MMW 11 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Ovulation, Acheulean, Barter

• 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. Replacement/substitution of one species for another evolution: we have changed more often and more dramatically compared to all other species. More frequently & more dramatically: static homo erectus stasis, persistency of the acheulean hand-axe (1) the iconic teardrop of the paleolithic (2) same technology for over a million years, traits of homo heidelbergensis around 500,000 years ago. Spears for hunting, large brain, complex language, cooked food in fire. No innovation in tool kit or change in behavior *: homo erectus: always had elements of innovation/change, the persistence of instinct and stasis always prevailed. Challenges idea of conservative/static homo erectus: habit to migrate & adaptations per consequence of migration.