MMW 11 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Acheulean, Homo Heidelbergensis, Upper Paleolithic
14 Dec 2016
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Outline Lecture Three-- From Paleolithic Hunting-Gathering to Neolithic Agriculture
I) Change vs. Stasis in Human Evolution
a) What is Our Default Disposition?
i) Change in the past two or three centuries in the context of our evolution as Homo
sapiens and hominids
ii) The evolutionary norm in terms of genetic makeup and social behavior
iii) We have changed more often and more dramatically compared to all other species
b) Static Homo Erectus
i) Persistency of the Acheulean hand-axe
(1) The “iconic teardrop” of the Paleolithic
(2) Same technology for over a million years
ii) Traits of Homo heidelbergensis around 500,000 years ago
iii) The persistence of instinct and stasis always prevailed
c) Dynamic Homo Sapiens?
i) Factors to rule out in behavioral change
(1) Changing climate?
(2) Fortuitous genetic mutation? For example, structure of our larynx?
(a) i.e. “The cultural horse comes before the genetic cart”
ii) Main impetus to change and innovation in human evolution is economics
(1) The “Catallaxy Effect” in economic theory
(2) Adam Smith’s praise of the benefits of the division of labor in capitalism
II) The Entrepreneurial Caveman
a) Distinction between Bartering and Reciprocity
i) Reciprocity is best understood as exchanging like for like
ii) Bartering entails giving up something you value for something else that you might
value even a little more
(1) “It breeds, explodes, grows, and auto-catalyses” (Ridley 58)
iii) E.g. of Adam and Oz
(1) Problems, variables in this model?
(2) What is meant by a “trading point”?
(3) How did our “rational optimist” side regularly prevail over our “impulsive
skeptical” side?
b) Sexual Division of Labor and Food Sharing
i) From sharing foods to bartering goods
(1) By sharing their food, both sides benefitted
ii) Is there a difference between sharing within a group and trading with outsiders
c) Networks and Regular Contact
i) Close and regular contact that made bartering networks possible
(1) In turn, made innovation possible
(2) E.g. of Tasmania after being cut-off from mainland
ii) Population to land ratio among hunter-gatherers
iii) Implications for the reluctant and gradual shift to horticulture
d) Impact of Trade on Population and Carrying Capacity of Land
i) Hunting-gathering life-style predicated on low population density
find more resources at oneclass.com
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Document Summary
Transition from paleolithic to neolithic old to new. What could contribute to this change from old to new. To what extent is that the part of our default in the disposition. If we consider the past two three centuries then we can consdider that it was a default change. Like technology coming out every year etc. In the overall context of hominid evolution, then this kind of evolution change merely becomes. Ok look at the big pic not just few centuries, not only the recent. In fact, the change in human behavior was very slow. Change in biological behavior was even slower. We"re not that diff from 250k years ago. Replacement substitution by one species by another is the way things work. Why did they change to agriculture from the preferred mode. Homo heidelbergensis and neanderthals were more of a later form than homo erectus, not quiet sapiens.
