MMW 11 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Homo Erectus, Acheulean, Homo Heidelbergensis

• School: UCSD
• Department: Making of the Modern World
• Course: MMW 11
• Professor: Edmond Chang

Document Summary

Default disposition: every couple of centuries, radical innovation. Recent history: last 2-3 centuries default instinct. Change in human behavior: gradual: change in biological evolution: even slower. The evolutionary norm in terms of genetic makeup and social behavior stagnant a. ii) Replacement/substitution of one species for another evolution a. iii) we have changed more often and more dramatically compared to all other species. More frequently & more dramatically: static homo erectus stasis b. i) persistency of the acheulean hand-axe (b. i. 1) (b. i. 2) Traits of homo heidelbergensis around 500,000 years ago. Spears for hunting, large brain, complex language, cooked food in fire b. ii) No innovation in tool kit or change in behavior *: homo erectus: always had elements of innovation/change b. iii) the persistence of instinct and stasis always prevailed. Challenges idea of conservative/static homo erectus: habit to migrate & adaptations per consequence of migration. Homo erectus completely replaced by homo sapien: dynamic homo sapiens? c. i) factors to rule out in behavioral change (c. i. 1) (c. i. 2)