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The concepts of Random Model, Different Rules Model and Punctuated Equilibrium can be applied to the real world: Exploration |
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Reflect on the following by Jared Diamond: (This is taken from The Third Chimpanzee: the evolution and future of the human animal.; Pages 110 to 121)
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- Who are they? OR How Similar Are They?
- Origins of Bipedality, Scavenging, and alternatives to our kind (links to the Hominid Journey)
Center for the Study of Human Origins Interactive Exploration of the Fossil Record - Link
Larger Brains - More Intelligence? What Makes Us So Smart? Or Are We?
EXPLORE STONE TOOLS AND PALEOLITHIC TECHNOLOGIES
The process of reconstructing the hominid
fossil record involves knowledge of Paleoanthropology as well
as Archaeology. Places like Oduvai Gorge or Koobi Fora are famous
for yield traces of hominid fossils and early traces of stone
tools. Paleoanthropology aims to help us understand the nature
of hominids by looking at the skeletal and dental fragments. Through
Paleoanthropolgy we can learn about the development of bipedality,
diet, signs of wear or disease on the skeleton, and even the possible
cause of death in some cases. Archaeology seeks to interpret the
material evidence that hominids left. Clues to the lives of 
vanished people can take many forms: ruins of a
deserted city, a single spear point, wear on teeth that indicate
diet or use, pieces of broken pottery, or remnants of an extant
script. Probably most important to recognize is that archaeologists
try to understand why human culture has changed over time. We
will seek to understand how archaeology adds to our story of proto-humans
and humans. The following simulation also enables you to explore
how paleoanthropologists actually date fossil and archaeological
finds along with how they search for patterns that help them understand
the record of the past.
EXERCISE IN REAL LIFE: KOOBI FORA SIMULATION
Archaeology is about material culture -
the things that people use to adapt to the world around them.
Archaeology is about anthropology - the study of humankind. Archaeology
is more than "things" in a museum or "things"
that are necessarily old. These "things" are part of
people's material culture and they can tell us how people used
them and in what context these and other parts of the material 
culture played in their lives. Archaeologists ponder
the things left behind by peoples who lived and died through almost
two million years of human existence. These material remains are
called artifacts and features. It is artifacts and features that
help archaeologists reconstruct the hows and whys of people's
lives.
Emergence
of Archaic Homo Sapiens, Neandertal and Modern Homo Sapiens and
the Development of More Complex Lifeways
Revisit the to learn more about the story of human
evolution
This
image of a man from New Guinea may appear somewhat strange to
us. However, humans are prone to "statements" about
themselves. This is a human awareness factor. Consider the implications
of prehistoric art and jewelry.
Read the following passage taken from Richard Leakey's book Origin's Reconsidered. (Pages 328-335) (Pages 295-309)
Consider the following reading (also see that of Geoffrey Pope). This is modified version of a recent paper by Henry Harpending, Stephen Sherry, Alan Rogers and Mark Stoneking (Current Anthropology 1993 pages 483-496) entitled The Genetic Structure of Ancient Human Populations. Read your text to explore the nature of change in technology that occurred in the Upper Paleolithic period.
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Simple to Complex Reflect on the following: .....I believe there is a general law: complexity tends to increase .... by W. Brian Arthur, Scientific American May 1993 Page. 144 |
A Scientific Debate - Changing Paradigms
More on Larger Brains: what does it mean anyway?
Ponder the following
©1995 MCC Anthropology - Revised 2008