an100 evolution lec 13-15

8/10/2019 AN100 Evolution Lec 13-15

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The

EvolutionaryOrigins of

HumanCulture

Alex K. Ruuska, PhDNMU

Lecture 13


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Announcements

Tutor for AN 100: Mon, Wed 6-8 pm Gries

Hall, 1stFloor, Conference Room

Examination: Next Thursday, Sept. 29,

2011, Chapters 1-4 Lecture Notes, Ethnographic Readings

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Announcements

Quiz and Discussion Points Posted on

Educat

This Week- Move to Quizzes online

Ethnographic Reading on Educat Human Evolution

Link directly below Syllabus Link

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Review

Last Week: Looking at the centrality offieldwork to anthropology (21stC- Geertz)

Popular theory of 19thC: Social Evolution

2oth Century: gets replaced by

Structuralism, Functionalism and Historical

Particularism - Which we will continue to

examine in coming weeks11/13/2014 4


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This Week

Chapter 4, Haviland et al.

Becoming Human: The Origin and

Diversity of Our Species

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So who are we?

where did we

come from?where

are

wegoing?

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Dominant Explanatory

Frameworks

Cultures tell many stories to themselves

using different types of information as a

means of validating their truth claims

Among scientists the theory of evolution is

critical to understanding where we have

been, who we are as modern humans, and

where we may be going

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Theory

Set of ideas

formulated by

reasoning from

known facts toexplain

something

Promote newunderstanding

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Fact Concept of Evolution preceded

Charles Darwin

Used THEORY of Evolution toExplore HOW evolution occurred

KEY: NATURAL SELECTION

SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST

(HERBERT SPENSER)

Social evolutionist


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Evolution

This weeks agenda: Look at principalsthat determine human adaptation,

variation and change

Biological evolution: Looking at Primates;

humans and their closest relatives

Diffusion: where they originated and

spread11/13/2014 9


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I. The Evolution of Culture

When did the human capacity for

modern cultural behavior

emerge? 2.5 million years ago

What was going on then? Tool

making that we can study

through the archaeological

record

150,000 years ago, anatomically

modern humans in Africa

50-70, 000 years ago- to Asia


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Cultural Adaptation

Cultural responses to

physical/environmental

needs

What items of material

culture do you use to

change your experience

when youre cold? Hot?

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http://www.crh.noaa.gov/mqt/office/stationdigest/trail.jpg


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History of Evolutionary Theory

18th

Century- increasedinterest biological diversity

and human origins

Contrary to dominant

explanation of the time:

Creationism/Genesis

Life forms seen as

immutable; all differences

originated at the creation11/13/2014 13

Charles Darwin


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Contested Stories James Ussher and John

Lighfoot Biblical Scholars

claimed approximately 37

Creation dates including

October 23, 4004 BC, at

9: 00 am

Fossil discoveries

challenged these dates if all

created at same time, why

no fossils; contemporary

plants missing in fossil

record

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Lightfoot

Usher
http://www.preteristarchive.com/StudyArchive/l/lightfoot-john.html


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Catastrophism

Modified view of

creationism:

catastrophism

Said evidence of

ancient species

destroyed by floods,

fires and othercatastophies

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Epic of Gilgamesh,

Mesopotamia


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Review from Yesterdays

Lecture

Cultural Adaptation

Biological Adaptation

Natural Selection

Survival of the Fittest

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Review from Yesterdays

Lecture

18thCentury Debates:

Uniformitarianism & Evolution

Creationism & Catastrophism

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History of Evolutionary Theory

18th

Century- increasedinterest biological diversity

and human origins

Contrary to dominantexplanation of the time:

Creationism/Genesis

Life forms seen as

immutable; all differences

originated at the creation11/13/2014 18

Charles Darwin


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Contested Stories James Ussher and John

Lighfoot Biblical Scholars

claimed approximately 37

Creation dates including

October 23, 4004 BC, at

9: 00 am

Fossil discoveries

challenged these dates if all

created at same time, why

no fossils; contemporary

plants missing in fossil

record

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Lightfoot

Usher
http://www.preteristarchive.com/StudyArchive/l/lightfoot-john.html


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Catastrophism

Modified view of

creationism:

catastrophism

Said evidence of

ancient species

destroyed by floods,

fires and othercatastophies

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Epic of Gilgamesh,

Mesopotamia


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Uniformitarianism

concept developed in 1785, James Hutton

catastrophicprocesses not responsible for the

landforms that existed on the Earth's surface.

Earth developed over long periods of timethrough a variety ofslow geologic and

geomorphic processes.

