Name: Iana Kyle Cañega ABM 11-A

Subject: Understanding Culture, Society and Politics

Topic: Biological and Cultural evolution: from Homo Habilis (or earlier) to Homo
Sapiens Sapiens in the fossil record.
Instructor: Mark Christian Roble Almazan, LPT

BIOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL EVOLUTION

Biological evolution refers to the changes, modifications, and variations in the
genetics and inherited traits of biological populations from one generation to another.
Evolution is diverse and it occurs in different levels of the biological population. In studying
biological evolution, scientists study the changes in the physical body of humans, the changes
in the shape and size of their bones, brain, dentition, and fingers for instance.
Cultural evolution, on the other hand, refers to the changes or development in
cultures from a simple form to a more complex form of human culture. Biological evolution
is based on the theory of evolution that was introduced by the famous English naturalist and
geologist Charles Darwin (1809-1882).
In his published work entitled On the Origins of Species by Means of Natural Selection
(1859), Darwin wrote:
“Species are not immutable, but that those belonging to what are called the same
genera are lineal descendants of some other and generally extinct species, in the same
manner as the acknowledged varieties of any one species” (Ember, Ember, and Peregrine,
2002, p. 33).
In his study, Darwin hypothesized that the evolution of species happens through the process
of natural selection. Natural selection, according to Darwin, was the reason for the
occurrence of evolution. Ember, Ember, and Peregrine (2002) define natural selection this
way:
“[ It is the ] outcome of processes that affect the frequencies of traits in a particular
environment. Traits that enhance survival and reproductive success increase in
frequency over time”.
According to Darwin, the environment favors certain organisms and those organisms that
survive can pass on their traits. Natural selection has three important principles. These are
variation, heritability, and differential reproductive success. Darwin’s natural selection
hypothesized that:

1. Every species is made up of a variety of individuals wherein some are better adapted
to their environments compared to others.
2. Organisms produce progeny with different sets of traits that can be inherited.
3. Organisms that have traits most suitable to their environment will survive and transfer
these variations to their offspring in subsequent generation.
 FROM HOMINIDS TO HOMO SAPIENS SAPIENS:
THE BIOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL EVOLUTION OF MODERN
HUMANS
Hominid is the general term used by scientists to categorize the group of early humans
and other humanlike creatures that can walk erect during the prehistoric times. There are four
categories of hominids based on the age of the artifacts and fossils that were found. These are
Sahelanthropus, Ardipithecus, Australopithecus, and Homo.
Among the four, it was the Australopithecus and the Homo that had the most number
of species based on the fossils and artifacts that were excavated by archaeologists. Many
scholars consider the Australopithecus as the first stage of human evolution and the Homo as
the last. The Australopithecus, together with the Sahelanthropus and Ardipithecus, are
considered as the prehumen stage of evolution, while the Homo is part of the human stage of
evolution.
Based on fossil evidences, the first hominid came from the lineage of the
Sahelanthropus tchadensis species (6-7 million years ago). After the Sahelanthropus
tchadensis came the Orrorin tugenensis (5.7 million years ago) and the Ardipithecus family,
which had two species, namely the Ardipithecus kadabba (5.6 million years ago) and the
Ardipithecus ramidus (4.4 million years ago). Ardipithecus had the following characteristics:
1. Height of about 4 feet
2. Weight of about 120 pounds
3. Skull size similar to an ape
4. Small brain
5. Biped (walked on two legs or feet)
6. Lived in jungle and forests like the chimpanzees
The Australopithecus or “southern ape” was the next group of hominids. They lived in the
African jungle from 5 million to 1 million years ago. Some of their characteristics include the
following:
1. Brain size of 500 cubic centimeters (cc) or almost 1/3 of the size of the modern
human brain
2. Upright
3. Biped
4. Tool users only and not tool makers
5. Used sticks and stones for digging
6. Lived in small social groups
7. Distance of movement was estimated to be 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) or more to
search for stones to be used as tools
8. Food scavengers
9. Ate insects, eggs, plants, fruits and sometimes meat
At present, there are six species of the Australopithecus and they are divided into two
major categories: the gracile and the robust. The gracile australopithecine had small teeth
and jaw. Included in this group are the Australopithecus anamensis, Australopithecus
afarensis, and the Australopithecus africanus. The robust Australopithecus group, on the
other hand, include the Australopithecus aethiopicus, Australopithecus robustus, and the
Australopithecus boisei. These Australopithecus had large teeth and jaws and muscular built
(for the Australopithecus boisei). The 3.2 million-year-old Australopithecus afarensis fossil
named “Lucy” was considered as one of modern human’s earliest ancestors and remains as
the most famous hominid fossil discovered. Lucy was discovered in Hadar, Ethiopia in
November 1974 by paleoanthropologists led by Dr. Donald Johanson.
According to fossil evidences, the Homo first lived in Africa in about 2.4 million years
ago. The Homo species included the Homo habilis (handy man), Homo erectus (upright
man), and the Homo sapiens (wise man).
Homo, is a Latin word means “human” or “man”. This is the same genus or group name
as the one give to modern humans and is used to show the close relationship between this
species and our own. The word habilis is based on a Latin word means “handy” or “skillful”.
This species known as “handy man” because stone tools were found near its fossil remains
and it is assumed that this species had developed the ability to modify stone into tools.

