Understanding

Culture, Society
and Politics
Quarter 1 – Module 4:
The Biological, Cultural, and
Sociopolitical Evolution of
Humans
Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics – Grade 12
Quarter 1 – Module 4: The Biological, Cultural, and Sociopolitical Evolution of
Humans
First Edition, 2020

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Writers: Vanessa T. Ramo
Editors: Delio A. Lapore
Reviewers: Desiree Victorino
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Management Team: Reynaldo S. Guillena, CESO V
Emma A. Camporedondo, CESE
Basilio P. Mana-ay, Jr., CESE
Alma C. Cifra, EdD
Amelia S. Lacerna
Aris B. Juanillo, PhD

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 Understanding
Culture, Society,
and Politics
Quarter 1 – Module 4:
The Biological, Cultural, and
Sociopolitical Evolution of
Humans
Introductory Message
For the facilitator:
Welcome to the fourth module in Understanding Culture, Society and
Politics with the title, The Biological, Cultural, and Sociopolitical Evolutions
of Humans. Based on the Most Essential Learning Competencies (MELC),
this module is for one-week duration. As a facilitator, encourage and guide
your learners to work with the learning activities independently and put
consideration on each learner’s needs and circumstances.

In this self-directed learning resource, your learners will learn and

understand the biological, cultural, and sociopolitical evolution of human
beings. You are encouraged to localize the lessons by using examples from
the community of the learners. By localizing, you will be able to help your
learners developed a deeper understanding and appreciation of their culture
and of its nature.

For the learner:

You are now in fourth competency of the subject Understanding
Culture, Society, and Politics. The goal of this subject is for you to acquire
ideas about human culture, human agency, society, and politics; to
recognize cultural relativism and social inclusiveness to overcome
prejudices; and most especially to develop the social and cultural
competence to guide your interactions with others and communities.

This self-directed learning resource will guide you in understanding

the biological, cultural, and sociopolitical evolution is humans and society.
The following are some reminders before you start with this module:

1. Be careful in handling this module. Do not put or write any marks on

it. Use a separate sheet of paper in answering the exercises.
2. This module is divided into different parts. The following are the parts
of this module in chronological order: Let Us Learn, Let Us Try, Let
Us study, Let Us Practice, Let Us Practice More, Let Us
Remember, Let Us Assess, Let us Enhance, and Let Us Reflect. Do
not skip any part and observe honesty in doing each activity.
3. Read the instruction carefully before doing each activity. Do not
hesitate to ask your teacher if you have a problem or difficulty in a
particular activity.
This is called self-directed learning resource because it is intended for
independent learning. With the guidance of your teacher, it is our desire
that you will develop the necessary skills and knowledge needed to succeed
in today’s world.

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 Let Us Learn!

This module will guide you in understanding the biological, cultural, and
sociopolitical development of humans and society.

There are three lessons in this module, these are:

1. The Human Origin and the Capacity for Culture

2. The Role of Culture in Human Adaptation
3. Processes of Cultural and Sociopolitical Evolution

After you finished with the module, you are expected to:

1. discuss the biological, cultural, and sociopolitical evolution of

humans;
2. analyze the significance of cultural, social, political, and economic
symbols and practices; and
3. analyze key features of interrelationships of biological, cultural, and
sociopolitical process in human evolution that can still be used and
developed.

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 Let Us Try!

Recall your lessons about the evolution of man in world history. Create a
timeline to show the distinct features of the evolution of humans from the
earliest known species up to the present.

Let Us Study

The Human Origin and the Capacity for Culture

In grade 9, you have studied human evolution. We usually associate the

evolution to the early humans and their basic tools such as hammer and
knife made of stone and wood. These tools and artifacts are their
expressions of culture and ideas at that time. Human evolution started
cultural evolution. The changes in technology during the Stone Age signify a
gradual evolution of human mind and behavior.

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Where did we come from? How did society begin? Explain the belief of your
family about the beginning of human beings. Illustrate it below.

There are a lot of stories explaining the origin up humans; religious

accounts provided us also with explanations. Different societies have created
stories based on their popular belief to explain our origins. Although these
stories are now considered a myth, it is important in understanding how a
society interpreted the origin of humans. In this lesson however, we will
focus on the human creativity. What does it mean to be human?

The Theory on the Evolution of Humans

The theory of the biological evolution was first developed by Charles

Darwin. It refers to the process by which organisms undergo changes over
time as a result heritable physical or behavioral trait. These changes
happened to help organisms adapt to its environment and produce offspring.
This theory explained that organisms that can survive and reproduce
evolved into a more fit, new organism. This means that all living things,
including humans, came from one living organism.

