CHAPTER 2: Human

Biocultural and
Sociopolitical Evolution
LESSON 5: Hominization
On the Origin of Species (1859)

 British naturalist Charles Darwin

says that all organisms have
undergone evolution.
Evolution
 Natural process by which beings
develop from earlier beings.
 Everything that people have at
present is a product of millions of
years’ drastic changes in Earth.
Evolution
 Failure to evolve means
extinction.
 Culture and societies exist
because of evolution.
Hominization
 Evolutionary development of
human characteristics that made
hominids (organisms belonging
in the genus Homo) distinct from
their primate ancestors.
Hominids
 Differ from their ancestors, the
Australopithecus – are the first to
use stone tools for survival.
 Both genera are known to be
bipedal.
beings in the genus Homo have:
expanded brains
enlarged bodies
less sexual dimorphism
narrower limb proportions
reduced size of cheek, teeth and
crania
Homo rudolfensis
 The first hominid discovered by
Richard and Meave Leakey in
Kenya in 1972.
Homo rudolfensis
 Its molar and premolar teeth
resembles those of its predecessor
(genus Australopithecus),
although its brain is similar to
those of the other hominids.
Homo habilis (Handy Man)
 date back approximately 1.9 mya
in a site at Olduvai George,
Tanzania
Homo habilis (Handy Man)
 The survival of this group from
different regions of Earth shows
their capacity to adapt with the
changing condition of the planet.
Achievements & Discoveries
 a windbreak of stones
 skill of tool-making
Homo erectus (Upright Man)
 Best represented by Java Man
discovered in Java, Indonesia.
 This specie had the capacity to
manipulate his environment in
order to survive.
Achievements & Discoveries
 construction of dwellings (huts,
sometimes 50 ft. long, built of
branches, w/ stone-slab or skin
floors)
 first wooden spear and earliest
container
Achievements & Discoveries
 wooden bowl
 hunting (herbivores into omnivores)
 fire – 1 mya (when lightning struck a
tree, volcanic activity, friction)
Homo neanderthalensis
 Similar to Homo erectus who
walked erect and had big crania.
 found in Africa and Asia
Achievements & Discoveries
 Exhibited mental sophistication
by wearing animal skins and furs
to protect them from changing
weather conditions.
Achievements & Discoveries
 believed to be the first to bury their
dead
 offering animals as part of its burial
rituals
Homo sapiens (Wise Man)
 Smaller face, lighter skull with
bigger provision for brain, and
straighter limbs.
 Species of modern man (Homo
sapiens sapiens)
Homo sapiens
 In the Philippines, evidences of
Homo sapiens were manifested in
the discovery of the Tabon Man 20
tya and Callao Man 60 tya.
Achievements & Discoveries
 first to control the growth and
breeding of some plants and animals
 learned how to farm and herd
animals
 learned to settle in one place
Achievements & Discoveries
 learned how to communicate;
symbols and languages were born
 began to study sciences and
humanities
 beliefs were practiced