The Homo habilis had the following characteristics:

1. Height of about 3 to 4 feet
2. Brain size half the size of the modern human (700 cubic centimeters)
3. Made tools called Oldowan (name came from the place where they were found in
Oldowai Gorge, Tanzania) which were used as cutting tools and made from volcanic
stones
4. Used tools for hunting and food gathering

The Homo ergaster (1.8 million years ago) was the next Homo species to
flourish. It was from this species where Homo erectus came from. The Homo erectus
was estimated to lived from 1.8 million to 300,000 years ago. It had the following
characteristics:

1. Brain size of 1,000 cc or about 2/3 of the modern human brain size
2. Height of about five feet
3. Walks upright
In terms of cultural development, the Homo erectus is believed to be more intelligent and
more adaptable compared to the Homo habilis. Based on artifacts excavated, the Homo
erectus was the first Homo species to use fire and to live in caves and small houses made of
tree branches. It was also believed that the Homo erectus was the first Homo to use spoken
language. The Homo erectus fossil was first discovered in Africa. Later, Homo erectus started
to travel outside of the African continent. It reached as far as Asia and Southern Europe.
Based on archaeological evidences, the first fossil of the Homo erectus in Asia was found in
the Longgupo Cave in China, it was believed to have lived around 1.9 million years ago.
Another evidence of the Homo erectus was excavated in Trinil, Java, Indonesia by Eugene
Dubois (1848-1940), a Dutch anatomist and geologist, in 1811. The fossil became known as
the Java Man and it was dated to be 1.8 million years of age. In 1920, another Homo erectus
skull was excavated in a cave in Zhoukoudian, China. This became known as the Peking Man
and it was estimated to have lived about 1.1 million to 1 million years ago.
The last genus in the evolution ladder of the Homo family was the Homo sapiens
(thinking man). Included in this species are the archaic Homo sapiens of Africa, Homo
heidelbergensis, Homo neanderthalensis and the Homo sapiens sapiens. The characteristics
of the Homo sapiens include the following:
1. Large brain size (1,400 cc) that is almost similar to the brain of modern humans
2. Lived in shelter
3. Food gatherers
4. Ate plants and fruits
5. Hunted animals
6. Learned to gather and cook shellfish (164,000 years ago)
7. Used fire
8. Crafted metals
Compared to other Homo species, the Homo sapiens made sophisticated and smoothened
tools and had more developed shelters and advanced technology. Some anthropologist
believed that it was the Homo sapiens who were the first to develop and use oral language
because they have more developed brains and speech organs. For many years, the Homo
neanderthalensis and the Cro-Magnon were considered as examples of the first group of
Homo sapiens. However, in 1997, after conducting DNA analysis of the Neanderthal, it was
proven that the Neanderthal is not an ancestor of modern humans. Because of this discovery,
the Cro-Magnon is now the first fossil skeleton to be considered as a species of the Homo
sapiens, called as the Homo sapiens sapiens (wise man).

MUSEUMS AS VENUES FOR THE APPRECIATION OF THE

COMPLEXITIES OF BIOCULTURAL AND SOCIAL EVOLUTION
The biological, cultural, and social evolution of modern man can be studied through
the artifacts and fossils that have been excavated by archaeologists and anthropologists.
Artifacts and fossils are important sources of information in the reconstruction of human
evolution. Fossils refer to preserved human, plant, and animal remains.
Museums are one of the most easily accessible places where we can see various
artifacts, fossils, and other evidences of our past. Museums are institutions that are primarily
tasked to conserve, communicate, and exhibit all material and nonmaterial heritages of
human society. By visiting museums, we get to appreciate the evidences and proofs of
modern humans biological, social, and cultural evolution.
Reference:
[ CITATION Ant16 \l 13321 ]
https://australianmuseum.net.au/learn/science/human-evolution/homo-habilis/

https://www.slideshare.net/RobinsonC3MC/homo-habilis-2018283