1832 William Whewell, a scholar fromCambridge used the term Uniformitarianism to

present an alternative to Catastrophism

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Uniformitarianism

Charles Lyell further advanced this idea

Darwins geological work on the 5 yearvoyage upon the HMS Beagle, established

him as a supporter of Lyells work

Also increased his value in the scientific

community

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Evolution developed from

Uniformitarianism

Evolution:

Theory that species arise fromothers through a long and gradual

process of transformation, ordescent with modification

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Evolution

Uniform modification of genetic

traits over long periods of time

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Proto-evolutionary ideas

Erasmus Darwins book:

Zoonomania

Grandfather of Charles

Darwin

1794

Common ancestry of all

animals

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Jean-BaptisteLamarckabout

transmutation of

speciesinfluenced

radicals, but were

rejected bymainstream

scientists.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Baptiste_Lamarckhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Baptiste_Lamarckhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmutation_of_specieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmutation_of_specieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmutation_of_specieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmutation_of_specieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Baptiste_Lamarckhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Baptiste_Lamarckhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Baptiste_Lamarckhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Baptiste_Lamarckhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Baptiste_Lamarck


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Other Influences on Darwin

Thomas Malthus: 18thCentury

All living things have a tendency to increase

geometrically if they have enough food

Disease, war, famine to reduce the pressureon resources

His views influenced Darwin and other 19thCentury Thinkers; still has influence today

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Theory of Evolution

Who: Charles Darwin &

Alfred Wallace

What: In biology, evolution

is the change in the

inherited traits of a

population of organisms

through successive

generations.11/13/2014 27


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Evolution/ Transformism

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Tree of Life: the first-

known sketch by

Charles Darwin of anevolutionary tree

describing the

relationships amonggroups of organisms.


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Theory of Evolution

When a population splits into smaller

groups, these groups evolve

independently and develop into new

species over time

How: Natural Selection

Selection occurs in concert with traits

already in the environment11/13/2014 29


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Natural Selection

Forms most fit to survive

and reproduce in a given

environment do so in

greater numbers than

others in same population

Measured as Reproductive

Success

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Natural Selection

the process by which forms of life having

traits that better enable them to adapt to

specific environmental pressures, as

predators, changes in climate, orcompetition for food or mates, will tend to

survive and reproduce in greater numbers

than others of their kind, thus ensuring theperpetuation of those favorable traits in

succeeding generations.

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Giraffe Neck- access to

resources increased through

long neck; more likely to

reproduce; Variety Needed

Sexual Competition for mates

e.g. ornate peacock feathers,

the antlers of the stag (male

deer), manes of lions.

(Contemporary examples)

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Natural Selection

Mutations: Changes in the DNA

May be adaptive and increase survival

in given environments

Peppered Moth- can be light or dark

Great Britain- industrial pollution

increased- peppered moth stuck out;darker peppered moths survived and

reproduced in greater numbers

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http://www.ndpteachers.org/perit/PepperedMoth[1].GIFhttp://www.ndpteachers.org/perit/PepperedMoth[2].GIF


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Taxonomies

The thing we apprehendin one great leap, the

thinking that, by means of

the fable, is demonstrated

as the exotic charm ofanother system of thought,

is the limitation of our own,

the stark impossibility of

thinking that

Foucault, The Order of

Things, xv

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http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.canmag.com/images/front/movies2008/mummyset1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.canmag.com/nw/8941-mummy-dragon-emperor-set-photo&h=292&w=439&sz=25&hl=en&start=22&sig2=O34zUejMa1o8Yh3d83v6uQ&um=1&tbnid=_LrdJVhLDrh2fM:&tbnh=84&tbnw=127&ei=l8zvRtzLEJzyePn2qbUG&prev=/images?q=Emperor&start=20&ndsp=20&svnum=10&um=1&hl=en&sa=N


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Finding our Place in the World

From A certain Chinese encyclopaedia

in which it is written that animals are

divided into: (a) belonging to the

Emperor, (b) embalmed, (Cc) suckling

pigs, (e) sirens, (f) fabulous, (g) straydogs, (h) included in the present

classification, (i) frenzied, (j)

innumberable, (j) drawn with a very fine

camelhair brush, (l) et cetera, (m)having just broken the water pitcher, (n)

that from a long way off looks like flies

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http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/CLA/CC585~Emperor-in-Yellow-Kimono-Posters.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Emperor-in-Yellow-Kimono-Posters_i106967_.htm&h=450&w=353&sz=37&hl=en&start=20&sig2=5RF51RSTLHeXkXE2ldDInA&um=1&tbnid=pEA0wpPNhbSF-M:&tbnh=127&tbnw=100&ei=58vvRpygC52CeJjkmLIG&prev=/images?q=Emperor&svnum=10&um=1&hl=en&sa=X


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Culturally Constructed

Realities

What we see is often shaped

by the societies and cultures

we are emerged in

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Discussion

Human Migrations

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Review, Lecture 13

Cultural Adaptation

Biological Adaptation

Natural Selection

Survival of the Fittest

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II. So What is Our Place

Among Primates?

