Module 5

Understanding Culture, Society and Politics

Looking Back at the Human Biocultural and Social Evolution

Learning Outcomes

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 role played by museums as venues
where our biological, social, and cultural
evolution can be appreciated and understood.
4. Explain the different types of societies.
5. Analyze how societies evolve through time
6. Explain the political developments in early
civilizations.

Biological and Cultural Evolution:

From Australopithecus to Homo Sapiens

Biological Evolution
● It is the physical transformation of modern humans from hominids into thinking
modern humans or homo sapiens.
● Refers to the changes, modifications, and variations in the genetics and inherited
traits of biological populations from one generation to another.

Cultural Evolution
● It refers to the changes or development in cultures from a simple form to a more
complex form of human culture.
● Sociocultural evolution happens as a result of human adaptation to the different
factors like changes in climates or in their environment and population increase.

Charles Robert Darwin (1809-1882)

● Famous English naturalist and geologist.
● Biological evolution is based on his theory of evolution.
● He was a naturalist and biologist known for his theory of evolution and the
process of natural selection.
 ● He was the first scientist to publish a coherent theory of Evolution by Natural
selection.
● In his study, he hypothesized that the evolution of species happens through the
process of natural selection.
● According to him Natural selection was the reason for the occurrence of
evolution.

Natural Selection

According to Ember, Ember, and Peregrine:

It is the outcome of processes that affect the frequencies of traits in a particular

environment. Traits that enhance survival and reproductive success increase in
frequency over time.”

Three Principles of Natural Selection

● Every species made up of variety of individuals wherein some are better adapted
to their environments compared to others.
● Organisms produce progeny with different sets of traits that can be inherited.
● Organisms that have traits most suitable to their environment will survive and
transfer these variations to their offspring in subsequent generations.

From Hominids to Homo Sapiens

The Biological and Cultural Evolution of Modern Humans

● The transformation from apelike ancestors to modern humans occurred after
millions of years of biological and cultural evolution.
● In this long process of evolution, an apelike ancestors developed and eventually
became modern humans (Homo sapiens sapiens).

Archeologist or Social Scientist

● Who study ancient and recent past of humans, conduct excavation to search for
fossils and artifacts that can provide information about the origins of humans in
order to understand the development of humans.

Artifacts and Fossils

● Fossils refer to the human, plant, and animal remains that have been preserved
through time.
● Artifacts refer to objects that were made and used by humans.

Hominid
● It is the general term used by scientists to categorize the group of early humans
and other humanlike creatures that can walk erect during the prehistoric times.

Four Categories of Hominid

● Sahelanthropus
 ● Ardipithecus
● Australopithecus
● Homo

The Australopithecus, together with the Sahelanthropus and Ardipithecus are

considered as the prehuman stage of evolution, while the Homo is part of the human
stage of evolution.

Sahelanthroupus tchadensis
● Is the first hominid came from the lineage of the Sahelanthropus tchadensis
species which is about 6-7 million years ago.
Sahelanthroupus tchadensis Characteristics
● Skull similar to Australopithecus and modern human.
● Height almost similar to a chimpanzee
● Brain size of about 320-380 cubic centimeters.
● Small Teeth
● Had the ability to walk upright.

Orrorin tegenensis (5.7 million years ago) and the Ardipithecus family
● which had two species, namely:
o Ardipithecus kadabba (5.6 million years ago) and the
o Ardipithecus ramidus (4.4 million years ago)

Ardipithecus means “ape on the ground”, while

Ramidus means “root”

Characteristics of Aedipithecus
● Height of about 4 feet.
● Weight of about 120 pounds.
● Skull size similar to an ape.
● Small brain.
● Biped (walks on two legs or feet)
● Lived in jungles and forests like the chimpanzees.

Australopithecus
● Also called a southern ape.
● It is the next group of hominids after Ardipithecus.
● They lived in the African jungle from 5 million to 1 million years ago.

