Human Biological and

Cultural Evolution
Cultural Anthropology

Culture in Evolutionary Perspective

To understand culture, we need to:

(1) Know our biological capacity for culture
(2) How we fit into the animal kingdom
(3) How we came to be what we are

Our Capacity For Culture: Our

Biological Roots

(1) Our language ability

(2) Our ability to make and use tools
(3) Our bipedalismability to stand and walk
on two feet
If the science of humankind is to be taken
seriously
We need to know our own anatomy

First Things First: Taxonomy

Definition: Hierarchical, systematic

classification of all lifeforms
from the general (kingdom.
Phylum, class, order)
to the specific (genus, species,
variety)
Taxon (pl. taxa): categories at all
levels from broad to specific

Taxonomy: Binomial
Nomenclature

Every species has at least two names

Genus: Homo
Species: sapiens
Variety: sapiens? (If we accept the splitters terms)
Stylistic Convention
Italicize or underline all names
Capitalize the genus
Lowercase the species and variety
Example: Homo (sapiens) sapiens

Taxonomy: The General Taxa

Kingdom: Animalia (ingests food, moves)

Phylum: Chordata (has spinal cord)
Subphylum: Vertebrata (has segmented protective
bone or cartilage
Class: Mammalia (warm blooded, female secretes
milk, has hair)
Order: Primata: (larger brain, stereoscopic [depth]
vision, flexible digits, complex sociality
Suborder: Anthropoidea (monkey, apes, humans)

Hominid Taxonomy

This is the new taxonomy:

Hominids apply to all humans and African apes
Hominins apply to Homo sapiens and
All extinct ancestors: Australopithecus, Homo habilis, H.
erectus, H. heidelbergensis, and H. neanderthalensis

Overview: The Human Skeleton

You do need to know

some of the parts of
The human skeleton
Use the online graphics
(such as this)
Or your printed handouts

Where It All Begins: The Brain

Frontal Lobe and

Motor Cortex:
Cognition
Motor Abilities
Parietal Lobe: Touch
and Taste
Temporal Lobe:
Hearing
Occipital Lobe: Vision
Olfactory Bulb: Smell

Parts of the Brain: Motor Cortex

Related to Language:
Lower Part:
Lips
Tongue
Vocalization
Related to Tool Making
and Use: Upper part:
Fingers and Thumb
Hand
Arm

Parts of the Brain: Language

Centers
Parts of Cerebrum
Frontal Lobe
Motor Cortex
Brocas Area
Temporal Lobe
Auditory Cortex
Wernickes Area
Arcuate Fasciculus
Parietal Lobe
Occipital Lobe
Angular Gyrus

Comic Relief, Anyone?

(Courtesy of Geico)

So easy a caveman can do it. . . .?

Human Skull

Note the following:

High forehead
Rounded skull
No brow ridge
Chin is present
Teeth are small
The bones are named
after the lobes of the
brain they cover

Skull Morphology: Chimp and

Human

Note the following

Larger brow ridge (supraorbital torus) of chimp than humans
Sloping forehead of chimp compared to human
More prognathous jaw of chimp compared to human
Larger canine and gap (diastema) of chimp than human

Human and Chimp Skulls

Compared: Brain Structure

Compare the following

Chimps brain is much
smaller (400cc vs 1400cc)
It has reduced frontal lobe
It has no Brocas or
Wernickes area
It does have Brodmanns
area 10, where calls may
originatebut no speech
It does have planum
temporale, where calls are
receivedbut not
processed as language

What This All Means

Our brains are larger than the chimps

We have a well-developed frontal lobe
We have well developed language areas:
Brocas and Wernickes area
The motor strip is more well developed among
humans than among chimps

Dentition

For each jaw (upper or

maxilla or lower or
mandible:
Incisors (4) for cutting
Canines (cuspid) (2) for
piercing
Premolars (4) for light
grinding
Molars (6) for grinding

Chimp and Human Jaws

Note the following:

Dental Arcade: Humans are arclike; apes, parallel back
teeth
Canines and Diastema (gap): Apes have larger canines
and gaps in opposite jaw to fit them; humans do not

Anatomy of Tool Making and Use:

The Hand

Note The Following:

Our digits are straight
Our thumb is opposable
The thumb is long

Ape and Human Hands

Hands of orangutan, chimpanzee, gorilla and human

Note the following:
Our thumbs are longer than the others
We can make a finer grip than the others can
Less visible: apes digits are curved, ours are straight

