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Nature, Humanity, & History: 1st 4 Million Years Intro: Theory 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… Scientists: Paleontologists, archaeologists, anthropologists Study fossils, artifacts… Dating techniques: C14, K-Ar, U238 (absolute) Strata, tree rings, techniques/materials (relative) I. African Genesis a. Interpreting evidence i. 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 b. Human evolution i. Hominids: distinguished by bipedalism, large brain, larynx location ii. Had advantage during climate changes of Great Ice Age/Pleistocene. Did climate trigger evolution? iii. Possible “tree”: 1. Australopithecines 2. Homo habilis (Handy, tool-using man) 3. H. erectus (Walks upright man) 4. H. sapiens (Thinking man) ~400,000 – 100,000 years ago; Neanderthals (?), Cro-Magnons 5. New discoveries still filling out record – Denisovans in Eastern Europe, “Hobbits” in Indonesia, gene studies, and other new finds & analysis are continually revising timelines. 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. II. Ice Age History/Culture a. Food Gathering/Stone Technology i. 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. b. Gender Division/Social Life i. 2-parent families (slow infant maturation) ii. Probably: women gather, cook, child care; men hunt. Small migratory groups. c. Hearths/Cultural Expressions i. 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. III. Agricultural Revolutions 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. b. Animal domestication/Pastoralism i. 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 Crisis i. Transition 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? IV. Life in Neolithic Communities 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. 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? V. Conclusion a. Early hominids’ struggle to survive changing environments of Ice Age led to physical evolution of humans. b. Physical/mental capabilities allowed cultural adaptations to live in different natural environments. c. Ultimately, only successful hominid: Homo sapiens sapiens.