Characteristics of Australopithecus
● Brain weight of 500 cubic centimeters
● Upright
● Biped
● Tool users only and not tool makers.
● Used sticks and stones for digging.
● Lived in small social groups.
 ● Distance of movement was estimated to be 15 kilometers or more to search
stones to be used as tools.

Two Categories of Australopithecus

● Gracile Australopithecine had small teeth and jaw. Australopithecus
anamensis, Australopithecus afarensis, and Australopithecus Africanus are
included in this group.
● Robust Australopithecus had large teeth and jaws and muscular built for
Australopithecus boisei. Australopithecus aethiopicus, Australopithecus
robustus, and the Australopithecus boisei are included in this group.
“Lucy”
● The 3.2 million-year old fossil
● An old Australopithecus afarensis fossil which was considered as one of modern
human’s earliest ancestors and remains as the most famous hominid fossil
discovered.
● Discovered in Hadar, Ethiopia in November 1974 by paleoanthropologists led by
Dr. Donald Johanson.

Homo
● Classified as humans and not humanlike creatures because they had bigger
brains and were bipedal.
● Homo habilis (handy man), Homo erectus (Upright man), and the Homo sapiens
(wise man) are included in this group.
● Some scholars believe that on the basis of evidence, the Homo habilis (handy
man) was the direct ancestor of the modern human because of its ability to
produce tools.

Characteristics of Homo habilis

● Height of about 3 to 4 feet
● Brain size half the size of the modern human (700 cubic centimeters)
● Made tools called Oldowan (name came from the place where they were found—
in Olduval George, Tanzania) which were used as cutting tools and made from
volcanic stones
● Used tools for hunting and food gathering

Homo ergaster
● Was the next Homo species to flourish
● It was from this species where Homo erectus came from.

Homo erectus
● Was estimated to have lived from 1.8 million to 300,000 years ago.
● Another evidence of the homo erectus was excavated in Trini, Java, Indonesia by
Eugene Dubold (1848-1940), a Dutch anatomist and geologist, in 1811.
● The fossil became known as the Java Man and it was dated to be 1.8 million
years of age.
 ● In 1920, another homo erectus skull was excavated in a cave in Zhoukoudian,
China. This became known as the Peking Man and it was estimated to have
lived about 1.1 million to 1 million years of age.

Characteristics of Homo erectus

● Brain size of 1,000 cc or about 2/3 of the modern human brain size
● Height of about five feet
● Walks upright
● Believed to be more intelligent and more adaptable compared to the Homo
habilis.
● Known for making complex tools used for digging, cutting, and scraping.
● Famous for making and using hand axe tools for slicing, chopping, and digging
● Considered as skillful hunters.
● Was the first Homo species to use fire to live in caves and small houses made of
tree branches.
Through the use of fire, they were able to:
o Live in cold and dark places like caves.
o Allowed them to cook food and meat.
o Protect them from attacking wild animals.
o Also provided them a much bigger area available for habitation.
● Believed to use spoken language.

Homo sapiens (thinking man)

● Archaic Homo sapiens of Africa, homo heidelbergensis, Homo neanderthalensis,
and the Homo sapiens sapiens are included in the species.
● Are considered as modern humans.
● Their physical anatomy is very similar to the modern humans.

Characteristics of Homo sapiens

● Large brain size (1,400 cc) that is almost similar to the brain of modern humans.
● Lived in shelters.
● Food gatherers.
● Ate plants and fruits.
● Hunted animals.
● Learned to gather and cook shellfish (164,000 years ago)
● Used fire.
● Crafted metals.
● Homo sapiens made sophisticated and smoothened tools and had more
developed shelters and advanced technology compared to the other Homo
species.
● They were able to make more complex tools and different stone tools like fishing
tools (fish hooks), harpoons, bow and arrows, spear throwers, and sewing
needles.

Cro-Magno
 ● the first fossil skeleton to be considered as a species of the Homo sapiens, called
as the Homo sapiens sapiens (wise Man).
● The name was taken from a rock shelter in France where the fossil was
excavated in 1868.
● Considered as the oldest population of Homo sapiens in Europe.

