MET # 3: 

LOOKING
BACK AT HUMAN
BIO CULTURAL AND
SOCIAL EVOLUTION
 LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

 Describe the biological and cultural

evolution of early to modern humans
What is evolution?
 EVOLUTION

 the process by which different kinds of living organisms are

thought to have developed and diversified from earlier forms
during the history of the earth
 the gradual development of something, especially from a
simple to a more complex form
 BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION

 refers to the changes, modifications, and variations in the

genetics and inherited traits of biological populations from
one generation to another
 THE EVOLUTION THEORY BY
CHARLES DARWIN
 The evolution theory states that all forms of life started from
simple forms and transformed to complex ones.
 THE EVOLUTION THEORY BY
CHARLES DARWIN
 It was introduced by the naturalist and
biologist known for his theory of
evolution and the process of natural
selection- Charles Darwin who is
called the “Father of Evolution”- in his
published work, On the Origins of
Species by Means of Natural Selection
PRINCIPLES OF NATURAL
SELECTION
1. Variation- every species is made up of a variety of
individuals with some better adapted to their environments
compared to the others
2. Inheritance- organisms produce offspring with different
sets of traits that can be inherited
3. Survival of the Fittest- organisms that have traits most
suitable to their environment will survive and these
variations are passed on to their offspring in subsequent
generations
 BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION

 Fossils refer to the human, plant, and animal remains that

have been preserved through time like human or animal teeth,
skull, and bone fragments.
10
 HOMINID
 Hominid 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.
 HOMINID
 Australopithecus or “southern ape”
 Lived in the African jungle from 5 million to 1million years
ago
 Brain size (1/3 size) of the size of the modern human
 Upright
 Biped
 Lived in small groups
 Food Scavengers
 HOMINID
 Australopithecus or “southern ape”
 Ate insects, eggs, plants, fruits, and sometimes meat
 Used sticks and stones for digging
 HOMINID
 Australopithecus Afarensis is considered as the common
ancestor of the Australopithecus species.
 The 3.2 million years old Australopithecus Afarensis fossil
named LUCY was considered as one of modern human’s
earliest ancestors and remains as the most famous hominid
fossil discovered.
 Lucy was discovered in Hadar, Ethiopia in 1974 by
paleoanthropologists led by Dr. Donald Johnson.
 HOMO HABILIS (HANDY MAN)
 Considered as the direct ancestor of the modern
human because of its ability to produce tools
 Characteristics:
 Height- 3-4 ft.
 Brain size half size of the modern human
 Used tools for hunting and food gathering
HOMO ERECTUS (UPRIGHT
MAN)
 Characteristics:
 Brain size about 2/3 of the modern human brain size
 Height- about 5 feet
 Walks upright
 Known for making complex tools
 Considered as skillful hunters
HOMO ERECTUS (UPRIGHT
MAN)
 Characteristics:
 The first Homo species to use fire and to live in caves.
 The first Homo to use spoken language
 The first Homo to leave Africa
HOMO ERECTUS (UPRIGHT
MAN)
 HOMO LUZONENSIS
 Excavated in 2007 in Callao Cave, Peñablanca, Cagayan
Valley, Philippines by an international multidisciplinary
team led by Dr. Armand Salvador Mijares, an
archaeologist from the University of the Philippine sand a
National Geographic Grantee.
HOMO ERECTUS (UPRIGHT
MAN)
 HOMO LUZONENSIS
 It was named Homo luzonensis after the country’s biggest
island of Luzon where it was recovered.
HOMO SAPIENS (THINKING
MAN)
 Considered as modern humans
 Species where all modern humans belong to.
 Larger brain size (almost similar to the brain of modern
human)
 Live in shelters
 Food gatherers
 Ate plant and fruits/Hunted animals
HOMO SAPIENS (THINKING
MAN)
 Considered as modern humans
 Species where all modern humans belong to.
 Learned to gather and cook
 Crafted metals

 Cro-Magnon (Homo sapiens sapiens)

Human has no
contentment.
 CULTURAL EVOLUTION

 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 different factors like climate changes and
population increase.
 CULTURAL EVOLUTION

 Artifacts refer to objects that were made and used by humans

like stone, metal tools, ceramics, earthenware, burial jars, and
ornaments.
 PALEOLITHIC PERIOD
 “palios”- old; “lithos”- stone
 Also referred to as the Old Stone Age
 People where nomads and able to use simple tools and
weapons made of unpolished stone.
 The time when people discovered to use the fire, through the
use of stone, for their protection against cold temperature and
to cook their own food.
 PALEOLITHIC PERIOD

