Human Beginnings

Human Beginnings

The Cosmic Calendar http://visav.phys.uvic.ca/~babul/AstroCourses/P303/BB-slide.htm

The History of World History: • Sacred History vs. Secular History • “Prehistoric” vs. Historical • Cities? • Writing? • Nations? • Sacred Prehistory: Eden, The Flood, The Tower of Babel • Secular Prehistory: • Hunting-herding-agriculture-civilization • Tribes-totemic societies-complex societies. • Tribal headship-chieftaincies-states. • Superstition-magic-religion. • Camps-hamlets-villages-cities. • Conjectural History: Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Marx, Freud

The End of the “Short Chronology” • Shark Teeth found on mountaintops • Charles Lyell. Principles of Geology. 1830’s. • First half of 19th century, excavating tools, jewelry, etc. alongside the remains of now-extinct animals. • Lyell. Geological Evidence for the Antiquity of Man. (1868)

Problems with documents: • They are just one kind of trace. • They need to be contextualized. • They do not offer straightforward readings.

Excursus: Deep History of Human Sexuality • The Incompetence of Human Infants • -Lack fine motor control for using tools and acquiring food • -Our food gathering requires large brains • Long period of maternal investment • But also long period of paternal investment, given food-gathering. • Confidence in Paternity is important.

From Jared Diamond, The Third Chimpanzee.

Penis size as plumage? As threat? • Hidden Ovulation: Some theories • Enhance cooperation and reduce aggression among males. • Cement bond between couples. • Meat-sharing motivation (cf. chimpanzees). • Motivate a more enduring bond from the male. • Evolved so females can manipulate males by confusing paternity. • Human birth is painful and risky, so this adaptation is a way for women to deceive themselves.

All humans living today share a common human ancestor dating back to 150,000 years ago and living in Africa. But we share common ancestors with chimpanzees from 5 to 7 million years ago.

Brain Size?

Stone Tools

Homo habilis (“handy”) lived about 2.5 million years ago, chipping hand axes from stones. He had a larger brain than earlier primates and demanded more nourishment.

“Lucy,” a relatively complete example of australopithecines (3 million BP), was part of a species that lived in family groups, walked on two legs, and by at least 2.5 million BP used tools. Homo erectus (1.5 million BP) had a larger brain than we do and made tools and weapons from flint. Homo ergasterand homo antecesor(800,000 BP) stacked the bones of the dead. But were they the first humans?

In 1953 scientists discovered that a Japanese Macaque monkey had developed a new technique for washing sweet potatoes. Later she found a new technique to wash sand from wheat. She taught these to her children. Today her entire tribe uses these techniques.

In Kenya, in 1986, a group of male baboons died suddenly from an infection contracted from raiding a garbage dump. After this, the normally aggressive, male-dominated and violent baboon group developed a new, less hierarchical power structure based on resolving conflict through mutual grooming. They taught this new structure to “immigrant” male baboons.

Development of Cultural Traits Cultural traits can be produced according to blind selective processes (rather than genius). For example, the Clovis points, which may open up larger wounds, could have been kept as models only because they were recovered from dead animals. Or, consider the practice of treating maize with lime. Not all cultural traits are adaptive (like drug abuse). Even intentional actions become unintentional when they interact with unintentional consequences. For example: primogenture inheritance and agriculture. Easter Island is a good example of an unadaptive cultural trait.

Neanderthals (homo neanderthalensis) coexisted with homo sapiens for 100,000 years, but they aren’t human. They were of a similar size to us, with slightly larger brains. They lived in the same kinds of societies, ate the same foods, made the same kinds of tools and jewelry. They buried their dead with signs of honor.

A. Human Evolution • Australopithecus lived about 3 million years ago. • Homo habilis (“handy human”) lived about 2.5 million years ago. • Homo erectus (“standing upright”) lived about 1.5 million years ago. • Homo ergaster (“workman”) lived about 800,000 years ago.

Human Migrations • Out of Africa first around 100,000 years ago • Why? • Rise in population due to use of fire in cooking • More types of food available • War: competition for resources • Humans reach China: 67,000 years ago • Australia: 50,000 years ago • Europe: 40,000 years ago • Migration to the Americas: around 15,000 years ago (?) • Land bridge across the Bering Strait as the last Ice Age ended • Multiple groups or one migration? • Clovis culture? • Mass extinction of 35 species of mammals around 10,000 years ago • Questions about date of the peopling of the Americas raised by archaeological investigations at: • Meadowcroftshelter • Monte Verde in Chile

From Daniel Lord Smail & Andrew Shyrock. Deep History: The Architecture of Past and Present.

Human Beginnings