Cultural Evolution This is the transmission of knowledge from generation to generation Knowledge is stored in the memory and in written or pictorial form Culture is the verbal and written transmission of ideas beliefs customs and values of individuals and societies ID: 514012
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Slide1
Cultural EvolutionSlide2
Cultural Evolution
This is the transmission of knowledge from generation to generation.
Knowledge is stored in the memory, and in written or pictorial form.
Culture is the verbal and written transmission of ideas, beliefs, customs and values of individuals and societies.Slide3
Cultural Evolution
Cultural change occurs as ideas build on previous ideas so that a large body of knowledge develops and keeps developing.
Clearly seen with modern I.T. where change is occurring very rapidly and new ideas and innovations promote more new ideas and innovations.Slide4
Cultural Evolution
Speech was an important milestone in our cultural evolution, as it allowed for effective co-ordination of activities such as hunting, tool making, building etc.
It also allowed the exchange of ideas.
It is likely that speech evolved sometime between 1.6mya and 600 000ya.Slide5
The Paranthropus Genus
P.
robustus
; P.
boisei
; P.
aethiopicus
( previously classed as
Austrolopithecus
).
Evidence suggests that
robustus
species ate course, tough food such as nuts, hard-shelled fruits, fibrous roots and tubers, perhaps supplemented by small insects.
There is some evidence that
robustus
used bones and perhaps sticks to dig up roots.Slide6
The Paranthropus Genus
The brain size 550cm
3
suggests that
paranthropus
were more advanced than
A. afarensis
and
A.
Africanus
, in spite of being an evolutionary dead-end.Slide7
Homo
habilisSlide8
Homo habilis
(Handy Man)
They were successful hunters, killing a wide variety of large and small game.
They made simple stone tools, now called the
Oldowan
, which are round stones with one end chipped.
These stones were carried many miles from their point of origin.
They used their hands for clubbing, throwing, butchering game, preparing skins and digging up roots, etc.Slide9
Homo habilis (Handy Man)
They made some sort of shelter or windbreak.
Bands consisted of about 12 people, they probably joined up with other groups for periods of time. They must have had cooperative behaviour, and with the development of a primitive speech their communication must have improved.Slide10
Homo habilis (Handy Man)
As the pelvis shape changed and the human line developed bigger brains, the problem of getting larger headed babies down the birth canal arose.
This was overcome by giving birth to very immature babies that were helpless and required a lot of aftercare.Slide11
Homo erectus
and
Homo
ergaster
With the larger brain H. erectus probably had more advanced speech, making teaching and cooperative behaviour easier.
According to the evidence of charcoal at sites where they are found, H. erectus had learned to control fireSlide12
Homo erectus and
Homo
ergaster
Fire can be used to:
Cook food, softening it for easier digestion
Kill bacteria and parasites in the food
Keeping warm
Scare away predators
Enhance cooperative groups as a social focusSlide13
FireSlide14
Homo erectus and
Homo
ergaster
There is a big advance in stone tools – e.g. they made large teardrop-shaped, double edged “hand axes”. These tools are called
Acheulian
.
With the increased brain they developed curiosity, so started to migrate to other areas.
They were also able to exploit the environment better, so could move into areas that had been marginal before.Slide15
Acheulian ToolsSlide16
Homo erectus and
Homo
ergaster
Increased skills probably lead to an increase in the population, so they probably needed to move on to avoid exhausting resources.
There is evidence (in France) that they built shelters. These were huts supported by wooden poles planted in the ground and held in place by blocks of stone.
They were co-operative hunters.Slide17
Homo erectus and
Homo
ergaster
It is thought that the Asian H. erectus made very good use of bamboo to make tools, containers, thatched roofs, rafts etc.Slide18
Homo heidelbergensis
They were the next species after
H.
ergaster
and
H. erectus
to diffuse throughout the length and northern breadth of Africa and into Southern Europe and the Middle East.
They were increasingly able to hunt bigger prey. This increasingly rich diet may have led to the increase in body size.Slide19
Homo heidelbergensis
They were cannibals – evidence from dismembered and burnt human remains.
They used
Acheulian
tools, rather like
H. erectus
until they became extinct.
They built shelters.
They used fire.Slide20
Homo neanderthalis
These people were intelligent, and able to adapt to extremes of weather.
They lived in caves and built low stone walls to keep the cold out of the entrance.
They made a large hearth with flat stones, forming a hot-plate for cooking meat.
They made fine stone tools known as Mousterian, which include flakes, scrapers and spears. They attached stone tools to handles.Slide21
Mousterian ToolsSlide22
Homo neanderthalis
They dressed hides for clothing.
They stampeded herds of animals over cliffs, or drove them into bogs.
They buried their dead, often surrounding them with tools and flowers. Some of the bodies appear to have been decorated with red ochre.Slide23
Homo neanderthalis
They had strong social bonds. One body had a broken rib, severe arthritis, diseased vertebrae and had lost nearly all his teeth, yet he survived to the age of about 40
yrs
– obviously his group were looking after him.
They were cannibals – evidence of charred bones split to get the bone marrow.
They all died out so were an evolutionary dead-end.Slide24
Homo sapiens
They were skilled hunters, often following reindeer on their seasonal migration.
They made flint and bone tools. They used a spear thrower and perhaps a bow and arrow.
Their tools had fine blades and points. They made bone needles and fish hooks. These are called Upper Palaeolithic tools.Slide25
Upper Paleolithic
ToolsSlide26
Homo sapiens
They engraved and painted on the walls of caves, and carved statues.