Unit 2 Reflection Prehistory and Early Humans

1.I did several things to prepare for the test. I started with reviewing all my notes and re-reading everything we had done so far, all the organizers, notes on the textbook, notes on the articles, and all my blogs. I edited my blogs and added more information, which also helped me study for the test. After I had completed fixing my blogs I started testing myself on the vocabulary for this unit. I had my friends test me, my mom test me, and I also tested myself. After that I made myself a cheat sheet like the one Mrs. Moore started in class and recommended us to make. I included all the big ideas, and elaborated on them. I also included all the types of early humans and the order in which they lived. This made studying a lot easier for me. For me, these different study methods worked, and I really learned the information. Maybe if I were to redo this I would spend less time on my word study and worry more about my big ideas. I think that I might have over studied the vocabulary and that my big ideas might have needed some more detail and elaboration. That's the only thing I would change if I were to do this again.

2. The most surprising thing I learned about in this unit I that we are still unsure to why we became bipedal. I had always thought that the human race always had been bipedal, like a fact. It had never really occurred to me that it had taken us many thousand years to become bipedal, and that we weren’t bipedal from the start. Also, after such a long time evolving and adapting to our environment you would think that we know why the species we are now walks on two feet. That the only thing we have close enough to an answer is theories is also kind of scary. Some of the theories that we have include that we became bipedal to migrate easily and to travel faster. Another theory is that we needed to walk on two feet to use our hands to make tools. A third theory is that we became bipedal to impress the opposite sex, and then to reproduce. However, all of these theories are uncertain and they all have weak points. The question of why we became bipedal still remains unanswered, and maybe will stay unanswerable.

3.If we had more time to spend on this unit I would have liked to share our Stone Age stories. I think that it’s really interesting to see what other people have thought of, and it’s always fun to share ideas and read them aloud. It would be a great end to the unit. Another thing that I’d like to do would be like an ancient mystery only on early humans. We could have a question like why we became bipedal or any other unanswered question of the early past.

Who were the Hobbits?

In 2003 paleontologists found a cave called Liang Bua, on the island of Flores in Indonesia. They discovered a population of tiny, ancestral human’s fossils. The small humans were given the name Homo Floresiensis. Using radiocarbon dating, we have found out that these early humans lived from 38,000 to 18,000 years ago. However, using the physical evidence of the fossils and bones we think that the early humans might have lived up to 12,000 years ago. Another question that scientists have been trying to answer is how intelligent they were. Usually, the bigger a species brain is the smarter the species is. The Homo Floresiensis skull was very small, and still very intelligent behavior was evident in the hobbit remains. First, scientists thought that they had microcephaly, a genetic disorder causing abnormally small heads and brains. However, this theory was also proved wrong. Homo Floresiensis was an intelligent early human despite their minute brain size. Another theory made about why they were so tiny was that they were suffering from island dwarfing. This is when an ecosystem becomes closed (like an island). Then there aren’t as many resources, and animals sometimes don’t survive, at least not the large predators and the greedy. Still, this is only one theory. The most complete evidence we have found from the hobbits is a skull, parts of its legs, pelvis, hands, feet, and other fragments. We have found out that their face appears primitive, they have convex brows and cheeks, no chin, wrists arranged like apes, shoulder blades shaped slightly forward and long, flat feet that were good for short walks but not for long distance running. The skeleton that they found was dubbed “Flo”. It is female and not male because of its female looking pelvis and leg bone. Also, many tools were found at the dig site, for digging, butchering, stone points and what could have been wooden spears. A question that scientists asked was “Did they make these advanced tools?” This topic has aroused much discussion lead to argument, and we still don’t know. One scientist also states that one hobbit isn’t enough to make assumptions for a whole species. It’s as if we took one really, really tall or short person and said that that was how large the average modern humans were. Now, we have found one more jaw bone from supposedly the same early human type, and the calculations fit exactly- but can we rely only on this?

Tools and Language

Tools and language were the key things to human development. With these we made more complex cultures, we were better linked together, and we enforced our chance of survival.
The tools we made helped us take advantage of our surroundings. If there were huge bamboo trees in the area we could use them for shelter with tools such as knives, axes and saws. If there was a good water source nearby to an early human settlement tools such as bowls and buckets could help them take advantage to their surroundings, and better adapt to their environment. Early humans needed shelter when they migrated, such as wood for campfires and rocks and branches for shelter. Without the right tools to get these advantages, they wouldn’t be able to survive. Also, early humans needed tools to get the food they needed. They used spear heads to kill large animals and harpoon points to kill fish. Without tools, the food variety would have become much narrower. Tools also caused trade. Early humans started trading tools and ornaments with each other, and so settlements and different groups of early humans became more advanced.
Language was also a large part of human development. Humans are the only living beings on earth known to have such a vast and complex language. Animals might have some sort of communication, such as body language, actions and sounds for different meanings. However, this type of communication is very limited. Animal communication is not as complex as the human language. Human communication is more detailed, you can express yourself better, you can talk about the past and the future, talk about real and imaginary things, and even make up new words. This is a lot more advanced than using body language, simple sounds and grunting noises. Language is very important in the development of our species. Language and communication helps us work together, share information, pass on traditions, and early humans could even discuss things based on daily life such as hunting strategies and food sources.
In conclusion, tool- making and language both played a great part in human development. Without these factors, we wouldn’t be the species that we are today.