Darwin’s theory was supported by the scientific community. In his

book The Descent of Man, he concluded that human came from some simple
organized form, closely related to great apes. However, in the theory of

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human evolution, there is a missing link. The missing link is the extinct
organism, a fossil that will bridge the evolutionary line between modern
humans and apes.

In the search of the missing link, the field of archaeology and

paleoanthropology develop.

Archeology is the study of human history through the excavation of sites

and the analysis of artifacts

Paleoanthropology is the study of human evolution through the fossil and

archaeological record.

Archaeologist and paleoanthropologist discovered different hominids.

Hominids are creatures that showed characteristics of humans as well as
apes. A conclusion has been made, although not all experts agreed, that
there is no missing link. However, there are different evolutionary paths that
led to the emergence of the human species.

The table below shows the discovered hominids or early humans.

PERIOD HOMINID MATERIAL CULTURE

Pliocene (5 million A fragment that
years ago) possibly an
Australopithecus
Pleistocene ( 3.75 • Lucy, and o Tools
years ago) Australopithecus o Stone artifacts
(found in eastern o Use of fire
and Southern
Africa)
• Homo Habilis
found in Eastern
and Southern
Africa)
• Homo Erectus
(Africa) may
travel from Africa
to Eurasia
500,000 years ago Homo sapiens and
Beijing man
130,000-80,0000 Homo sapiens in Africa Stone artifacts
years ago and western Asia

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100, 0000- 33,000 Neanderthals in
years ago Europe and Western
Asia
40,000 years ago Long blades tool,
moved from Siberia to
Alaska
30, 000 years ago Homo sapiens sapiens, Venus figurine
the first human being
of the modern type
found in China
20, 000 years ago Chaucer cave in France
17,000 years ago Altamira cave paintings

What do you think is the significance of the

Venus figurine created by early humans?
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________

Here are the key stages of the human evolution.

PERIOD KEY STAGES

4.5 million Before Noted the first appearance of bipedal homo.
Present Bipedal is one of the main human biological
evolutionary adaptation
2 million Before Improvement of bipedal structure. A gradual
Present improvement of the structure of the brain.
Hunting and gathering food culture give way to
the production of stone tools
500, 000 Before showed rapid brain growth
Present
200, 000 Before Appearance of first Homo Sapiens and
Present language. Fire was also discovered.
40, 000 Before Present The start of modern humans with fully
developed brain and speech. Made complex
tools
25, 000 Before Present Humans started to migrate. Made cave art in
Europe
10, 000 Before Started the domestication of plants and
Common Era animal. Invented bow and arrow

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 Other human biological adaptations are reducing of body hair,
development of a chin, a descended larynx, and the constant use of vision
instead of smell.

The Role of Culture in Human Adaptation

The biological evolution tells us that organisms survived and evolved

into a more complex species. It is also a catalyst for cultural evolution. It
takes million years before our species developed into what we are today.

The homo habilis, known as the handyman, created simple tools to

help them in hunting for food. The homo continued to create more complex
tools, and included art like cave paintings, rituals, languages, and
domesticate plants and animals. In other words, early humans created a
culture to adapt to their environment. This cultural evolution helps humans
control nature and shape it to meet their growing needs.

These are important points of cultural development that help in human

adaptation.
1. Humans are the survivors among all hominid species.
2. Human species migrated and spread all over the world.
3. Humans built camps to serves as base for hunting and gathering.
4. Humans created sophisticated tools.
5. Humans developed a system of language.
6. Humans created arts and symbols.
7. Humans species domesticate plants and animals and discover the
system of agriculture

The evolution of human culture is summarized in the table below.

The Stone Age Period Culture

▪ Hunting, fishing, and gathering of food
Paleolithic, the old
▪ Gather in small group
stone age
▪ No regular settlement
▪ Used small, polished stone tools and
Mesolithic, the middle bone or wood serve as spears and arrow
stone age ▪ Lived in camps near a body of water
▪ Agriculture was first introduced
▪ Started agriculture and food production
▪ Domesticate animals
Neolithic, the new
▪ Created advance tools in farming,
stone age
pottery, sewing and weaving
▪ Settled in plains

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 ▪ Copper and tin alloy was discovered
▪ Bronze, a harder metal give way to
innovations like plow and the wheel
▪ Advance architecture seen in stone
walled houses with fireplace
The Bronze Age
▪ Textile was also invented
Period
▪ Villages and cities were formed
▪ An organized government, law, religion
started
▪ Ancient Egyptian writing, the
hieroglyphs created in this period
▪ The discovery of forging iron with heat
is the most important discovery.
▪ Mass production of steel tools and
weapons
▪ More advancement in the field of
architecture with bigger houses and
The Iron Age
stables.
▪ City planning was noted
▪ Advancement in agriculture, art, and
religion.
▪ A more sophisticated system of writing
including alphabets emerged

Based from the above table, in what age of the human evolution that the
sociopolitical evolution of humans begins?

