HUMAN

EVOLUTION AND
CULTURE
 OBJECTIVES
• Trace the biological and cultural evolution of early to modern humans;
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• Explore the significance of human material remains ashello@reallygreatsite
pieces of artifactual
evidence in interpreting cultural and social, political, and economic processes;

• Recognize national, local, and specialized museums, and archaeological and

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historical sites as venues to appreciate and reflect on the complexities of
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biocultural and social evolution as part of being and becoming human; and

• Identify forms of tangible and intangible heritage, and the threats to these.
Consultation Hours
4 PM to 6 PM
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 a society.”

• 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
1. OUR THINKING CAPACITY

• The primary biological

component of humans
that allowed for
culture is the
developed brain.
• Compared with other
primates, humans
have a larger brain,
weighing 1.4 kg.

• Chimpanzees have a
brain weighing only
420 g, and those of
gorillas weigh 500 g.
 2. OUR SPEAKING CAPACITY
As the brain is the primary source
of human’s 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.
3. OUR GRIPPING
CAPACITY
• The hand of a human has digits that
are straight, as compared with the
curved ones of the other primates.

• Power grip enabled humans to wrap

the thumb and fingers on an object.

• Precision grip enabled humans to

hold and pick objects steadily using
their fingers.
4. OUR WALKING/STANDING
CAPACITY
• 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.
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.

• By the end of the Paleolithic period, Earth was getting warmer as the Ice Age was
already at its last stages.

• The early humans have always been dependent on their environment, which made
foraging the primary mode of subsistence.
THE NEOLITHIC
REVOLUTION
• This period is characterized by a major shift in
economic subsistence of the early humans
from foraging to agriculture.

• This shift in itself changed the entire array of

behaviors, attitudes, beliefs, and corresponding
material inventions.
CHARACTERISTICS PALEOLITHIC NEOLITHIC

Included a wider array of small and

Tools Small and handy for mobile lifestyle
bigger tools due to sedentary lifestyle

Limited to personal accessories and small Included structures, decorative

Personal properties
tools that could easily be carried around ornaments, large containers

Small and limited to personal ornaments, Included the creation of artworks that
Art bigger artworks were done but not within required a longer length of time and a
a long time frame greater number of people

Subsistence Foraging Agriculture

Leadership Not rigid; based on age and knowledge Semirigid; based on legitimacy

Social divisions None; communal lifestyle Elite vs. working class

Population size Small Large

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.

• 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.

• A state is a political entity that has four requisite

elements: territory, sovereignty, people, and
government.
 • As to how states rose, there are five primary theories.

1. Divine right theory

– rulers ascended to power convinced that their right to rule
is based on their filial relationship with supernatural forces and
entities.

2. Force theory
– a group forces members of another group to subject
themselves to their rules.
3. Paternalistic theory
– the father essentially is the leader of the first political unit, which grew as the
number of members of his family grew.

4. Social contract theory

– the creation of a state was a mutual agreement between the ruler and the ruled
to ensure order and security from outside threats.

5. Natural theory
– humans have an innate need to be part of a community.
THE LEGACY OF HUMANS TO
CONTEMPORARY
POPULATION
• The UNESCO is the primary transnational entity that manages
and negotiates matters relation to human heritage.

• Cultural heritage is not limited to material manifestations,

such as monuments and objects that have been preserved over
time. This notion also encompasses living expressions and the
traditions that countless groups and communities worldwide
have inherited from their ancestors and transmit to their
descendants, in most cases, orally.”
• Movable tangible heritage pieces are often
removed from the sites where they were found
and transferred to museums for safekeeping
and maintenance.

• Immovable tangible heritage pieces are often

left to the elements of nature, which makes
them vulnerable to decay and corrosion.
THE ROLE OF MUSEUMS IN
PRESERVING HUMAN
HERITAGE
• Museums are the repository of archaeological finds
that allow people from the contemporary period to
reconstruct the culture and environment of their
ancestors.

• Because history is encapsulated in a venue, which is

the museum, ordinary people get to have access to
their ancestors’ lives and the environment without
traveling to archaeological sites, which are often
highly inaccessible.
THANK YOU!