CULTURAL AND BIOLOGICAL ADAPTATION AMONG
ANATOMICALLY MODERN HOMO SAPIENS,
50,000-10,000 YEARS AGO
UPDATED AUG. 29, 2005DR. ERIC CANINCSU FULLERTON
Symbol use before homo sapiens
• Homo erectus: use of red ochre
• Homo neandertalis: intentional burial
HOMO SAPIENS SAPIENSTHE SYMBOL USER
• HOMO SAPIENS SAPIENS (ANATOMICALLY MODERN HUMANS) AROSE IN AFRICA AND SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE WORLD
• RECENT EVIDENCE FAVORS REPLACEMENT (OUT OF AFRICA) OVER MULTIREGIONAL MODELS
• APPR. DATE B.P. CONTINENT SITE EXAMPLE
– 155,000 AFRICA HERTO, ETHIOPIA– 100,000 NEAR EAST SKUHL, ISRAEL– 67,000 ASIA LIUJIANG, CHINA– 40,000 AUSTRALIA LAKE MUNGO, AUSTRALIA– 36,000 EUROPE PESTERA CU OASE, ROMANIA– 13,000 S. AMERICA MONTE VERDE, CHILE
– Neandertal Homo sapiens sapiens
SIGNIFICANT CULTURAL ADAPTATIONS:THE HUMAN REVOLUTION
• THE MOST IMPORTANT CULTURAL ADAPTATIONS DURING THE PERIOD FROM 50,000 TO 10,000 INVOLVED THE USE OF TOOLS AND SYMBOLS
• TOOLS AND SYMBOLS WERE USED PRIOR TO 50,000 BY OTHER HOMINIDS, BUT THE DATE MARKS THE BEGINNING OF THE SOPHISTICATED, EFFICIENT AND WIDESPREAD USE OF CULTURE
• THIS PERIOD, CALLED THE UPPER PALEOLITHIC IN EUROPE, IS OFTEN REFERRED TO AS THE HUMAN REVOLUTION
Solutrean blade Cave painting: horse and arrows
TOOLS: STONE AND BEYOND
• STONE BLADES: BLANKS FOR MAKING OTHER TOOLS
– USED TO MAKE KNIVES, BURINS, SCRAPERS, AWLS
• STONE MICROLITHS: SMALL, FLAKED TOOLS ATTACHED TO WOOD OR BONE
– USED AS BARBS AND ARROWHEADS
• TOOLS MADE FROM OTHER MATERIALS : BONE, IVORY, ANTLER AND SHELL
– USED TO MAKE HARPOONS, SPEARTHROWERS, AWLS AND NEEDLES
SYMBOLS: VISUAL AND MATERIAL IMAGERY
• CAVE (PARIETAL) ART» Rhinos from Chauvez,
France, 32,000 B.P.
• ROCK ART (PETROGLYPHS)» Giraffe and other
figures, Namibia, 27,000 B.P.
SYMBOLS: VISUAL AND MATERIAL IMAGERY, con’t.
• FIGURINES (PORTABLE ART)
» Venus of Willendorf, Austria, 25,000 B.P.
• BURIALS» Burial remains with
beads, Sungir, Russia, 28,000 B.P.
SYMBOLS: VISUAL AND MATERIAL IMAGERY, con’t
• SHAMANISM, RELIGION AND THE IMAGINATION
» The Sorcerer, Les Trois Freres, France, 12,000 B.P.
» Artist rendering
• IS THIS A GOD, MAN-BEAST, COSTUMED DANCER, OR SELF-TRANSFORMING SHAMAN?
IMPACT OF CULTURE ON BIOLOGICAL ADAPTATION
• THE IMPACT OF CULTURE ON BIOLOGY IS NOT CLEAR, BUT BASED ON INFERENCE
• IMPROVED TOOL TECHNOLOGY MAY HAVE– CHANGED OUR DENTITION (TOOTH SIZE), WHICH
RESULTED IN CHEEKBONES AND CHIN CHARACTERISTIC OF HOMO SAPIENS SAPIENS
– IMPROVED OUR DIET, RESULTING IN GREATER ENCEPHALIZATION, THE RATIO OF BRAIN TO BODY SIZE
• INCREASED USE OF SYMBOLS AND SYMBOLIC LANGUAGE MAY HAVE
– FAVORED INDIVIDUALS WITH GREATER ENCEPHALIZATION AND IMPROVED VOCAL TRACTS, AS SYMBOLIC COMMUNICATION BECAME MORE IMPORTANT AND WIDESPREAD
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