People and Cultures 1101 Day 2 Notes 09 13 2011 For papers Use examples from the work give your opinion just make it evident that you ve done the reading What does it mean to be human Premeditate beliefs etc When considering human nature what does survival of the fittest mean Survival of the fittest implies aggression strength Charles Darwin drew on economics What are some of our most important early inventions Did Early Humans Stand Upright to Punch Better Bipedalism has its roots in violent clashes between males vying for female attention and in the competitive advantage of striking from above and this could shed light on how women often prefer taller men Humans are mammals in the order of primates Humans evolved first in the tropics along with other primates in the area of the equator between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn Homo Sapiens 250k 30k years till present are the only living species of the genus Homo The Latin name Homo Sapiens was given by the Swedish biologist Carl von Linne 1707 1778 homo man sapien wise Under the Linnaeus system humans share a number of characteristics with the apes Adaptation the process by which organisms cope with environmental forces posed by environmental or topographic factors James Loy Hegemony when one group has power over another especially in influencing the way they think It uses the example of corporations because they have a lot of power to control people s culture and everyday thinking patterns by telling us what is natural normal and just something we have to accept A stratifies social order that people comply with by internalizing the values and accepting the natural order of domination Antonio Gramsci Human Adaptation Humans have 4 distinguishing attributes Bipedalism upright walking balancing act o Walking muscles of the feet legs hips and back are alternately contracted and relaxed according to synchronized orders from the brain nervous system and spinal chord Dental Adaptations Simple cusp pattern in molar teeth o In most 32 36 teeth Weak jaws Precarious attachment of head to spine Smaller canine teeth No claws Sight o Part of upright walking has to do with the human head and eyes The taller and animal the more it sees Human eye are at the front of the head rather than the sides and can perceive a single three dimensional image in color Human vision perceives fine details form relationships brightness and depth that make up full stereoscopic vision Many animals are color blind or have poor depth vision Sensory Adaptations o Enlarged eyes with increased sensation of light and details o Evolved retina perceiving low light and different light color o Forward looking eyes with overlapping visual fields for spectrum stereoscopic vision Tools o Walking freed the hand from allowing for tool use o Tools developed from stone blades to stone axes o Feedback exists between FINE MOTOR SKILLS for tool making and brain development Sequential thinking Feedback exists between tool making and communication Feedback exists between tool use and social and cultural interaction learning 09 13 2011 09 13 2011