Theresa Salopek
Evolution of Culture Midterm Essay
October 20, 2015
The Question of Our Origin: Two Opposing Theories
During ancient archaic times, several species existed in the Old World including Homo sapiens in Africa and the Middle East, Homo erectus inhabited Asia, and Homo neanderthalensis flourished throughout Europe. These species however, all lacked a cognitive flexibility which would destroy the blinding walls that blocked any connection between their multiple intelligences. All of science agrees that Homo erectus originated in Africa and expanded to Eurasia one million years ago. However, around 30,000 years ago, taxonomic diversity suddenly disappears and humans evolved into their modern form, signified by their fluent speech,
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Between 100,000 years ago and 30,000 years ago, when Homo sapiens were the only humankind left on Earth, a very critical period of time took place during our evolution towards modern man. The replacement theory suggests that as Homo sapiens left Africa they isolated themselves in terms of reproduction and evolved independently while spreading throughout the world and replacing all other human populations. One form of evidence for this theory comes out of genetic research which finds "genetic variation between populations of chimpanzees is enormously greater than differences between European, Asian, and African populations"(Johanson). This fact supports the idea that anatomically modern humans originated and evolved in Africa as one species and after migrating onward, they ultimately came to conquer the world. Also, Africans display a greater genetic variation in comparison to other populations, further supporting the idea that they were the first modern humans.
When classifying species, those assumed to share ancestors are categorized into one genus, based on similarities. Species are considered similar based on physical features and in some cases, their DNA sequences. The Out-of-Arica theory is also known as the Eve theory due to the fact that mitochondrial DNA is passed down only through the offspring 's mother, which preserves the family record. This record is influenced solely through mutations occurring at a steady rate, allowing molecular geneticists to
Lastly, we come to Homo erectus which date back from 1.8 million years to about 200,000 years ago. Homo erectus has been found in Africa and Asia which makes it the first wide ranging species of its kind (Human Evolution). Despite the look of Homo erectus’s skull it was very similar body structure to that of a humans. Homo erectus is also thought to be the first hominid to use fire and have a true sence of culture (Human Evolution). Though it was probably dramatically different than what we see
Chris stringer is the author of Lone Survivor How We Came to Be the Only Humans on Earth. Stringer covers a wide variety of topics in his book. He talks about the modern technology we have now that makes it easier to identify fossils, bones, dates, etc. He also mentions how the human gene became what it is today, the Homo sapien. Stringer argues that Homo sapiens did not originate in a single region of Africa. Instead, different populations coexisted across the continent with other species like Homo erectus, and they exchanged genes, tools and behavioral and survival traits before they migrated to Europe.
According to Diamond, Human ancestors moved to Eurasia around 1 to 2 million years ago and after human fossils began to resemble modern Homo sapiens and archaeologists called that period the Great Leap Forward. According to “Human Evolution and the Great Leap Forward - By Advocate De Waal Lubbe,” Scientists have estimated that humans branched off from their common ancestor, with chimpanzees, about 5-7 million years ago. Several species and subspecies of Homo evolved and are now extinct. These include Homo erectus, which inhabited Asia, and Homo Sapiens Neanderthalensis, which inhabited Europe. Archaic Homo sapiens evolved between 400,000 and 250,000 years ago.
In class we are reading a book called “The Lighting Thief “by Rick Riordan. There are two characters named Clarisse and Nancy that have many comparisons. They both want him out of their lives, they have different personality that are sometimes similar, and they also have different ideas of what to do to him.
Currently, there is a dichotomy among archaeologists concerning the origin of modern humans. One main argument places emphasis on multi regional expansion of humans in which anatomically modern humans arose in multiple regions around the world. Another proposes that modern humans originated strictly from Africa before migrating to the rest of the world. While both theories have merit, archaeological evidence is in support of the Out of Africa model.