Power and Precision Grip

Note the Following:
Power grip: Fingers
and thumbs wrap
around the object
Precision grip:
Forefingers and thumb
hold the object
Importance: We can do
finer work compared to
nonhuman primates

Bipedalism

We are the only mammals

that can stand and walk on
two feet
Kangaroos hop and maintain
balance with their tails
Apes are semibipedal, but
use their knuckles to get
around
Notice the human is on his
knees, not just his feet

Chimp and Human Locomotion

Advantages of Bipedalism

Efficient locomotion
Freeing of hands
Foraging and hunting/scavaging
Tool making and use
Care and provisioning of offspring
Tracking migrating herds
Predator avoidance

Vertebral Column and Pelvis

Note the following

Human vertebral
column is S-Shaped
Chimp verebral
column is bow-shaped
Human pelvis, with
ilium, is bowl-shaped
Chimp pelvis is long,
with flat ilium

Pelvis and Femur

Note the following:

Longer ilium of chimp
Shorter, more curved
ilium of human
Straight vertical
orientation of chimp
femur
Inward angle of human
femur

Foot Structure

Note the following:

Large toe of chimp foot
(right) is opposable to other
digits
Large toe of human foot
(left) is aligned with other
digits
Ankle bones (tarsals) of
human food are larger and
more rigid than the chimps

Foot Arch: Longitudinal and

Transverse

Note the following:

Longitudinal arch
reflected from
First metatarsal to
Calcaneus (heel bone)
Transverse arch can be
inferred from
Lower placement of
outside foot.

Overview of Human Evolution

Principles of evolution: Natural selection and

genetics
Taxonomy
The behavior of our primate cousins
Our ancestry from Australopithecus to Homo
Tools as evidence of culture evolution
Capacity for languageand thereby capacity
for culture

Principles of Evolution: Natural

Selection

Darwins Contribution: On the Origins of

Species
Natural Selection: A twofold process
Variation of species
Selection of species better adapted to
environment than others
Example: Industrial melanism among moths
in England

Principles of Evolution: Genetics I

Gregor Mendel: Genetic theory, based on

experiments with peas
Genes: Hereditary information determining
physical characteristics
Genotype: the genetic makeup of a particular
characteristic (peas, eye color)
Phenotype: the physical characteristics created
by the genetic makeup

Principles of Evolution: Genetics II

Genes are always paired: male contributes

half, female contributes half
Alleles: Variations of a genetic characteristic
When different alleles combine:
Allele of one manifests in physical
characteristic (Dominant)
The other does not (Recessive)
Or both may manifest as hybrid (Codominant)

Trends in Human Evolution:

Australopithecus to Homo

Australopithecus afarensis to A. africanus: Gracile

Australopithecines
Paranthropus robustus and boisei: Robust
AustralopithecinesDead end?
A. africanus to Homo habilis: Rise of tool manufacture?
H. habilis to H. erectus: Migration throughout Old
World; more kinds of tools
H. erectus to H. sapiens: Tool specialization and
population explosion to New World
H. neanderthalensis: Dead end?

Fossil Hominins: Skull, Arms,

Hands

Large bulbous cranium

Short face compared to ape
Vertical carriage of head
Shortened forelimb
Hands (manipulation, not locomotion)
Enlarged thumb
Straight fingers, not curved
Enhanced finger sensitivity

Fossil Hominins: Bipedalism

S-shaped vertebrae (backbone)

Short, wide, bowl-shaped pelvis
Femoral head (ball of femur at pelvis) angled
and strengthened
Lengthened hindlimb
Angle of knee: femur slopes to pelvis
Platform (arched) structure of foot
Nonopposable big toe; toes not curved

Encephalization (a.k.a. Bigger

Brains)

Defining Cranial Capacity (and ccs)

A. afarensis: 390-500 cc; av. 440 cc

A. africanus: 435-530 cc; av. 450 cc
A./P robustus: 520 cc, one specimen
A.P. boisei: 500-530 cc; av. 515 cc.
H. habilis: 500-800 cc; av. 680 cc.
H. erectus: 750-1250 cc; av. 1000 cc
Neanderthal: 1300-1750 cc. av: 1450
H. (s.) sapiens: 900-2350 cc. av. 1400

Lucy (Australopithecus afarensis)

and Us (Homo sapiens)

Note the Following:

Shorter (36)
Longer arms
Curved fingers
Shorter lower legs
Greater prognathism
Sloped forehead
Smaller cranial capacity
What are the Similarities?
Hint: its all related to bipedalism

When We Became Bipedal

(According to Gary Larson)

Hey! Look! No
hands!
(Does he look like Lucy
to you. . .?)

