Transcript The Dry Bones Speak - Middletown High School

THE WORLD’S HISTORY
Fourth Edition
Chapter
1
The Dry Bones Speak
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
Copyright ©2010, ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
The Dry Bones Speak
• Human Origins in Myth and History
– Early Myths
 “Myth” is an interpretative story with a moral
message that cannot be verified historically
 One of earliest myths is Enuma Elish
(Mesopotamia), dating to approximately 2000
B.C.E.
 Rigveda (India) dates to 1000 B.C.E.
 Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible
 All define creation and the role of people
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
Copyright ©2010, ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
Copyright ©2010, ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
The Dry Bones Speak
• Human Origins in Myth and History
– The Evolutionary Explanation
 Drawn from direct observations from the 18th
century
 Relied on the scientific method
 The most influential theorists were Charles Darwin
and Alfred Wallace
 Rejected the simultaneous creation of all species in
favor of the cumulative creation of species, which
reflected natural selection
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
Copyright ©2010, ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
Copyright ©2010, ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
The Dry Bones Speak
• The Evolutionary Explanation
– The New Challenges
 Changes in species not the result of a grand
teleological design with ethical goals but that
reflected improved ability to survive and reproduce
 Newer organisms that were simply “fit” to survive
 These organisms evolved from earlier forms of life
rather than as the result of a separate creation
 Darwin’s The Descent of Man cements
evolutionary explanation in 1871
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
Copyright ©2010, ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
The Dry Bones Speak
• Fossils and Fossil Hunters
– The Puzzling Neanderthals
 Found in 1856, they were identified as the missing
link between humans and ape ancestors
 Research suggests Neanderthals made tools and
adapted to changing climates
 May also have been cannibals
 More discoveries showed that Neanderthals were
not the missing link
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
Copyright ©2010, ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
The Dry Bones Speak
• Fossils and Fossil Hunters
– Homo Erectus: A Worldwide Wanderer
 Earliest discoveries of this species were in Java
and China
 Similarities among archaeological finds led to the
designation of homo erectus
 Few initial ideas of the relationship among the finds
led early experts to regard each find as a separate
species
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
Copyright ©2010, ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
Copyright ©2010, ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
Copyright ©2010, ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
The Dry Bones Speak
• Fossils and Fossil Hunters
– The Search Shifts to Africa
 Louis Leakey made a major breakthrough in
understanding based on skeletal findings in the
Olduvai Gorge in East Africa (after 1959)
 Studies now involve paleoanthropology, the study
of the tools, species and plants included in the
locale of each find
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
Copyright ©2010, ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
The Dry Bones Speak
• Fossils and Fossil Hunters
– Homo habilis
 Name means “handy person”
 Existed 1.5 million to 2.5 million years ago
 Possessed opposable thumbs
 Walked in upright position
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
Copyright ©2010, ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
The Dry Bones Speak
• Fossils and Fossil Hunters
– Australopithecus afarensis was discovered in
1974 by Donald Johnson; the first find was
named “Lucy” and dates to 3.2 million years
ago
– Ardipithecus ramidus was discovered in 1994;
the skeleton dates to 4.4 million years ago
– Recent discovery of “Toumai” moves date of
earliest hominid to 6-7 million years ago.
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
Copyright ©2010, ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
The Dry Bones Speak
• Fossils and Fossil Hunters
– Debate Over African Origins
 Multiregionalists argue that Homo sapiens evolved
after emigration of Homo erectus out of Africa
 Out-of-Africa proponents believe Homo sapiens
evolved in Africa and then migrated to rest of world
 Both sides agree that racial differences are simply
adaptations to climate and are superficial
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
Copyright ©2010, ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
Copyright ©2010, ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
Copyright ©2010, ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
Copyright ©2010, ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
The Dry Bones Speak
• Fossils and Fossil Hunters
– Reading the Genetic Record
 Study of genetics rather than fossils largely
supports Out-of-Africa theorists
 Genetic dating suggests that humans, gorillas and
chimpanzees shared common ancestors until 5-7
million years ago
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
Copyright ©2010, ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
The Dry Bones Speak
• Fossils and Fossil Hunters
– The Theory of Scientific Revolution
 Thomas Kuhn’s theory of normal science and
paradigm shift fits well with developing
understanding of evolution
 The paradigm shift was Darwin’s theory of
evolution
 Subsequent paleoanthropological findings
represent additions achieved through “normal
science”
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
Copyright ©2010, ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
Copyright ©2010, ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
Copyright ©2010, ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
The Dry Bones Speak
• Humans Create Culture
– Biological Evolution and Cultural Creativity
 Homo habilis began cultural adaptations by
developing simple tools
 Additional developments of tools, rituals, art,
language, settlements and concepts mean that
today culture is more important than biology in
determining how humans cope with nature
 Cultural evolution may have been encouraged by
biology due to brain development
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
Copyright ©2010, ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
The Dry Bones Speak
• Humans Create Culture
– Biological Evolution and Cultural Creativity
 Cultural transmission tied to infant need for longterm nurturing
 Burst of creativity 100,000 years ago has led
scientists to identify today’s people as Homo
sapiens sapiens
 This new subspecies is distinctive for its symbolic
expression that is spiritual and cultural in nature
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
Copyright ©2010, ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
The Dry Bones Speak
• Humans Create Culture
– How Did Humans Survive?
 Three explanations for success of Homo sapiens
sapiens success over other hominids
• Aggression, warfare and murder
• Mating and reproduction
• Success in competition for ecological niches
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
Copyright ©2010, ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
Copyright ©2010, ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
The Dry Bones Speak
• Humans Create Culture
– Global Migration
 Modern humans spread out from Africa to Europe
and Asia between 90,000 and 120,000 years ago
 Migrations were stimulated by climate change
 Ice ages lowered water levels and made migration
easier
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
Copyright ©2010, ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
Copyright ©2010, ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
The Dry Bones Speak
• Humans Create Culture
– Increased Population and New Settlements
 Early groups competed with one another for
ecological niches
 Hunter-gatherer tribes probably averaged five
hundred, divided into nineteen bands
 Each band needed 7-8 square miles of fertile or 77
square miles of unfertile land
 Movement to small settlements took advantage of
water resources
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
Copyright ©2010, ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
The Dry Bones Speak
• Humans Create Culture
– Language and Communication
 No physical evidence for language development
 Language began as soon as brain was large
enough?
 Brain had to be reorganized for language?
 Language is both a biological and cultural
development
 Language promoted development of concepts and
reflective thought
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
Copyright ©2010, ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
The Dry Bones Speak
• Humans Create Culture
– Agriculture: From Hunter-Gatherer to Farmer
 Began as experimentation with plants near
settlements
 Humans had ability to farm 12,000-17,000 years
ago
 Permanent sources of food were crucial to
decision to farm
 Population pressure may have added to impetus
 Actual use of extensive agriculture began 10,000
years ago
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
Copyright ©2010, ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
The Dry Bones Speak
• Prehistory: What Difference Does It Make?
– Myth and Science are partners in this analysis
– Analysis is an example of “normal science” in
action
– Legacies of this period include a) migration; b)
tools; c) formation of ever larger groups; d)
communication through language; e) selfexpression through art; and f) shifting
between acceptance and attempted control of
nature
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
Copyright ©2010, ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
Copyright ©2010, ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
Copyright ©2010, ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
Copyright ©2010, ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.