Human evolution Flashcards
Biological Evolution rate
occurs through genes and can only be passed on genetically and thus occurs at a slow rate
Bipedalism definition
the ability to walk on two legs
What caused bipedalism
The climate of East Africa became cooler and drier, which led to shrinking forests about 6 mya. - there was a need to travel greater distances to search for food and shelter. This demanded the ability to carry things by hand leading to bipedalism.
Selection for bipedalism (6)
-Carrying offspring
-Carrying food
-Efficient locomotion
-Looking out for predators
-Holding and making tools
-Thermoregulation
Agriculture and farming
(earliest evidence of farming, farming entered…, farming was also developed..)
- Earliest evidence of farming found in the fertile crescent of eygpt 10,000 years ago
- Farming entered china 7,000 years ago,
- Mesoamerica developed farming 5000 years ago.
Shelter and clothing (selection pressures, migration)
Hominin ancestors moving to grassland caused selection pressures against large amounts of body hair.
Migration from Africa to Europe the use of animal skins and woven plants increased survival in colder climates.
Arts and spirituality - cave painting
(cultural explosion when??, a need to represent what??)
Modern humans underwent cultural explosion 35,000 years ago
(a need to represent ideas concerned with the unknown: Death, hunting success, fertility of their women)
Advantages of burial (3)
-hygiene
-reducing attraction to carnivores
-group bonding (social cohesion, emotional needs)
[BURIAL OF THE DEAD] (first seen with, the ritual process??)
- First seen with homo neanderthalensis
-Ritual nature of burial - body position and orientation (east-west), pollen grains, animal bones (food provided for deceased), tools that were buried with the body indicates that there was a belief in the after life.
Arts and aesthetic (Homo neanderthalensis, and Homo sapiens)
Homo neanderthalensis: evidence of bone ornaments ( 30,000 years ago) and use of flowers in burials (pollen)
Homo Sapiens :
Animal subjects, using natural mineral pigments and charcoal. Art deep in caves that would not be seen.
Indicates aesthetic sense
Symbolic nature of pictograms is an important precursor to writing.
[COMMUNICATION AND LANGUAGE]
Evidence for evolution in language
- brocca’s area
- wernicke’s area
- group activities
- larynx
Brocca’s area - in the brain. It coordinates the production and sequencing of sound by the larynx and pharynx
Wernicke’s area - is associated with the interpretation of sounds.
Larynx (voice box) for sound production, pharynx mouth and tongue for sound modification.
Indirect evidence of complex group activities e.g. large kills that could not be possible without considerable planning and coordination which requires language.
Importance of cave paintings
- Recording a hunt (organised plan, and team work)
- Planning a hunt (develope team spirit cohesion)
- Ritual preceding a hunt which involved spiritual re-enactment. (conducted to ensure successful hunting)
Significance of cave paintings
More successful long term hunting means increase in likelihood of reproducing successfully, and successfully compete with rivals.
….. caves contain some of earliest art (…BCE - …BCE) some as far back as…..years ago.
Lascaux caves contain some of earliest art (13,000-15,000 BCE) some as far back as 25,000 years ago.
What species first used fire making and how long ago was it
Homo erectus approx. 1.5 mya.
Benefits of food preparation and cooking with fire
- Food became more digestible
- Greater food range
Increased hygiene - Food was brought back home to eat and cook
What resulted from the benefits of food preperations and cooking with fire
Better brain development (from improved diet and socialising). More time and energy for brain development.
Discuss the impact of fire on the evolution of hominins. In your answer you should include the uses of fire, how fire may have affected cultural evolution and how these changes in cultural evolution may have effected biological evolution
(hints: digestible, impact of skeletal evolution, brain size
Using fire made food more digestible - meant shorter digestive tract was required.
Softer food meant that the skull changed shape. Jaws and teeth became smaller over time.
Skull features such as sagittal crest, zygomatic arch, and brow (places where brow are attached) were no longer necessary.
Allowed room for the cranium to grow and support a larger brain. (also greater range of food meant more energy was available for brain development. )
With fire early humans could…. (5)
(Benefits of using fire) (survival) (5)
- At night or in cooler areas able to keep warm
- Anti-predators defences
-Easier to digest and preserve food
-Used for tools - better tools = better hunting = better food.
-To get more food
Biological impacts of fire
(food chewing, digestion, nutrients release, social)
- Food was easier to chew thus decrease in jaw and muscle size. Molars became less robust, and dental arcade shrank.
-Easier to digest = decrease in intestinal tissue (energy expensive). Gut size decreasing led to ribcage size decreasing.
-Cooking released larger amounts of nutrients thus hominids able to gain more energy than other species.
-Provides gathering place for families - catalyst for cultural advances. - passing on knowledge, socialising and communication. - sharing food (hunter gatherer)
cultural evolution definition
Non genetic way of passing on information through teaching habits of ideas, beliefs, and knowledge
Cultural evolution can occur at a faster rate because…..
more than one person can be taught at a time.
