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