Homonins: The Oldest Human Rituals

 

I

Unit: Homonins

Theme: The Oldest Human Rituals

Introduction
 
Human evolution is the lengthy process of change by which people originated from apelike ancestors. Scientific evidence shows that the physical and behavioral traits shared by all people originated from apelike ancestors and evolved over a period of approximately seven million years.

II

Learning Objectives
 
  • Understand the influence homonins had on human's abilities to dance
  • Explain the importance of bipedality for dance development in the paleolithic
  • Gain an awareness of the significance the construction of early shelters, burials and art objects had for human evolution
  • Experience finger dexterity through choreography of hand gestures 



III
 
Main Lesson
 


1
 
First Ancestors

 


2


 N O T E S

First Ancestors 

  • Our first ancestors lived 7 million years ago
  • Bipedal, upright walking 
  • Ability to walk emerged long before humankind developed big brains.
  • Even though they walked they were still tree climbers.
  • No hominins has been found during this period yet.

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Homonins

  • Hominins continued to develop 
  • 4 million years ago grasping feet were lost.
  • Multiple hominin species lived simultaneously. 
  • They may have met

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Homo habilis

  • 3 million years ago hominins lived in Southern Africa.
  • Tools allowed hominins to adapt to new environments.
  • The first known stone tools were produced in Ethiopia.
  • The tools may have been produced by Homo habilis.
  • The Homo habilis is a member of our own genus group, the genus Homo

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Homo erectus 

  • 2 million years ago Homo erectus became the first hominin to migrate out of Africa.
  • Homo erectus had human-like traits such as: 
  • large brains
  • dexterous fingers
  • long legs

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Brain Growth 

  • 800,000 years ago advances in cooking was fueling further brain growth.

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Homo sapiens 

  • Our own species Homo sapiens emerged in Africa 200,000 years ago.
  • They lived alongside and interbred with other hominin species.
  • Homo sapiens were highly adaptable, quickly filing nearly every geographic niche.
  • Other hominins went extinct.
  • Climate pressures and competition with Homo sapiens may have wiped them out.
  • Although these ancient hominins are now extinct, they remain our closest relatives on the family tree. 


Question 1

What characteristics attributed to the Homo habilis, Homo erectus and Homo sapiens influenced our species' ability to dance?

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 3

Human-like Traits

 


N O T E S

Human -like Traits  

  • Each specie exhibited various degrees of human-like physical and behavioral traits such as: large brains, small teeth, bipedality and tool use. 

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Homonins 

These homonins can be divided into three main groups: 

Early homonins: 

Between 7 and 4.4 millions of years ago in Africa; ape like traits such as small brain capacity, some were beginning to show some human-like characteristics such as small canines used more for eating than for hunting or fighting.

Australopithecines: 

Primates, 4.4 - 1.4 millions of years ago across the African continent; they had some ape-like traits; however, changes in their skull, spine and shift, show a shift toward a human-like trait, consistent bipedal locomotion

Genus Homo:  

2 million years ago; contemporaries of some of the australopithecines, they were becoming distinctly more human; cranial capacity growing larger than any other hominin; sophisticated stone tool technology; the first to control fire; first to migrate out of Africa into the rest of the world. 


Question 2

 Why is bipedality an important trait for dance development in the paleolithic?

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4

 

Question 3


 Why is it significant that these early humans built shelters, buried their dead and created the first objects of art?

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IV
 
A Note to Remember 
 
Large brains, dexterous fingers and long legs were key attributes needed to develop dancing bodies. Early human shelters and burials probably included the performance of dance rituals.
 
 
V

Case Studies


The Oldest Known Human Ritual


 
 

 
Group Discussion
 
 


VI

Activity


Dexterous Fingers / The Homo Erectus

Using the article above, create a sequence of hand/fingers gestures to illustrate the dexterity of the Homo Erectus. Use at lest 8 gestures to create a phrase. 

VII

Glossary


Homonin

Homo erectus

Homo habilis

Homo sapiens

 

 

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VIII


Students' Work


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