Ch. 1: Nature, Humanity, & History: 1st 4 Million

Years

1. Evolution: Based on work of Darwin, fossil record, genetics…

2. Creationism (link to Intelligent Design): Based on Genesis, other creation myths/legends…

3. Other, less supported theories include Chariot of the Gods…

Intro: Theory

Scientists: Paleontologists, archaeologists, anthropologists

Study fossils, artifacts…Dating techniques:

C14, K-Ar, U238 (absolute)Strata, tree rings, techniques/materials (relative)

A. Interpreting evidencei. Darwin’s Origin of Species: natural selection

ii. Early hominid finds in Java, Beijing… Leakeys found australopithecines in E. Africa

iii. Evidence & other species help scientists trace evolution of humans back over 4 million years

I. African Genesis

B. Human evolutioni. Hominids: distinguished by bipedalism,

large brain, larynx locationii. Had advantage during climate changes

of Great Ice Age/Pleistocene. Did climate trigger evolution?

iii. Possible “tree”:AustralopithecinesHomo habilis (Handy, tool-using man)H. erectus (Walks upright man) H. sapiens (Thinking man) ~400,000 –

100,000 years ago; Neanderthals (?), Cro-Magnons

New discoveries still filling out record – recently, “Hobbits” in Indonesia, gene studies and new finds and analysis by the Leakeys are revising timelines.

Fossil record of hominid development

Hominid footprints @ Laetoli: bipedalism

Australopithecines

Donald Johansen – “Lucy”

Homo habilis

Louis & Mary Leakey; Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania

Homo erectus

Peking Man & Java Man – Out of Africa!

Homo sapiens: Neandertal

Hoax: Piltdown Man

Homo floresiensis (“Hobbit”)

Homo sapiens: Cro-Magnon

And new discoveries are continually being made…Older fossils Tools and artifacts in older layersGenetic evidence that modern humans may

carry some Neanderthal genes…“Hobbits,” Denisovans and “X-woman” may

have been concurrent with modern humans as well…

C. Migrations i. Ice Age allowed H. erectus & H. sapiens to migrate to Europe & Asia. Sapiens crossed land bridge to Americas ~ 32,000 – 13,000 years ago; also crossed to Japan, New Guinea…

ii. Minor physical evolution… skin pigmentation? Most adaptation cultural.

A. Food Gathering/Stone Technologyi. Stone Age: ~2 million yrs ago to 4000 yrs ago.

ii. Paleolithic (Old Stone Age): Scavenging & hunting. Neolithic (New Stone Age): Beginnings of crop cultivation.

iii. Diet: Foraged vegetables, some meat. Use, control of fire ~ 1 – 1.5 mya. Cooking pots 12,500 ya.

II. Ice Age History/Culture

B. Gender Division/Social Lifei. 2-parent families (slow infant maturation)

ii. Probably: women gather, cook, child care; men hunt. Small migratory groups.

C. Hearths/Cultural Expressionsi. Migratory camps. Animal-skin clothing.

ii. ~ 3-5 hrs./day for food/clothing/shelter. Time for culture: gathering, organizing, & passing on info, art, & religion.

iii. Neanderthal burials & Cro-Magnon cave art suggest complex religion/belief in afterlife. (Could cave art be older than we think?)

A. Transition to plant cultivation (Neolithic period)i. Ag Revs – domestication of plants

and animals – occurred independently in different regions. Climate, available wild plants & animals a factor.

ii. Semicultivation… then fire & specialized tools.

iii. Best documented in Middle East; also in E. Sahara, Nile Valley, Greece, central Europe. Swidden agriculture: change fields as fertility depletes.

iv. Environment dictated crops. Ex.: wheat/barley in Med., sorghum/yams in Africa; rice in E/S Asia, maize/potatoes in Americas.

III. Agricultural Revolutions

B. Animal domestication/Pastoralismi. Occurred along w/ plants. Dogs 1st, then sheep/goats.

ii. Environmental link (animals w/ agriculture) – plow labor, fertilizer…

iii. Exceptions: Americas only had llamas, guinea pigs, & fowl, so hunting & human labor continued. Arid C. Asia & Africa supported pastoralists.

C. Agricultural & Ecological CrisisTransition occurred because of global warming of Holocene ~9000 BCE changed environment & wild plant/animal availability. Ag revs caused increase in human population: 5000 BCE, 10 million; 1000 BCE, 50-100 million. Health?

A. Rural population & settlement i. Food production negatives: more work, (initially) diet less nutritious. Positives: reliable sources of food, surpluses can be stored

ii. Surpluses gave advantage: . . . greater pop. growth & displacement of gatherers in Europe (genetics studies)

iii. Kinship groups, maybe matrilineal (?). No hard evidence for patrilineal/matrilineal or matriarchies.

IV. Life in Neolithic Communities

B. Cultural Expressions i. Worship of ancestral & nature spirits. Reflected in Hindu texts.

ii. Megaliths for burial chambers, calendar circles, observatories (ex: Stonehenge).

iii. Expansion of societies reflected by patterns of language group distribution.

C. Early Towns & Specialists i. Mostly villages; some areas had resources for towns & elaborate dwellings, food storage, craftsmen. Ex: Jericho, on Jordan River; Catal Huyuk.

ii. Catal Huyuk, in Anatolia, ~ 7000-5000 BCE. Obsidian trade. Many crafts. No evidence of dominant class or centralized political leadership.

iii. Art shows hunting. Agriculture mainstay of economy. Flourishing religion w/ offerings of food. Goddess worship/priestesses.

iv. Copper, lead, silver, & gold decorative/ceremonial objects. Stone tools/weapons.

v. Towns indicate emergence of social organization: food producers support non-producing specialists (priests, craftsmen) & provide labor for projects like walls, megaliths, & tombs. Free or coerced?

i. Early hominids’ struggle to survive changing environments of Ice Age led to physical evolution of humans.

ii. Physical/mental capabilities allowed cultural adaptations to live in different natural environments.

iii. Ultimately, only successful hominid: Homo sapiens sapiens.

V. Conclusion