UNDERSTANDING
CULTURE, SOCIETY
AND POLITICS
(UCSP)
Learning Task 1: Spot the Difference!
Learning Task 1: Spot the Difference!
Compare and contrast the given pair of images. Then, discuss the
message that the images would like to convey.
LESSON 3:
HUMAN BIOCULTURAL
AND SOCIAL EVOLUTION
Learning Targets:
At the end of the lesson, the learner is able to:
1. Trace the biological and cultural evolution of early to
modern humans;
2. Explore the significance of fossils and artifacts in
interpreting cultural, social, and economic processes.
3. Explain the different types of societies.
4. Analyze how societies evolve through time.
5. Explain the political developments in early civilization.
Cultural Evolution
It refers to the changes or
development in cultures from a
simple form to a more complex
form of human culture.
HUMAN BIOCULTURAL
AND
SOCIAL EVOLUTION: From
Austrolopithecus to Homo sapiens
sapiens
Biological Evolution
refers to the changes, modifications,
and variations in the genetics and
inherited traits of
biological populations from one
generation to another.
Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
An English naturalist and
geologist who introduced Biological
Evolution through his work titled
“On the Origin of Species by Means
of Natural Selection or the
Preservation of Favored Races in the
Struggle for Life (1859).
The evolution of species
happens through the process of
natural selection.
Natural Selection – it is the process
that affect the frequencies of traits
in a particular environment. Traits
that enhance survival and
reproductive success in frequency
over time.
ANCESTORS OF THE MODERN
HUMANS
ANCESTORS OF THE MODERN HUMANS
ANCESTORS OF THE MODERN HUMANS
HOMINIDS
The general term used to categorize
the group of early humans and
other humanlike creatures that can
walk erect during the prehistoric
period.
Categories of Hominids
1. SAHELANTHROPUS
▪ 6-7 million years ago
▪ It had both apelike and
humanlike Characteristics:
▪ A skull similar to Australopithecus
and modern human
▪ Height almost similar with
chimpanzee
▪ Brain sizw: 320-380 cc
▪ Had the ability to walk upright
2. ARDIPITHECUS
▪ “ape on the ground”
▪ 5-6 million years-
▪ Height about 4 feet
▪ Weight about 120 pounds
▪ Skull similar to an ape
▪ Small brain
▪ Bipedal
▪ Lived in jungles and forests like
chimpanzees.
3. Australopithecus
▪ “the southern ape”
▪ Brain size: 500 cc or
almost 1/3 size of human
brain
▪ Upright
▪ Bipedal
▪ Tool users not tool
makes
▪ Food scavengers
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4. HOMO
They are classified as
humans and not
humanlike creatures
because they had bigger
brains and were bipedal
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A. HOMO HABILIS
▪ has a larger brain and
reduced the size of
molars and premolars
compared to the A
Australopithecus.
▪ a.k.a Handy man
because this species was
thought to represent the
first maker stone tools.
07
B. HOMO ERECTUS
▪ Brain Size: 1,000 cc
▪ Lived in shelters
▪ Food gatherers
▪ Crafted materilas
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C. HOMO SAPIENS
▪ The only extant
human species. The
name is latin for “wise
man” and was
introduced in 1758 by
Carl Linneaus.
07
2 TYPES OF HOMO SAPIENS
1. HOMO SAPIENS
NEANDERTHALENSIS
They had a brain size larger
than modern man and were
gigantic in size. Also, they had
a large head and jaw and were
powerful and muscular. They
were carnivores and hunters.
07
2 TYPES OF HOMO SAPIENS
1. HOMO-SAPIENS SAPIENS
▪ Also known as the “modern-day man”
is what we are today. The brain size
reduced to 1300 cc, reduction in the
size of jaw, rounding of the skull and
chin
▪ They were omnivores, had skillful
hands, and develop the power of
thinking, producing art, more
sophisticated tools and sentiments.
Recent Developments on
Human Evolution: Homo
luzonensis
Homo floresiensis (100, 000 – 60, 000 years ago)
• One of the most recent human speci
discovered in Liang Bua Cave on the Islan
of Flores in Indonesia in 2003.
• Height is about 3 feet and 6 inches; tin
brain; large set of teeth, receding forehea
and shrugged-forward shoulders.
Homo floresiensis (100, 000 – 60, 000 years ago)
• A little or dwarfed hominin discovered i
Liang Bua Cave on the Island of Flores i
Indonesia in 2003.
• Height is about 3 feet and 6 inches; tin
brain; large set of teeth, receding forehead
and shrugged-forward shoulders.
• Made and utilized tools, hunted sma
elephants and large rodents.
Homo luzonensis
THE SOCIAL AS DRIVER
OF INTERACTION
TYPES OF SOCIETIES
Gerhard Lenski (1924-2015), an
American sociologist, argued that the
human society undergoes transformation
and evolution and in the process develops
technological advancement. This is called
the sociocultural evolution.
TYPES OF SOCIETY
Sociologist have classified the different
types of societies into six categories, each of
which possesses its own unique
characterisctics.
1. Hunting and Gathering Societies (3, 000, 000
years ago)
These are the earliest
forms of society. These are
small and generally with
less than 50 members and
are nomadic. The
members survive primarily
by hunting, trapping,
fishing, and gathering
edible plants.
2. Pastoral Societies (10 000 years ago)
Rely on products through
the domestication and
breeding of animals for
transportation and food.
These are common in
areas where crops cannot
be supported and only
have to move when the
land in which animals gaze
is no longer usable.
3. Horticultural Societies (10 000 years ago)
These societies rely on the
cultivation of fruits,
vegetables, and plants in
order to survive. They are
often forced to relocate
when the resources of the
land depleted or when the
water supplies decreases.
4. Agricultural Societies (Neolithic, 8000-
4000 years ago)
They rely on the use of
technology in order to
cultivate crops in large
areas, including wheat, rice,
and corn. Productivity
increases, and as long as
there are plenty of food,
people don not have move.
5. Industrial Societies (1780’s – 1850’s)
They used advanced
sources of energy to run
large machinery which led
to industrialization,
innovations in
transportation led to travel,
work in factories, and live
in cities.
6. Post- Industrial Societies
Their economy is based on services and technology,
not production. The economy is dependent on
tangible goods, people must pursue greater education,
and the new communications technology allows work
to be performed from a variety of locations.
