LESSON 2

HUMAN
EVOLUTION AND
CULTURE
1. Trace the biological and
cultural evolution of early to
modern humans.
Cultural Beginnings
Culture is defined as “that complex
whole which encompasses beliefs, practices,
values, attitudes, laws, norms, artifacts,
symbols, knowledge and everything that a
person learns and shares as a member of
society” (Tylor,2010).
To understand culture, you need to know
the following:
1.Biological capacity of humans for culture
2.Place of humans in the animal kingdom
3.How humans came to develop early forms
of culture
 
Biological Capacity for Culture
The need to scrutinize human
anatomy to understand culture is
indispensable. Physical and cultural
anthropologists argue that we could
trace how culture became possible by
understanding our biological make-up.
1.Our thinking capacity
The primary biological component
of humans that allowed for culture is the
developed brain. It has the necessary parts
for facilitating pertinent skills such as
speaking, touching, feeling, seeing, and
smelling.
 
The Human Brain and its parts compare with
other primates, humans have a large brain,
weighing 1.4kg. Chimpanzee have a brain
weighing only 420g, and those of gorillas
weigh 500 g. Due to the size of their brain
and the complexity of its parts, humans
were able to create survival skills that
helped them adapt to their environment and
outlive their less adaptive relatives.
1.Our speaking capacity
As the brain is the primary source of humans’
capacity to comprehend sound and provide meaning
to it, the vocal tract acts as the mechanism by which
sounds are produced and reproduced to transmit ideas
and values. Notice in figure 2.3 that the vocal tract of
a human is longer than that of a chimpanzee. A longer
vocal tract means that there is a longer vibration
surface, allowing humans to produce a wider array of
sounds than chimpanzees. The tongue of humans is
also more flexible than that of a chimpanzee, allowing
for more control in making sounds.
 
1.Our gripping capacity
 
Look at your hands. Notice how
your thumb relates with your other fingers.
This capacity to directly oppose your thumb
with your other fingers is an exclusive trait of
humans.
It allowed us to have a finer grip. Thus, we have
the capacity to craft materials with precision.
The hand of a human has digits (fingers) that are straight, as
compared with the curved ones of the other primates.
These characteristics of the human hand allowed for two
types of grip: power and precision. Power grip enabled
humans to wrap the thumb and fingers on an object; it
became the cornerstone of our capacity to hold tools
firmly for hunting and other activities. Precision grip
enabled humans to hold and pick objects steadily using
their fingers. This capacity was crucial for tool-making
activities.
Our walking/standing capacity
Primates have two forms of locomotion:
bipedalism and quadropedalism. Bipedalism is the
capacity to walk and stand on two feet, whereas
quadropedalism uses all four limbs, Although apes are
semi-bipedal, humans are the only fully bipedal primates.
Being bipedal, humans gained more capacity to move
while carrying objects with their free hands. This is an
important trait, as it gave humans more productivity with
their hands. Apart from this, humans gained a more
efficient form of locomotion suitable for hunting and
foraging.
 BIG IDEA:
THE DEVELOPMENT OF CULTURE IS DIRECTLY LINKED TO THE PHYSICAL
DEVELOPMENT OF HUMANS.

Processes of Cultural and Sociopolitical Evolution

In reference to cultural formation, the
Paleolithic stage has provided the bases for the
development of complex human groups through the
establishment of culture. At this period, we must situate
the early humans in terms of their physical environment.
This way, we understand the succeeding adaptation that
they made which revolutionized the entire way that the
human species have existed in this planet.
By the end of the Paleolithic period, Earth was
getting warmer as the Ice Age was already at its
last stages. This implies that Earth’s surface was
changing. The sea level was rising again as the
polar caps were melting. Land surface decreased
as some parts were submerged in water. The
warm climate allowed for the blossoming of new
plants and the extinction of others. The same
phenomenon was seen among animals.
The early humans have always been
dependent on their environment, which
made foraging (hunting and gathering) the
primary mode of subsistence. With the
drastic changes in geography and food
sources, the early humans were once again
faced with the need to adapt new strategies
to survive. It was in this setting that the
“Neolithic Revolution” (childe, 1936)
spread throughout the planet.
TABLE 2.1 CHARACTERISTCS OF PALEOLITHIC AND NEOLITHIC SOCIETIES
Characteristics Paleolithic Neolithic

Tools Small and handy for mobile lifestyle Included a wider array of small and
bigger tools due to sedentary
lifestyle

Personal properties Limited to personal accessories and Included structure (e.g., houses),
small tools that could easily be decorative ornaments, large
carried around containers

