in childbirth

• 80% of adults died before age 40

Who is shanidar I?

• Estimated to have been in his 40’s at time of death

• 100 000 – 50 000 years old

• Buried with flowers in Iraq, all serving medicinal purposes

• Severely disabled individual with atrophied arm and blind eye (since birth)

• Would have been impossible for this Neanderthal to have survived on his own

• Thus, Neanderthals took care of their elderly and sick individuals, and performed burial rituals

• His teeth indicate that he contributed to group by procuring hides for clan.

Who is homo sapiens sapiens?

• “Wise wise man”

• Made save drawings and elaborate tools

• Found and created shelters, and lived in huts

• Developed a language

• Led to extinctions and/or mixing of neanderthals

• Theories of warfare between us and neanderthals, but still no one knows why the neanderthals went extinct

Why did humans become bipedal?

• The most important reason was to save energy

• Ability to carry food long distances

• The body is more energy efficient on two feet

• Standing upright, 50% more heat is eliminated from body, thus less water is required to replenish the body

• 40% of the body is only exposed to the sun if walking upright

Who was the first hominin to walk on two legs?

Australopithecus Afarensis

Who is Toumai?

• Sahelanthropus Tchadensis

• Found in the Sahara desert in Chad

• The earliest skull found in human evolution so far

• Believed to have walked on two legs, but there are many doubts

• Thigh and femur which resembled an ape were suspiciously discarded by the founder, potentially to hide the fact Toumai was not biped

Who is Lucy?

• Australopithecus afarensis

• Around 3.2 mya

• Found in Tanzania by Don Johanson

• One of the oldest known and most famous human ancestors

• 11-12 years old, but is still an adult

Who is Selam?

• 3 year old body of australopithecus afarensis

• Around 3-4 mya

• Found in Ethiopia

• Selam’s brain at age 3 was only 75% of how much a chimp’s brain should be at that age, indicating that her brain was growing at a much slower rate (slow growth rate is related to humans)

Who is Ardi?

• Found after Lucy, but is dated to be older than her

• Around 4.4 mya

• Found in Ethiopia

• 4 feet 110 pounds

What are Laetoli footprints?

• Set of footprints found to be 3.6 mya

• Found by Mary Leakey

What is the order of age of the popular ancient human findings?

1. Toumai

2. Ardi

3. Laetoli footprints

4. Selam

5. Lucy

What are the benefits of a fire?

• Protection from predators

• Source of light

• Kills toxins/parasites in food

• Warmth (which, in turn, allows migration farther north to colder areas)

Soil stains are caused by…

• Middens (garbage pile)

• Hearths (fire)

• Decaying wood

Best organic artifacts are found in…

Dry, waterlogged, or cold areas

What preserves human bodies in peat bogs?

Acid

What is the first thing looked for when analysing human remains?

Age and sex

Mental baggage

Preconceived ideas leading people to draw conclusions in a way that meets their expectations.

Written records mostly deal with…

The wealthy class

Liberal historian

Tend to see history as unfolding in a progressive manner, each generation building on the accomplishments of previous generations for the greater good

Marxist historian

Tend to focus on the struggles of the common people against the tyranny and oppression of those with power

Post-modern historian

Celebrates diversity and rejects monolithic world views like liberalism, marxism, etc.