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Overarching Question:

When did we begin to learn culture?

Is culture something shared by other

primates or is it unique to humans?

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Hominids (entire chart)


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Hominids (entire chart),

Hominins (right side only)

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A. Primate Tendencies

Primatologists

study non-human

primates

Apes, lemurs,

monkeys including

Chimpanzees

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Jane Goodall , Primatologist

G b St Chi


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Gombe Stream Chimpanzee

Reserve

Lake Tanganika, Tanzania

Goodall asked to study Chimapanzees

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http://www.fundacionprincipedeasturias.org/ing/04/premiados/archivos/fotos/zoom/foto770.jpg


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Jane Goodall

Revolutionized the study of primates,

our closest relatives

Set radically new standards and a

new intellectual style for the study ofanimal behavior

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Interview Questions

In those early days of your field study,

when you'd sit for weeks and months

trying to make contact with the

chimpanzees, what kept you going and

believing that what you were doing

would, in fact, lead to somethingvaluable and important?

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Being Interviewed

It wasn't so much that it would be valuable

and important. My goal was to habituate

the chimps and learn what they did. The

first time I saw them using tools, I actuallycouldn't believe it. It was just so amazing.

So, it wasn't that I hoped to make

significant findings. It was that I had a jobto do and the job was to get the chimps to

stop being frightened of me so I could

learn how they lived.11/13/2014 49


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Jane Goodall

The Woman

Who

Redefined

Man

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When Louis Leaky first

hear about Jane Goodalls

discovery that chimps

fashion and use tools, hesent her a telegram,

Now we must redefine

tool, redefine man, or

accept chimpanzees as

human.

Prior to Goodall,

definition of human,

MAN THETOOLMAKER


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B. Humans and Apes

(1) Most Studied: Those

that spent lots of time on

the ground: baboons,

gorillas, chimpanzees,orangutans

(2) Those that are mostclosely related to

humans: the great apes11/13/2014 51

Orangutans

Lemur
http://blog.wired.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/04/11/orangutans.jpg


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Primate Tendencies

Grasping:five digited hands that are suitable for

grasping (e.g. branches)

OpposableThumbs:thumb can touch otherfingers (imagine not using your thumb for an

entire day!!)

Grasping feet: lost among the species in which

bipedalismwalking on two feet is dominant

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Primate Tendencies

Sight: visually oriented; primary method of

getting information

Steroscopic and color vision great

(seeing width, height, depth)

Adaptive function: finding food, easier grooming

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Primate Tendencies

Nose to Hand: tactile organs; being able to

thread a needle

Brain complexity: brain size to body ration higher

than for most animals

Parental Investment

Sociality11/13/2014 54

III Wh t W Sh ith Oth


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III. What We Share with Other

Primates

A. Learning

Learned Ability: Using Tools; both

Humans and Great Apes

(Gorillas, Chimpanzees,

Orangutans)

Book:Among Orangutans: Red

Apes and the Rise of Human

Culture (Dr. van Schaik)

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III What We Share with Other


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Primates

B. Tools

Sumatra Orangutan Tool Use

Using Sticks to get honey and

insects

Other Sticks for seeds of the

neesia fruit

Tool Use: Cultural; They learn

it from each other11/13/2014 57

Opening Tool Box


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B. Tools

Tool use is one indicator of higherintelligence

Behavior that was once used to set

humans apart from other animals

Broad range and degrees of sophistication

of the tools that humans and other

primates use

Primates including early hominins,and the

study of these tools provides important

information concerning the evolution of the

human tool using abilities.

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http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.joelertola.com/tutorials/brain/gifs/Brain.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.joelertola.com/tutorials/brain/index.html&h=387&w=500&sz=102&hl=en&start=1&sig2=OS2lloA-GzjVX3X2Iwfx5A&um=1&tbnid=6PHUx_xRIdnivM:&tbnh=101&tbnw=130&ei=iIDwRvOlB5mceJ2HjNcG&prev=/images?q=brain&svnum=10&um=1&hl=en


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Primates

C. Predation and

Hunting

Both apes and humansare predators

Terrestrial primates-primarily vegetarian diet

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Pan troglo dytes

chimpanzee



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Primates

C. Predation and

Hunting



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Pan troglo dytes

chimpanzee

IV What we share with other


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IV. What we share with other

primates

A. Sharing and

Cooperation

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Pan troglod ytes

chimpanzee

Differences: Human Mating


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Differences: Human Mating

and Kinship

Humans mate throughout the year to

increase reproductive success

Marriage and Exogamy

Maintaining ties to children over lifetime

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Tools Defined

Any object manipulated

to perform a specific

task.

