Department of Education
Region IX, Zamboanga Peninsula
Division of Zamboanga City
Tolosa National High School
Tolosa, Zamboanga City
Understanding Culture, Society and Politics
Name: __________________________________ Score: ______________
Grade & Section: ___________________ Date: ______________
Activity 1.2: Looking back at Human Biocultural and Social Evolution
Objectives:
At the end of this module, you will be able to:
analyze the key features of the interrelationships of biological, cultural and sociopolitical
processes in humans that can still be used and developed
explain the differences of biological and cultural revolution
explain how hominids evolved into modern humans
Concept Notes:
Evolution of Man
Species Characteristics
Homo habilis Species with a brain of a Broca’s area which is associated
with speech in modern humans and was first to make
stone tools. The species name means “Handy Man”. Lived
about 2.4 to 1.4 million years ago scavenging for food.
Homo rudolfensis Species characterized by a longer face, larger molar and
pre-molar teeth, and having a larger braincase compared
to habilis particularly larger frontal lobes, areas of the brain
that processes information. The species lived about 1.9 to
1.8 million years ago.
Homo erectus The species name means “Upright Man” with nod
proportions similar to that of modern humans. Lived 1.89 to
143,000 years ago; adapted to hot climates and mostly
spread in Africa and Asia. They were the first to use axe
and knives and produce fire.
Homo heidelbergenesis Species with large brow ridge and short wide bodies that
lived about 700,000 to 200,000 years ago in Europe and
Africa. They were the first to hunt wild animals in a routine
basis using spears, and first to construct human shelters.
Homo floresiensis Species nicknamed “Hobbit” due to their small stature with
a height of more or less 3 feet and lived 95,000 to 17,000
years ago in the island of Flores, Indonesia along with
other dwarfed animal species
Homo sapiens The species name means “Wise Man” that appeared form
200,000 years ago. The present human race belongs to this
species.
Homo sapiens Subspecies with short yet stocky in body build adapted to
neanderthalensis winter climates especially in icy cold places in Europe and
Asia. The subspecies, also known as “Neanderthal Man” is
the closest relative of modern humans. The first to practice
burial of their dead, hunting, and gathering food and
sewing clothes from animal skin using bone needles.
Homo Sapiens Sapiens Subspecies known as Cro-Magnon characterized to be
anatomically modern humans and lived in the last Ice Age
of Europe from 40,000 to 10,000 years ago. They were the
first to produce art in cave paintings and crafting tools
and accessories
Man’s Cultural Evolution
Cultural Period Time Frame Cultural Development
Paleolithic Age Traditionally coincided with - Use of simple pebble tool
(Old Stone Age) the first evidence of tool - Learned to live in caves
construction and use by - Discovered the use of fire
Homo some 2.5 million years
ago.
Neolithic Age Occurred sometime about - Stone tools were shaped by polishing or grinding.
(New Stone 10,000 BC - Settlement in permanent villages
Age) - Dependence on domesticated plants or animals
- Crafts (pottery and weaving)
- Food producing cultures
Characteristics of Human Society
1. It is a social system.
2. A society is relatively large.
3. A society recruits most of its members from within.
4. A society sustains itself across generations.
5. A society’s members share culture.
6. A society occupies a territory.
Types of Societies
Have you ever wondered what society was like before your lifetime? Maybe you wonder in what
ways has society transformed in the past few centuries? Human beings have created and lived in
several types of societies throughout history. Sociologists have classified the different types of
societies into six categories, each of which possess their own unique characteristics:
Type of Society Characteristics
Hunting and gathering - The earliest form of human society.
societies - People survived by foraging for vegetable foods, hunting larger wild
animal, collecting shell fish
- They subsisted form day to day on whatever was available
- They used tools made of stones, woods and bones
Pastoral societies -It relied on herding and domestication of animals for food and clothing to
satisfy the greater needs of the group.
Horticultural societies -developed around 7000 BC in the Middle East and gradually spread west
through Europe and Africa and east through Asia.
- the first type of society in which people grew their own food, rather than
relying strictly on the hunter-gather technique.
- settlements were permanent or at least semi-permanent..
Agricultural societies - use technological advances to cultivate crops (especially grains like
wheat, rice, corn, and barley) over a large area.
- Increases in food supplies then led to larger populations than in earlier
communities.
Industrial societies -are based on using machines (particularly fuel‐driven ones) to produce
goods.
- appeared first in Britain, and then quickly spread to the rest of the world.
Process Questions:
1. What do you think is the significance of human material remains and artefactual evidence in
interpreting cultural and social, including political and economic processes?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. What can you say about the picture below? How far have we become as a human?
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