This chapter beings explaining the evolution of mankind. Prior to 11,000 BCE, all humans were equal. Due to our evolutionary past, we branched off from apes to humans and spread around the world. Nearly 4 million years ago, humans began their mark on earth in Africa. Jared Diamond compares human development on all seven continents about 13,000 years ago. Although many early humans were found primarily in Eurasia and Africa, over time they expanded and gained new territory. The early humans created tools as they evolved, and many became hunter and gatherers. Then, human history made a Great Leap Forward around 40,000 BCE. The Great Leap Forward was when the earliest humans created new technology and exciting innovations that did not exist previously
There has been a great deal of heated debate for the last few decades about where modern Homo sapiens originated. From the battle grounds, two main theories emerged. One theory, labeled “Out-of-Africa” or “population replacement” explains that all modern Homo sapiens evolved from a common Homo erectus ancestor in Africa 100,000 years ago. The species began to spread and replace all other archaic human-like populations around 35,000 to 89,000 years ago. The rivaling opinion, entitled the “regional continuity” theory or “multiregional evolution” model refutes this theory and states modern humans evolved from various species of Homo erectus who interbred with others that lived in
Evidence indicates Neanderthals and Modern humans shared a common African ancestor and split on the evolutionary tree between 500,000 to 200,000 years ago. Neanderthals developed in the cold and harsh environment of Europe and western Asia. With a lot of water locked up in the polar ice caps, Africa was experiencing a severe drought. This arid and dry environment is where modern human’s direct ancestor was living. These people’s bodies were a lot taller and weaker (to allow heat to escape) in comparison to the Neanderthals. This severe drought placed modern humans on the brink of extinction. However, when a species is dying out only the most inventive and resourceful survive, this causes the fitness of the remaining population to increase. In Europe the Neanderthals toughness allowed them to be very successful. In Africa the modern humans developed something the Neanderthals did not have, imagination. In Africa to survive it was necessary to think ahead and this allowed them to make the final step in becoming modern humans. Every previous human ancestor had been limited to the confines of their environment, but these ancestors eventually made their way out of Africa, and their imaginative behavior is illustrated in the drawings they left behind for others to find. After they left Africa they could have very well come into contact with the Neanderthals. Neanderthals became
The Out of Africa or African Replacement Hypothesis is a well-supported theory that argues that every living human being is dismount from a small group in Africa, who then distribute into the wider world displacing earlier forms such as Neanderthal and Denisovans. Another name for it is The African Replacement Hypothesis. The Out-of-Africa theory was supported in the early 1990s by research on mitochondrial DNA studies. The fossils of early humans who lived between 2 and 6 million years ago come entirely from Africa. Scientists do not all agree, however, about how these species are related or which ones simply died out. In fact there is some evidence:
The Multiregional Continuity Model states that after Homo erectus left Africa and spread into other parts of the Old World, regional populations gradually evolved into modern humans. In contrast, the Out of Africa Model states that modern humans evolved fairly recently in Africa, migrated into Eurasia and replaced all
While his coworkers constructed his designs, what hobby did Bernini pursue? Answer Selected Answer: Correct Answer: Writing plays and designing stage sets Writing plays and designing stage sets
Homo erectus was first found in Africa and the fossilized remains dated 1.8 and 1.0 million years old. The Homo erectus traits are very similar toward the modern human traits. Homo erectus brain size was smaller than the Homo sapiens. Homo erectus had a brain size of approximately 650 cc and Homo sapiens had a brain size of approximately 1251
The next species to appear were the Homo erectus which might have descended from Homo habilis. They were the first human whose fossils were found outside of Africa. They also had larger brain than the species before them. Homo sapiens sapiens came after the Homo Neanderthalensis; they are the only human species around. This could have been due to the result of increase brain sizes that allows more cognitive abilities that help them adapt to different environment changes and hence survive. Global evidence have been found of art, music, and culture and advanced tool making. In Mithen’s 3 phase of mind proposes that the shape of the Neanderthals’ frontal lobe was similar to the one of the modern Homo sapiens and this indicated that they were able to cope with complex cognitive functioning. Evidence for this could be explained using the phonological approach by Frank Gall (1758-1828).
Human origins, evolution, and diffusion are important for understanding the history of Africa. African historians take pride in the fact that Africa is most certainly the birthplace of humanity. There is evidence showing that humanity began in Africa by remains left behind by human groups and societies. They have retrieved fossils of living organisms, and even written records, like cave drawings. Dating back millions of years ago Africa provides the best time line of human development because other parts of the world do not have evidence dating back as far as in Africa. Where did humanity and human history begin? There are theories supporting both that, humans evolved from various parts of the world, and that humans rose in Africa then migrated to other parts of the world and continued to develop. The theory that has the most support is that humanity rose in Africa then moved to other regions of the world. Africa is indeed the home of humanity but because Africa is where humanity began they were not able to be at the top of the evolutionary ladder because their global location did not allow them to develop faster. Human history in general is difficult to understand but we can look at the past to learn more about where we came from and how our societies have developed.
According to physical evidence, and theories, scholars have concluded upon a whole hypothesis. Based on their knowledge and belief, modern humans diverged from Homo sapiens between 200,000 and 150,000 years ago specifically in Africa, that between 125,000 and 60,000 years ago members of Homo sapiens left Africa, and that these