 Human beings in this time were grouped together in small

societies such as bands, and subsisted by gathering plants and
fishing, hunting, or scavenging wild animals
 NEOLITHIC PERIOD
 “neo”- new; “lithos”- stone
 New Stone Age; First Agricultural Revolution
 They learned to create such crafts as pottery and weaving.
 Developed boat as means of transportation and for fishing as
well.
 Developed a sedentary type of society of which they built-up
villages and town.
 METAL AGE
 Three stages: Copper Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age
 Agricultural tools were developed with bronze, such as plows
and sickles, military weapons like swords, spears and shields,
as well as household utensils like jars, bowls and cups.
 Tribes, empires, and state were recognized at this point.
PALEOLITHIC
NEOLITHIC AGE METAL AGE
AGE

Unpolished stone Polished stone

Use of metals
tools tools

Hunting and Domestication of Tribe, empires,

gathering plants and animals and state

Nomadic way of Living in

living permanent places Civilization
 
ACTIVITY 1: HUMAN EVOLUTION
TIMELINE
Directions: Complete the ladder below by supplying the
biological and cultural evolution of early to modern humans.
 
1.1 HUMAN BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION
 
1.2 HUMAN CULTURAL EVOLUTION
 EARLY
CIVILIZATION AND
THE RISE OF
STATES
 CIVILIZATION AND STATE
 The word civilization comes from the Latin word civis which
refers to a person who lives in a city; and civets, which refers to
the urban community in which one dwells.
 As defined by anthropologists, civilization refers to societies in
which large numbers of people live in cities. The inhabitants of
the cities are socially stratified and governed by a ruling elite
who work through centrally organized political systems called
states.
ANCIENT STATE AND
CIVILIZATION: MESOPTAMIA
 Every city in Mesopotamia had its own government,
rulers, warriors, patron god, and functioned like an
independent country.
 Mesopotamian cities were Ur, Uruk, Kish, Lagesh.
 Ziggurat- a massive, tired, pyramid-shaped structure
located at the center of each city which served as their
temple.
ANCIENT STATE AND
CIVILIZATION: MESOPTAMIA

 Military commanders eventually became monarchs

creating a new structure of government called Dynasty.
ANCIENT STATE AND
CIVILIZATION: EGYPT
 Ancient Egyptians lived near the river Nile because of
its fertile land suitable for growing crops and
domestication of animals.
 Egyptians called their king a pharaoh.
 The pharaoh was all-powerful:
 He passed laws.
 He ruled the country.
 He owned most of the land.
 He controlled trade and led the armies.
CIVILIZATION AND STATE
Four basic changes mark the transition from Neolithic
village life to life in the first urban center: agricultural
innovation, diversification of labor, social
stratification, and central government.
AGRICULTURAL INNOVATIONS
Agricultural innovation involved
the development of new farming
methods such as irrigation that
increase crop yields. Agricultural
innovations also brought about other
changes such as increased
population size.
DIVERSIFICATION OF LABOR
High crop yields made possible by
new farming method increase
population permitted a sizable
number of people to pursue non-
agricultural activities on a full bases.
SOCIAL STRATIFICATION
The rise of large, economically
diversify population presided over
by centralized governing authorities
brought with it the fourth cultural
characteristic of civilization: social
stratification or the emergence of
social classes.
CENTRAL GOVERNMENT

The emergence of a governing elite also characterize early

civilization. The challenges new cities face because of their size
and complexity required as a strong central authority. The
Governing elite saw to it the different interest group, such as
farmers or craft specialist, provided their respected services and
did infringe on one another.
 EARLIEST FORM OF
GOVERNMENTS
The Babylonian king who lived in Mesopotamia between
3700 and 3950 years ago) who issued a set of laws now
known as Code of Hammurabi.

HAMMURABI
 EARLIEST FORM OF
GOVERNMENTS
HAMMURABI
The Babylonian king who lived in Mesopotamia between
3700 and 3950 years ago) who issued a set of laws now known
as Code of Hammurabi.
EARLIEST FORM OF
GOVERNMENTS
The oldest written set of laws known to us is the Code of
Hammurabi. It prescribed the correct form of legal
procedures and determined penalties for perjury and false
accusations. It contained laws applying to property rights,
loans and debts, family rights, and even damages paid for
malpractice by a physician.
 
 DEMOCRATIZATION
Democratization is the building of political institutions, common
interest, and new forms of legitimation. Consolidating a democracy,
requires building political parties and alliances capable of establishing
credible national agenda and control of a military, making the security
forces accountable to electoral representatives, and crafting a
constitutional arrangement that will seem open, fair, and in the interests
of all major social sectors, including old and new elites.