Biological and Cultural Evolution

Theory of Evolution (Theorists):

 Jean Baptiste Lamarck

 Charles Robert Darwin

1. Jean Baptiste Lamarck

- Evolutionist and Zoologist

- “Evolution is a constant process of thriving toward greater complexity”

- An early proponent of the idea that biological evolution occurred and proceeded in accordance with
natural laws

- Lamarckism, a theory of evolution based on the principle that physical changes in organisms during
their lifetime – such as greater development of an organ or apart through increased use – could be
transmitted to their offspring.

- Lamarck’s Theory: Giraffes inherited long necks from short necked ancestors who continually stretched
their necks to reach food.

- Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics based on 3 ideas:

 Desire (will) to change

 Use and Disuse
 Passing on Acquired Traits

* If an organism changes during life in order to adapt to its environment, those changes are passed on to
its offspring. He said that change is made by what the organisms want or need. Lamarck also said that
body parts that are not being used, such as the human appendix and little toes are gradually
disappearing. Eventually, people will be born without these parts. Lamarck also believed that evolution
happens according to a predetermined plan and that the results have already been decided.

2. Charles Robert Darwin

- Theory of evolution and natural selection

- According to natural selection, also known as “survival of the fittest”, individuals with traits that enable
them to survive are more reproductively successful; this leads to those traits becoming predominant
within a population.

- Darwinism, that evolution is driven mainly by natural selection

- Darwin’s Theory: Long necked giraffes and short necked giraffes existed together, but short necked
giraffes disappeared because they were very hungry and they couldn’t reach leaves from trees, so they
died; and long necked giraffes survived. This is why we only see giraffes with long necks nowadays.

- Darwin proceeded to work on the now well-understood concept that evolution is essentially brought
about by the interplay of three principles:
  Variation
 Heredity
 The Struggle for Existence
1. Variation – refers to the differences in the characteristics of individuals within a species.
2. Heredity – is the transmission of similar characteristics from parents to offspring
3. The Struggle for Existence – the automatic competition of members of a natural population for
limited vital resources (such as food, space, or light) that results in natural selection. Only the
fittest would survive. (Different Reproductive Success)

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.

* Scientist Study the changes in the physical body of humans, the changes in the shape and size of their
bones.

* Cultural Evolution or Sociocultural Evolution refers to the changes or development in cultures from a
simple form to a more complex form of human culture.

* Sociocultural Evolution happens as a result of human adaptation to different factors like climatic
changes and population increase.

* Scientist study the cultural evolution of humans by analyzing the changes in the latter’s way of life.
The Human Evolution:

1. Hominoid – or ape is a member of the superfamily Hominoidea: existing members are the lesser
apes (gibbons) and great apes.
2. Hominid – is a member of the family Hominidae: all of the great apes: orangutans, gorillas,
chimpanzees and humans.
3. Hominin – is a member of the tribe Homini: including humans, (Human Like)

Four Major Groups of Hominids:

1. Australopithecus
2. Homo Habilis
3. Homo Erectus
4. Homo Sapiens

1. Australopithecus

 Found in Africa
 Stood Upright
 Group of extinct primates
 Southern ape
 Lucy (famous Australopithecus)

2. Homo Habilis

 Homo = Man
 Habilis = Handy
 Handy Man
 Used simple, stone tools for cutting & scrapping
 Certainly walked on two feet

3. Homo Erectus

 Upright Man
 Controlled Fire (Heat and Cooking)
 Used stone tools like the axe

4. Homo Sapiens

 Wise Man
 People living today are homo sapiens
 Migrated around the world
 Could create fire
 Used variety of tools
 Developed Language

Development of Societies:

1. Stone Age
 Hominids and the first Homo Sapiens lived during the Stone Age
  Divided into 3 periods:
a) Paleolithic
b) Mesolithic
c) Neolithic
2. Early Tools
 Choppers – tools with one sharpened side could be held in a person’s hand
 Used to process food – cutting, chopping, scraping roots, bones or meat
3. Later Tools
 Hand Axe – made from flint, easy to shape & could be sharp, used on trees, for digging,
and cutting animal hides.
 Wooden Handles – could attach to sharp points, spears – could be thrown, could stand
farther away, and could hunt larger animals.