Cite evidence of your answer. Write your

answer on the spaces provided.
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________

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The Process of Cultural and Sociopolitical Evolution of Humans

In the previous lesson, we have discussed that society is composed of

different individuals. These individuals have different roles which interact
according to their roles and functions.

In our society, there are two distinct social roles. First are the working
or creative roles. These are the entrepreneurs, artists and craftspeople,
scientists, and other important workers and professionals. These people are
responsible for the continuation and development of culture. The second is
the maintenance role whose main responsibility is to maintain the social
traditions and structure. These are the government officials, politicians,
priests, and leaders of different institutions. The relationship of these two
roles is crucial in cultural and sociopolitical evolution.

When did humans start to assume and assign specific roles and functions to
its members?

__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________

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Below is the summary of development of the cultural and sociopolitical
structure (Elpel, 2009).

Cultural Structure Sociopolitical Structure

Bands ▪ Hunting and gathering ▪ Composed of groups of
lifestyle families that cooperated
▪ Characterized by with each other
egalitarian culture, ▪ Strict gender roles, where
where everyone worked men hunted and fished
to survive. nobody had while women gathered
a higher status or more fruits, roots, and seeds
political power ▪ Egalitarian, where no
▪ Typically believed in person had any significant
magic, he/she can political power or higher
directly affect others, status or exempted from
either for good or for ill daily work
Tribes ▪ The plain tribes, hunted ▪ More complex which
bigger animals and consisted of multiple
depended mostly on subgroups or clans with
horticulture where separate duties
women tended gardens ▪ Assigned chief or council of
with simple digging leaders who can
tools while men recommend a course of
continued to hunt action and decisions.
▪ Gradual transition from ▪ With the women producing
belief in animistic majority of the food supply,
spirits to belief in gods society became matriarchal
in heaven
Chiefdoms ▪ Characterized by excess ▪ Specialization in labor with
of food production a leader, a chief who take
▪ Large and permanent charge in the
population who lived in redistribution of wealth
a diverse environment. ▪ Chief is well taken care off,
all needs were provided.
▪ Chiefdoms was hierarchal
with its power secured not
by laws but through loyalty
gained from the process of
redistributing wealth

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 Divine ▪ Built great buildings ▪ Large and complex
kingdom and temples, cities are chiefdoms, known as city-
built around these states
temples ▪ See their leaders as living
▪ Involved in idol-making gods who’s responsible for
whom they worship as prosperity, health and
god which made Clay security of their kingdom
figurines common in
this age.
Agricultural ▪ Men switched from ▪ Social relation focused on
State hunting to farming the basic production of
making them the heads goods, which is farming,
of the household men started to dominate
▪ People began to see government, religion, and
themselves through the politics, while women
eyes of their culture dominate the area of family
and conform to society’s and home.
standards and ▪ Distinct specialization and
expectations classes- military, clergy
and government were
created
▪ State government own the
exclusive right to use force
through police and military
power
▪ With the military power,
states were able to conquer
and expand beginning the
era of colonialism
Industrial ▪ The age of ▪ Organized system of
State manufacturing and government
(modern advance technology ▪ Worldwide integration
world)
▪ Integration of culture ▪ Men and women worked
▪ Characterized by the again as equals, side by
shift of perception, side in factories and offices
where people are more
concentrated on their
destinations rather
than the journey

There is no doubt that our culture, society, and politics undergo rapid
changes and development. Even from the beginning, human beings always
looked for ways to understand the world by creating tools, forming groups,

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and establishing religion and government. It has been noted that as the
brain of the early humans developed, their way of doing things also
developed. This we can presume that our culture is the result of humans'
conscious thinking and many of its cultural activity is the result of humans'
struggle to adapt to his environment.

Let Us Practice

Explain the significance of one symbol or practice developed by early

humans. Use the question mark graphic organizer below for your answer.

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 Let Us Practice More

Explain the significance of the following symbols and practices of the early
humans.

1. stone tools

____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________

2. cave painting

__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________

3. domestication of plants and animals

__________________________________________
__________________________________________
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 Let Us Remember

Discuss your significant understandings of the lesson in this module. Use

the diagram below.

Let Us Assess

I. Multiple Choice. Read each question carefully. Select the letter of the
correct answer.

1. Which of the following BEST describes the culture of the early Paleolithic
period?
a. They lived in the city. c. They created tools made of iron.
b. They hunted and gathered food. d. They had belief in one god.