Beneficial Task

Task is made easier bythe use of the tool

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Naturefact

Some tools are very

simple

Tool which requires no

alteration to be functional, is

sometimes described as a

"naturefact"

E.g. a bunch of leaves used

as a sponge to carry water,

or a stick to help scratch the

animal's back.

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http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.michaelchristian.co.uk/blog/images/20050819195006_water_leaf.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.michaelchristian.co.uk/blog/?showimage=19&h=503&w=800&sz=84&hl=en&start=6&sig2=xnU9ck1TaqcnZMhNowlomQ&um=1&tbnid=Olzd8Igi3lSy2M:&tbnh=90&tbnw=143&ei=XI7wRtLyPJ3yeN_kvN0G&prev=/images?q=leaf+water&svnum=10&um=1&hl=en&rlz=1T4GZHY_enUS240US241


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Artifact

A tool that has beencrafted: altered in some

way to make it more

suitable for the job in

hand.

E.g. chimps have been

know to chew their termite

fishing sticksso that they

fit better into the holes in

the termite mounds. A

chewed stick is now an

artifact.11/13/2014 65


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Non-Primate, E.g. Raven

Dropping nuts from sky to

drop them

If they didnt break open,dropped into traffic, to be

run over

Waited for traffic light tochange to get

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http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://kaweahoaks.com/html/raven01.jpg&imgrefurl=http://kaweahoaks.com/html/raven.html&h=360&w=360&sz=17&hl=en&start=2&sig2=MmB_6qwnjZv5SG451QPTAA&um=1&tbnid=f8s0dJF0lxJNWM:&tbnh=121&tbnw=121&ei=v0_xRrrnAqGOiQGCxojxBg&prev=/images?q=raven&svnum=10&um=1&hl=en&rlz=1T4GZHY_enUS240US241&sa=N


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Capuchin Monkey

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Capuchin_Costa_Rica.jpg


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Capuchin monkeys

(e.g.. Cebus apella) are observed to use stones to cracknuts in the wild. This behavior has been much studied in

captivity with some interesting observations:

1. Not all animals seem capable of learning to use tools

2. They don't seem to "understand" their tools (e.g..

banging the ground next to the nut)

3. Other members of the group are able to learn to use

tools by observation

4. In captivity, they will use other tools to perform

particular tasks (e.g.. honey dipping with straw)

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Primates

C. Predation and

Hunting



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Pan troglo dytes

chimpanzee


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Importance of Hunting

If human hunting and meat consumption

was unique among primates, then the

evolution and effects of this behavior could

easily be understood as vitally important.

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Hunting Styles

Opportunistic

Planned

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C. Predation and Hunting

Research by Mitani andWatts in Uganda

Largest Chimpanzee

Community described inthe wild

26 M, 40 F, 16 Adolescent

M, 5 F, 30 Infants

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http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/image/98


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Large Hunting Parties

Most hunts 78% led to a kill

Higher success rate than lions (26%),

hyenas (34%), cheetahs (30%)

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Chimpanzee Hunting Behavior

Advantages:

1) Nutrition: Protein in a largely frugivorous

diet

2) Social Currency of Hunting- Maintain

alliances b/t adult males

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Styles of Hunting

Cooperative Event

Success increases with

group size

In some areas,

chimpanzee success

leading to population

decline of red colobusmonkeys

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Hunting Act

Multiple males are involved in corneringand capturing prey,

Members of the hunting party are spread

out widely on the ground and in the trees(if hunting arborealprey such as colobus

monkeys), and other members of the

community often observe and vocalizeexcitedly throughout the pursuit (Watts &

Mitani 2002).11/13/2014 76
http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/glossaryhttp://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/glossary


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Hunting

BuildingAlliances-

Selective

Distribution ofMeat

Deny Meat toEnemies

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IV How We Differ From Other


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IV. How We Differ From Other

Primates

A. Sharing andCooperation

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Pan troglod ytes

chimpanzee


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Social Band Organizations

Small populations

Large Homeland

Hunting and Foraging

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S O


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Social Organization

Cooperation in thequest for food, social

practices, etc.

Break the laws,

banished

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IV How We Differ From Other


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IV. How We Differ From Other

Primates

B. Matingand Kinship

Non-human

primates

mate when

female isovulating

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H M ti d Ki hi


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Human Mating and Kinship

Humans mate throughout the year toincrease reproductive success

Marriage and Exogamy

Maintaining ties to children over lifetime

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