Museums
● These are institutions that are primarily tasked to conserve, communicate, and
exhibit all material and non material heritages of human society.
● Museums are one of the most easily accessible places where we can see
various artifacts, fossils, and other evidences that could give us information about
our ancestors in the past.

Sociocultural and Political Evolution:

The Development of Societies From The Hunting and Gathering To The Agricultural,
Industrial, and Post-Industrial Stages

Gerhard Lenski
● An American Sociologist argued that human society undergoes transformation
and evolution and in the process develops technological advancement.
● “The more technology a society has, the faster it changes.”

Hunting and Gathering Societies

● The oldest and most basic way of economic subsistence.
● Making use of simple tools to hunt animals and gather vegetation for food.
● Depend on the family to do many things.
● Although women and men perform different tasks, most hunters and gatherers
probably see the sexes as having about the same social importance.
● People come close to being socially equal.

Horticultural and Pastoral Societies

● Larger scale cultivation using plows harnessed to animals or more powerful
energy sources.
● Money as a common standard of exchange, and the old barter system was
abandoned.
● Extreme social inequality, typically more than modern societies such as our own.
● Agriculture raises men to a position of social dominance.
● Religion reinforces the power of elites.

Agricultural Societies and the Neolithic Revolution

● Human began to farm and domesticate animals.
● Animal domestication provided important contributions to the Neolithic people.
● The development of agriculture also led to an increase in social inequality.

Industrial Societies
 ● The production of goods using advanced sources of energy to drive large
machinery.
● Water power and then steam boilers to operate mills and factories filled with
large machines.
● Weakening of close working relationships, strong family ties, and many of the
traditional values, beliefs and customs.
● Change was so rapid that it sparked the birth of sociology itself.

Post-Industrial Societies
● The production of information using computer technology.
● The postindustrial society is at the heart of globalization.

Political Evolution and the Development of Early Civilization

The development of the early civilizations showed the political evolution of

society. A civilization develops because of a society’s highly advanced level of culture,
social organization, political developments, judicial system, arts, and other forms of
culture at a particular time.

The four major civilizations in the world flourished along the rich river plains or river
valleys.

● Sumerian civilization – developed along the Tigris and Euphrates River in West
Asia.
● Indus Valley civilization – started along the Indus River Valley in India.
● Shang civilization of China – developed near the Huang Ho/Huang He River.
● Egyptian civilization – started along the Nile River.
● These river valley civilizations are considered the cradles of human civilization
because it was in these river valley systems where Chinese, Indian, Egyptian,
and Sumerian civilizations developed and flourished.

Below are the important characteristics of these civilizations:

1. Developed and highly advanced cities
2. Well-defined city centers
3. Complex and systematic institutions
4. Organized and centralized system of government
5. Formalized and complex form of religion
6. Job specialization
7. Development of social classes
8. Implementation of large-scale public works and infrastructure like defense walls,
monuments, temples, mausoleums, government edifices, trading centers, and
markets
9. Sophisticated and detailed forms of arts and architecture
10. Advanced technology
11. System of writing and recording
Characteristics of political systems of early civilizations:
● Have a highly centralized and well organized form of government whose leaders
are powerful enough to order the building of massive infrastructure and
implement new policies for citizens.
● Had a clear hierarchy of officials with specific functions and responsibilities
● They also had codified laws and rules that were obeyed and followed by the
people.
● Political leaders of early civilizations were also tasked to do the following:
1. Craft law
2. Implement laws
3. Impose justice and punishment
4. Collect taxes
5. Sometimes act as religious leaders as well

Summary

The origin and development of modern humans can be explained through the
study of biological and cultural evolution. Since the appearance of the first humanlike
beings about four million years ago until the development of the first modern-looking
humans around 100,000 years ago, profound changes had happened to the human
species, changes that transformed them from hominids to Homo sapiens sapiens.

The development of culture through time called as cultural evolution, led to the
transformation of different societies and political systems, a process called sociopolitical
evolution. This transformation produces major levels of sociocultural and political
developments, namely, hunting and gathering, horticultural and pastoral, agricultural,
industrial and post-industrial societies.