Art Small and limited to personal Included the creation of artworks

ornaments, bigger artworks were that required a longer length of time
done but not within a longtime frame and a greater number of people
(e.g., cave paintings) (e.g., Stonehenge)

Subsistence Foraging Agriculture

Leadership Not rigid; based on age and Semirigid; based on legitimacy
knowledge (religious beliefs, social status)

Social divisions None; communal lifestyle Elite vs. working class

Population size Small (30-50 people) Large (in thousands)

The Neolithic Revolution
This period is characterized by a major
shift in economic subsistence of the early humans
from foraging to agriculture. This dramatic shift
affected the other aspects of their lifestyle, as
foraging made them nomads and agriculture
encouraged permanent settlement. This shift in
itself changed the entire array of behaviors,
attitudes, beliefs and corresponding material
inventions.
Early Civilization and the Rise of the State
The earliest civilizations rose by the end of
the Neolithic period as the complexities brought
about by the shift in food production demanded
a more rigid social structure that would manage
the opposing perspectives of various sectors. As
conflicts between groups developed and
intensified, the need to create a more cohesive
society became definite.
Early civilizations were characterized by the
presence of city-states, a system of writing,
and a ceremonial center where public debates
and decisions were made. However, it must
be noted that not all societies during this
period could be considered as civilizations as
not all possessed a political system that could
be equated to a state.
A state is a political entity that has four
requisite elements: territory, sovereignty,
people and government. These elements
will be further discussed in Module 5.
As to ho w sta te s ro se , the re a re five p rima ry the orie s.

1. Divine right the ory

Rule rs a sc e nd e d to p o we r c onvinc e d tha t the ir rig ht to rule is b a se d on the ir filia l re la tio nship with
sup e rna tura l fo rc e s a nd e ntitie s. The c onc e p t o f the g od -king tha t wa s up he ld in the c ity o f Sume r is a n
e xa m p le . Pe op le we re ma d e sub je c ts to the se mona rc hs, a s the la tte r we re p e rc e ive d b y the forme r a s
d ire c t d e sc e nd a nts or re p re se nta tive s o f the ir go d s.
2. Fo rc e the o ry
A g ro up s o f fo rc e s me mb e rs o f a no the r g roup s to sub je c t the mse lve s to the ir rule s, this wa s
o b se rve d a m ong the Ma ya ns, a s c o nflic t ove r a c c e ss to re ve rs re sulte d in the sub juga tion o f one g ro up
b y a no the r.
3. Pa te rna listic the o ry
The fa the r e sse ntia lly is the le a d e r o f the first p olitic a l unit, whic h gre w a s the numb e r o f the
me mb e rs o f his fa mily g re w. This is true fo r highly p a tria rc ha l, ma le -d o m ina te d so c ie tie s.
4. So c ia l c ontra c t
The c re a tion o f a sta te wa s mutua l a gre e me nt b e twe e n the rule r a nd the rule d to e nsure ord e r
a nd se c urity fro m outsid e thre a ts.
5. Na tura l the o ry
Huma ns ha ve a n inna te ne e d to b e p a rt o f a c o m munity. The G re e k p hilo so p he r Aristo tle
d e sc rib e d huma ns a s “p o litic a l a nima ls,” a s it is in the ir na ture to ind ulg e in p olitic s.
ESSENTIAL LEARNING
Culture is both a product of huma ns’ ca pa city for it a nd the ir de te rmin a tio n to surviv e
the ele me nts of the ir e nvironme nts. The tools tha t e a rly huma ns cre a te d a re a te sta me nt to
the ir struggle to outlive the pre ssure s from the ir e nvironme nt, whe the r the y be the ha rsh
clim a tic tra nsit io n, the elusive ne ss of the ir pre y, or the thre a t of the ir pre da tors. The shift in
stone tool te chnolo gy in forms us of the ca pa c ity of huma ns to contin uously a lte r their
be ha vio r to suit the ir c irc umsta nce s. It a lso le a ds to the conclusio n tha t huma ns’ set of
be ha vio rs is consta ntly cha ngin g a nd a da ptin g to the ir pe rce iv e d ne e ds.
As knowle dge a nd skills of e a rlie r huma n popula tio ns a re sifte d out by tim e a nd
e nvironme nt, the re still re ma in tra ce s of the ir ta ngib le a nd in ta ngib le a ccomplishments tha t
we use toda y a s e it he r forms of re me mbra nce of how fa r our spe cie s ha s de veloped or a s
functio na l pa rts of our da ily subsiste nce .