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2. Which of the following is the earliest known species of humans?
a. Homo Erectus c. Homo Habilis
b. Homo Ergaster d. Homo Sapiens

3. Which of the following early humans is thought to be the first migratory

species?
a. Homo Erectus c. Homo Habilis
b. Homo Ergaster d. Homo Sapiens

4. Which of the following species is considered the direct line of modern

humans?
a. Homo Erectus c. Homo Habilis
b. Homo Ergaster d. Homo Sapiens

5. Which of the following describes the role of women during paleolithic age?
a. They stayed home. c. They gathered fruits.
b. They hunted big animals. d. They tended gardens.

6. Which changes during the Neolithic age resulted in the creation of settled
community?
a. cave painting c. development of agriculture
b. discovery of fire d. development of religion

7. Which of the following political structure is associated with an egalitarian

culture?
a. bands b. divine kingdom c. chiefdoms d. tribe

8. Which of the following is the result of over production of food during the
agriculture period?
a. People migrated to a less populated area.
b. People started to conquer neighboring lands.
c. People returned to hunting and gathering of food.
d. People learned to develop new skill and became artisans.

9. Which statements BEST explains the relationship between development of

agriculture and the growth of town and cities?
a. Agriculture helped established bands.
b. Agriculture made hunting and gathering practices.
c. The development of agriculture made people settle in one place.
d. The development of agriculture made way to development of religion.

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10. Which of the following is characterized by advance technology and fast
pace life of humans?
a. agriculture state b. chiefdoms c. divine kingdom d. industrial state

Let Us Enhance

Performance Task: Create an infographic showing the key features of the

biological, cultural, and sociopolitical process of human evolution. Be guided
with the rubric below.

EXCELLENT GOOD FAIR POOR SCORE

7-8 pts. 5-6 pts. 3-4 pts 1-2 pts.
Content Accurate and Almost all Some All
detailed information information information
information is accurate is not is not
accurate. accurate.
Focus All of the Most of the There are All
illustrations illustrations few illustrations
complement complement illustrations do not
purpose of the purpose that complement
the visual. of the complement the purpose
visual. the purpose of the
of the visual.
visual.
Visual The The Infographic The
Appeal infographic is infographic is Infographic
exceptionally is attractive acceptably is messy
attractive in in terms of attractively. with poor
terms of design, lay- design.
design, lay- out and
out and neatness.
neatness.
Content There are no There is one There are There are
Accuracy grammatical grammatical two more than
or or grammatical two
mechanical mechanical or grammatical
mistakes. mistake. mechanical or
mistakes. mechanical
mistakes.
Total

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 Let Us Reflect

➢ Biological evolution refers to the

process of transformation of
humans from hominids into homo
sapiens or the modern man.

➢ Cultural evolution is the process of

development of humans’ way of life
from hunting and gathering foods of
Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic
age into a more complex culture
that we have today.

➢ Sociopolitical evolution is the development of societies from egalitarian

society of bands into a more systematic and complex structure of
society of the industrial state.

➢ The biological, cultural, and sociopolitical evolution of humans was

driven by mans’ need to survive and adapt to nature’s and societies
challenges.

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 18
II. Multiple Choice
1. B
2. C
3. A
4. D
5. C
6. C
7. A
8. D
9. C
10. D
Answer Key to Activities
 References

Books
Abulencia, A.S. et.al. (2017). Disciplines and Ideas in the Social Sciences.
Department of Education, Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education (2016). Understanding Culture and Society.

Department of Education, Republic of the Philippines

De Guzman, J.M. et.al. (2016). Understanding Culture, Society and Politics

for Senior High School. Mutya Publishing House, Inc.

Online
Elpel, T.J. (2009). Cultural Evolution (Technology, Population and Social-
Political Organization. Society of Primitive Technology’s Bulletin of Primitive
Technology, Issue #38. Retrieved from
https://www.hollowtop.com/spt_html/CulturalEvolution.hm

PATHWAYZ (2020). Summary: Cultural Evolution of Humans.

Human Origins and Human Culture.Learning Pathwayz Limited Retrieved
from:
https://www.pathwayz.org/Tree/Plain/SUMMARY%3A+CULTURAL+EVOLU
TION+OF+HUMANS

Pearson -Higher Education.HUMAN ORIGINS AND HUMAN CULTURES.

Retrieved from https://www.pearsonhighered.com

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For inquiries or feedback, please write or call:

Davao City Division Learning Resource Management Development

System (LRMDS)

Elpidio Quirino Ave., Poblacion District, Davao City, 8000 Davao del Sur

Telefax: (082) 224-3274, (082) 222-1672

Email Address: davaocity.division@deped.gov.ph

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