PSY 236 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Homo Sapiens, William Muir, Group Selection
Document Summary
Life on earth - 3. 5 billion years ago. Dinosaurs disappear - 60 million years ago. Human species (not homo sapiens) - 2 to 4 million years ago. Homo sapiens - appear in africa 200,000 years ago (10,000 generations) 1. 6 million to 10,000 years ago (end of the last ice age) 10,000 years ago - domestication of plants (thee invention of agriculture) and animals. Less need for nomadic existence; more reliable food sources; the opportunity for new social roles within the community. Appearance of first stone artifacts until the end of the last ice age (2. 5 million years ago to 12,000 years ago) Emergence of hunting and gathering groups and the use of tools. Individuals of a species are not identical. Traits are passed from generation to generation. More offspring are born than can survive. Only the survivors of the competition for resources can survive. This is a theory of individual (not group) selection. Group success confers advantage on individual members.
