Q1L4-SIGNIFICANCE-OF-CULTURAL-SOCIAL-POLITICAL-AND-ECONOMIC-SYMBOLS-AND-PRACTICES

Similarities Between Apes and Humans

• Biological Anatomy: Apes and humans share anatomical similarities.

• Cultural Capacity: Both exhibit a capacity for culture.

• Environmental Influence: Changes in the environment impact societal and lifestyle changes.

• Archaeological Evidence: Stone tools provide insights into the lifestyle of early Homo sapiens.

• Early Beliefs: Early humans believed in supernatural beings or gods.

Economic Systems

Market Economic System

• Founded during the agrarian stage of society.

Foraging

• Initiated as an economic activity during the Metal Age.

• Agriculture began in the late Paleolithic period, allowing societies to grow in size.

Influence of Language and Trade

• Language: Affects perception, behavior, and feelings.

• Trade Expansion: Led to the growth of cities as centers for economic and political activities.

Human Evolution

• Description: Focus on the evolution of humans and our primate ancestors.

Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics

• Significance: Examining cultural, social, political, and economic symbols and practices is essential.

Human Capacity for Culture

• Definition of Culture: Encompasses beliefs, practices, values, attitudes, laws, norms, artifacts, symbols, and shared knowledge.

• Evolution: As ancestors adapted biologically to their environment, they developed cultural technologies for food procurement and predator deterrence.

Primates and Hominids

• Evolutionary Timeline: Different species of primates evolved over 40 million years, leaving behind various relics.

Major Species of Hominids

Ramapithecus

• Characteristics: Considered an early form that was not fully bipedal.

Australopithecus afarensis (Lucy)

• Notable Features: Recognized for its physical similarities to humans.

Homo Habilis

• Description: First true humans that used stone tools (2.4 to 1.4 million years ago).

Homo Erectus

• Notable Period: Lived about 500,000 years ago; known for refined tools and weapons use.

Pithecanthropus Erectus (Java Man)

• Discovered in Java, Indonesia, emphasizes early human evolution.

Sinanthropus Pekinensis (Peking Man)

• Discovered in China, representing another early hominid.

Homo Sapiens

• Relation to Modern Humans: Lived around 250,000 years ago, engaged in burial practices, tool use, and religion.

• Subspecies:

  • Neanderthal Man: Lived in caves and relied on hunting and fishing.

  • Cro-Magnon Man: First to create art, lived in Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Biological Capacities of Humans for Culture

Thinking Capacity

• Developed Brain: Essential for skills like speaking, touching, seeing, etc.

• Weight of Human Brain: Average human brain weighs 1.4 kg, allowing for advanced survival skills.

Gripping Capacity

• Unique Opposable Thumb: Permits a grip that other primates do not possess.

• Comparison: Human hands have straighter, proportionately longer thumbs allowing for power and precision grips.

Speaking Capacity

• Vocal Tract: Longer in humans, enabling a diverse sound range compared to other primates.

• Tongue Flexibility: Greater control for sound production compared to chimpanzees.

Walking and Standing Capacity

• Bipedalism: Allows the freeing of hands for carrying and hunting.

Cultural and Sociopolitical Development

• Interaction with the Environment: Determines cultural evolution and sociocultural development.

Cultural Periods and Developments

Paleolithic Period (Old Stone Age)

• Time Frame: 3 million years to 8,000 B.C.

• Developments: Use of simple pebble tools, living in caves, fire use, early sculptures, and cave wall designs.

Neolithic Age (New Stone Age)

• Time Frame: Around 10,000 BCE.

• Developments: Tool polishing, permanent settlements, reliance on domesticated plants, and crafting.

Age of Metals (4,000 B.C. – 1,500 B.C)

• Developments: Use of metals marks the rise of civilizations in areas like Egypt, Mesopotamia, and others, leading to a more complex socio-economic structure.

Types of Societies

Hunting and Gathering Society

• Characteristics: Very simple tools, nomadic lifestyle, and familial social structure.

Horticultural and Pastoral Society

• Characteristics: Basic tools, cultivation, some surplus, semi-permanent settlements, and emerging social inequalities.

Agrarian Society

• Characteristics: Use of advanced tools, significant agricultural surplus, rise of urban centers, and social inequality.

Industrial Society

• Characteristics: Technological advancements, mechanized production, vast urban living, and the establishment of complex institutions.

Components of Culture

National Indigenous Peoples Month

• Observed: Every October; highlights the rights of indigenous peoples in the Philippines, emphasizing cultural