Gracile and Robust

Australopithecines

For A. africanus (top), note:

Somewhat rounder skull
No Sagittal crest
Prognathous jaw
For Paranthropus boisei, note:
Sagittal crest (ate a lot of veggies)
Massive lower jaw (mandible)
Flatter face
Massive cheek bones (zygomatic arch)

Homo habilis: The First Known

Toolmaker

Note the following:

Face is much flatter

Reduced brow ridge (supraorbital
torus)
Larger cranial capacity (680 cc.)

Toolmaking Technique

Hammerstone used to strike

A core (lump of stone) to knap
A Flake (stone chip)
Note: Stone has to be crystalline (so it
will fracture predictably)

Homo erectus: Cranial Structure

Note the Following:

Cranial capacity: 1,000 cc

Occipital bun
Reduced brow ridge
Reduced sloping forehead
Reduced prognathism
Artists conception of H.
erectus

Homo Erectus (H. ergaster to Some):

Postcranial Skeleton

Note the following:

Fully bipedal
Arms about length of Homo sapiens
Cranial capacity: 1000 cc (average)
Main apelike features:
Prognathous lower face
Sloping forehead

Lower Paleolithic

Oldowan Tradition:
Four or five strokes
Unspecialized: choppers
Flakes also made and used
Acheulean Tradition:
50-75 strokes
Symmetrical design
Multiple uses: cutting,
piercing, chopping

Homo heidelbergensis (a.k.a.

Archaic Homo sapiens

Note the following:

Brow ridges much reduced
Forehead is higher, though sloping
Reduced prognathiam
Cranial capancity 1200 cc.
Artists conception shows closer
similarities to ourselves

Manufacturing Levallois Cores

and Flakes

Knappers:
Selects the appropriate core,
up to a pound of stone
Strikes the edge of the core
Knaps the surface of the
intended flake
Knocks off the flake
Retouches the flake to
desired shape
May knap four to five flakes

Homo neanderthalensis and H.

sapiens skull

Note the following for Classic Neanderthal

Greater prognathism; humans lower jaw is straight

Absence of chin that human has
Presence of brow ridge; human has none, has higher forehead
Presence of occipital bun
Larger cranial capacity: 1450 cc vs. 1400 cc in humans
Also note: Artists conception of Neanderthal child

Homo neanderthalensis and H.

sapiens: Postcranial Skeletons

Note the following for

Neanderthals:

Heavier brow ridge and sloping

forehead
Bones generally more robust
Larger rib cage
Broader pelvis
Shorter forearm
Shorter tibia
Larger ankle joint

Neanderthal Tools: Mousterian and

Chtelperronian Traditions

Mousterian (top)
Bordes: 63 types
Burins (engravers)
Scrapers and knives
Even a type of handaxe
Part of the Mesolithic
Chtelperronian (bottom)
First bladesby Neanderthals
Definition: flakes twice as wide
as they are long
Initiated the Upper Paleolithic

Upper Paleolithic: Modern

Human Tool Traditions.

Commonalities of Tools:
Blades: Ever thinner and
smaller
Increased tool specialization
Other material: bone, ivory,
antler
Other Developments
Artwork (such as this mural at
Altamira, Spain)
Ornamentation (Venus
statuettes)

Review and Conclusion

We have. . .
Looked at the biological bases of culture: for
language, toolmaking, and bipedalism
Compared our anatomy with chimps, our closest
relatives
Discussed evolutionary change based on natural
selection and mutation
Looked at our ancestors and the tools they made

The Territory Ahead

Nonhuman Primate Behavior: How close in behavior are our

cousins?
Language: The medium of culture
Making a Living: Industrial societies are not the only cultures
in the world
Sex, Family, and Its Extensions: The worlds first social
organizations
Economics: How goods and services are provided
Social Control: Governance and law
Psychology: Freud didnt start it all
The Supernatural: Were there gods before God?
Culture Change and Globalization: Is there life outside
corporations?