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 Looking Back at
Human Biocultural
and Social Evolution
 Biological and Cultural
Evolution: from Homo Habilis
(or earlier) to Homo Sapiens
in the Fossil Record
1. Biological and cultural evolution: from Homo habilis (or
earlier) to Homo sapiens sapiens in the fossil record
 2. Cultural and sociopolitical evolution: from hunting and
gathering to the agricultural, industrial, and post-industrial
revolutions
 Homo habilis, known as 'handyman' is a
species of the genusHomo which lived from
approximately 2.33 to 1.4 million years ago,
during the Gelasian Pleistocene period. The
discovery and description of this species are
credited to both Mary and Louis Leakey, who
discovered the fossils in Tanzania between 1962
and 1964.
 Homo erectus– after Homo habilis came, the Homo
erectus who was also upright. He had a smaller but
longer face, less prominent or absent chin, larger brain
size, and prominent speech. He knew how to make
and use tools, he made a fire and knew how to control
it. Homo erectus was carnivorous. He knew the
existence of groups and they began spreading from
Africa to Asia and Europe. The Java Man and Peking
Man had brain capacities similar to the modern man at
1300cc. They were cave dwellers.
Peking Man (Homo erectus pekinensis, formerly known by the junior
synonym Sinanthropus pekinensis) is a group of fossil specimens of Homo erectus,
dated from roughly 750,000 years ago, discovered in 1929–37 during excavations
at Zhoukoudian (Chou K'ou-tien) near Beijing (at the time spelled Peking), China.
Between 1929 and 1937, 15 partial crania, 11 mandibles, many teeth, some skeletal
bones and large numbers of stone tools were discovered in the Lower Cave at Locality 1
of the Peking Man site at Zhoukoudian. Their age is estimated to be between about
 Homo sapiens– After Homo erectus came, the Homo
sapiens who separated into two types:

1) Homo sapiens neanderthelensis

They had a brain size larger than modern man and were
gigantic in size. Also, they had a large head and jaw and
were very powerful and muscular. They were carnivores and
the tools from the era indicate they were hunters. They were
also caving dwellers but their caves were more comfortable
and they lived in groups and hunted for food gathering.

 2) Homo sapiens sapiens

Also known as ‘modern-day man’ is what we are today.

Compared to the Homo sapiens neanderthelensis, they
became smaller in size and the brain size reduced to
1300cc. There was also a reduction in the size of the jaw,
rounding of the skull and chin. Cro- Magnon was the
earliest of the Homo sapiens. They spread wider from
Europe, Australia, and the Americas. They were
omnivores, had skillful hands, developed the power of
thinking, producing art, more sophisticated
 The Neolithic Revolution

The Neolithic Revolution also called the Agricultural Revolution,

marked the transition in human history from small nomadic
bands of hunter-gatherers to larger, agricultural settlements and
early civilization. The Neolithic Revolution started around 10,000
B.C. in the Fertile Crescent, a boomerang-shaped region of the
Middle East where humans first took up farming. Shortly after,
Stone Age humans in other parts of the world also began to
practice agriculture. Civilizations and cities grew out of the
innovations of the Neolithic Revolution.

The Neolithic Age is sometimes called the
New Stone Age. Neolithic humans used
stone tools like their earlier Stone Age
ancestors, who eked out a marginal
existence in small bands
of hunter-gatherers during the last Ice
Age.
 Australian archaeologist V. Gordon Childe
coined the term Neolithic Revolution in 1935 to
describe the radical and important period of
change in which humans began cultivating
plants, breeding animals for food and forming
permanent settlements. The advent of
agriculture separated Neolithic people from
their Paleolithic ancestors.
 Neolithic Humans

The archaeological site of Çatalhöyük in southern Turkey is

one of the best-preserved Neolithic settlements. Studying
Çatalhöyük has given researchers a better understanding of
the transition from a nomadic life of hunting and gathering to an
agriculture lifestyle. Archaeologists have unearthed more than
a dozen mud-brick dwellings at the 9,500 year-old Çatalhöyük.
They estimate that as many as 8,000 people may have lived
here at one time. The houses were clustered so closely back to
back, that residents had to enter the homes through a hole in
the roof.
Agricultural
Inventions
 Plant domestication: Cereals such as
emmer wheat, einkorn wheat and barley
were among the first crops domesticated
by Neolithic farming communities in the
Fertile Crescent. These early farmers also
domesticated lentils, chickpeas, peas and
flax.
 Domestication is the process by
which farmers select for desirable
traits by breeding successive
generations of a plant or animal. Over
time, a domestic species becomes
different from its wild relative.
Livestock: The first livestock were domesticated
from animals that Neolithic humans hunted for
meat. Domestic pigs were bred from wild boars,
for instance, while goats came from the Persian
ibex. The first farm animals also included
sheep and cattle. These originated
in Mesopotamia between 10,000 and 13,000
years ago. Water buffalo and yak were
domesticated shortly after in China, India and
Tibet.
Early Civilization And The Rise Of The
State

 A civilization is a complex society that
creates agricultural surpluses, allowing for
specialized labor, social hierarchy, and the
establishment of cities. Developments such
as writing, complex religious systems,
monumental architecture, and centralized
political power have been suggested as
identifying markers of civilization, as well.
• The Maya civilization was probably the best-known of
the classical civilizations of Mesoamerica. Originating in the
Yucatán around 2600 B.C., they rose to prominence around
A.D. 250 in present-day southern Mexico,
a Mesoamerican civilization developed by the Maya
peoples, and noted for its logosyllabic script—the most
sophisticated and highly developed writing
system in pre-Columbian Americas—as well as for
its art, architecture, mathematics, calendar,
and astronomical system..
 Cities were at the center of all early
civilizations. People from surrounding areas
came to cities to live, work, and trade. This
meant that large populations of individuals who
did not know each other lived and interacted
with one another. So, shared institutions, such
as government, religion, and language helped
create a sense of unity and also led to more
specialized roles, such as bureaucrats, priests,
and scribes.
•7,500 B.C.
•Historians believe the first cities came into
existence between 8,000-10,000 years ago.
Some scientists believe the very first cities
were founded around 7,500 B.C. in
Mesopotamia. Some of the first cities included
Eridu, Uruk, and Ur.
A state is an organized community that lives under a
single political structure. A present-day country is a
state in this sense, for example. Many civilizations
either grew alongside a state or included several
states. The political structures that states provided
were an important factor in the rise of civilizations
because they made it possible to mobilize large
amounts of resources and labor and also tied larger
communities together by connecting them under a
common political system.
 Early civilizations were often unified
by religion—a system of beliefs and
behaviors that deal with the meaning of
existence. As more and more people
shared the same set of beliefs and
practices, people who did not know each
other could find common ground and build
mutual trust and respect.
THANK YOU!!!