- Society:

* Community of people who share a common culture

* Lived in temporary shelters

* Level of Development:

 Hunting and Gathering Societies

 Horticultural and Pastoral Societies
 Agricultural Societies
 Industrial Societies
 Post Industrial Societies

* Hunting and Gathering:

 The oldest and most basic way of economic substance is hunting and gathering.
 Produce simple forms of tools used to hunt for animals and gather plants and vegetation for
food.
 Since hunting and gathering societies rely on nature for their food, they frequently move and did
not have permanent settlements. Hence, they are nomadic societies.
 Family is the basic unit of hunting and gathering societies. They usually have a shaman or priest
who acts as a leader of the group. Since hunters and gatherers rely on nature for food and
survival, they believe that spirits live in the world.
 People who hunt animals and gather wild plants, seeds, fruit and nuts to survive
 Men were hunters – might hunt in groups to chase hers over cliffs
 Women were gatherers – stayed near camps and took care of children.

* Horticultural and Pastoral Societies

 Horticultural societies are described as semi-sedentary societies because they do not frequently
move as opposed to hunting and gathering societies
 These societies subsist through small-scale farming. They produce and use simple forms of on
hand tools to plant cropms.
 Pastoral societies’ principal means of subsistence is animal domestication
  Pastoralist societies are classified as animal herders and subsist based on the resources provided
by their animals. They are also engaged in small-scale trading with other groups.

* Industrial Societies

 Industrial societies began when the industrial revolution swept through Europe during the late
18th century.
 During the Industrial Revolution, new sources of energy were harnessed, advances forms of
technology were applied, and types of machinery were invented.
 These changes led to the industrialization of the transformation of agricultural society into
production and manufacturing.

* Post Industrial Societies

 With the development of information technology and computers, many societies transformed
into post-industrial societies.
 The Post-Industrial Revolution is an important development from the Industrial Revolution as
economic production focused on the use and application of new information technology rather
than factories.
 In the post-industrial era, production centers on computers and other electronic devices that
create, process, and apply ideas and information.

Development of Early Civilizations and Political Evolution:

 Mesopotamia – Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

 Egypt – Nile River
 India – Indus River
 China – Yellow River (Huang he) & Yangtze River

1. Mesopotamia (Tigris and Euphrates)

 Greek word that means “between the rivers”

 The Cradle of Civilization
 The fertile Crescent
 They worshipped their God in a huge temple called Ziggurats
 Different people lived in the area:
 Sumer – Southern part
 Akkad – northern part
 Babylonia
 Assyria – Assyrian empire

2. Egypt (Nile River)

 Nile River – Longest river in the worlds

 Greek word “Nellos” meaning River Valley
 Herodotus called Egypt the “Gift of the Nile”
 It was the only water source in Egypt
 Without the Nile, Egyptian culture would have never existed.
  Amon Re (Ra) – Sun God
 Osiris – god of the Nile and the Dead
 Horus – sky god, son of Osiris
 Pyramids – Burial tombs for the kings
 Mummification – preserving the dead body

3. India (Indus River)

 Indus River
 They trade with different cities (Mesopotamia)
 Aryans conquest in india and developed the first writing system called Sanskrit
 Rajas (prince) – Aryan leaders
 Caste system
 Hinduism
 2 major cities:
 Harappa
 Mohenjo – Daro

4. China (Huang He & Yangtze River)

 Huang He & Yangtze River

 Was separated from the indian subcontinent by the Himalayas
 Have different synasties
 Silk
 Mandate of Heaven
 Confucius and Confucianism
 Taoism (Yin and Yan) (The way)

Political Evolution:

1. Sumerian
2. Egyptian
3. Indian
4. Chinese