Why do We Stand on Our Own Two Feet?

Scientists aren’t exactly sure of this question. Why we humans walk on two feet is a mystery. It goes back to at least 3 million years ago, when the early hominid Lucy lived. However, it may have been a lot further back in the past. Humans are the only species known that can walk consistently on two feet. There have been several theories made to predict why we started. A certain fact is that we were bipedal (could walk on two feet) before our brains grew large. Therefore, it was as if bipedalism were a natural instinct- we did it without thinking for a major purpose of life. One theory about why humans walk on two feet is that humans needed tools for hunting. It’s a lot easier to make and use tools if you walk on your feet and not all fours. However, this theory was disapproved since tools weren’t found that far back in time. Another theory is that we started walking on two feet for migration. We might need to be bipedal to see over the tall savanna grass, and since early hominids weren’t very tall this might have been essential for them to survive. Savanna grass can get up to 8 feet tall, and the Australopithecus Afarensis were only about 4 feet 11 inches tall. Therefore, if they were on all fours it would have been very hard for them to see approaching predators, and hunt preys. They could also move a lot faster upright than crawling, and they could even wade over streams and learn how to swim if they stood on their two feet. Another theory is that humans needed to be able to walk on two feet for food. Maybe they needed to pick fruit from trees. It is also a lot easier to hunt and carry food when walking upright, and not crawling. A last theory of why humans walk on two feet is that we have to reproduce, which is one of the main things in our fight to survive. We try to attract the opposite gender, to then have sex and reproduce to ensure the specie’s survival. Usually, it is the male that tries to attract the female. The male might need to find food to show off, and it’s a lot more efficient to find a lot of food if you are bigger and stand upright. When the kid then comes along, it is even more important for the male to be able to hunt and find food to bring up the family. This theory, however, was questioned since relies too much on the unknown. There are many theories about why we walk on two feet. Still the question remains unanswered, and may stay unanswered. However, the most important thing is that we did become bipedal and that we don't crawl around on all fours today.

Taming Fire

The use of fire demonstrates prehistoric people’s ability to adapt to their environment in many ways. Fire was part of early human’s life and one of the things that they couldn’t understand. Fire destroyed trees, dry fields and even animals. After a wildfire early humans would scavenge the grounds. Sometimes they would find roasted animals as treats, and this intrigued them even more to find out about fire and its effects. Of course, cooked meat tastes a lot better than raw meat. The heat also destroys toxins, gets rid of all parasites, and makes the meat a lot easier to digest. An early human decided to experiment with fire. After discovering what it could potentially do, early humans used fire in many ways to adapt to their environment. Fire made heat, to keep early humans warm on cold winter nights. It enabled early humans to migrate from warm South Africa to Europe. Fire also produced light, so that the early humans had a longer day and more time to gather together and create oral tradition, tell stories, religion, and start history. Fire also helped early humans with cooking their food, which makes it healthier and tastier to eat. Fire kept predators and animal threats to humans away, since just as the early humans had been before the predators of the different biomes were afraid of fire. However, early humans also had to adapt to fire. Fire isn’t only positive, it’s quite dangerous. Since it wasn’t obvious to the early humans how fire was made, they would gather smoldering wood to their campsites, and make fire. Early humans learned to make a hearth, a ring of stones, to keep the fire in one place and not let it spread. Not only was the hearth a lot safer, it was also a lot more practical. With a hearth early humans could leave the fire burning over night without having to watch over it, and a hearth is also a lot warmer than a wildfire or a fire that isn’t only fixed to one place. Since wildfires are more spread out, move and run out of food they aren’t as warm as the controlled fires in the early human’s settlements. These fires in the hearths were more contained and controlled, and if the wood supply was low the early humans would just add another chunk. Hearths were found regularly throughout a quarter of million years ago.

Understanding History and Archaeology End of Unit Reflection

I thought this unit was a great start to the year, and I found it really interesting and helpful. It also gave a really good taste about what humanities class is about, and exactly what is expected of you. The thing I found most interesting was the dig at the high school campus, by far. I think that actually doing something yourself and not just reading facts out a textbook makes it a lot more interesting. From the dig we learned how to set up a grid, how to dig in layers, how to screen soil, how to use different tools, how to record evidence and mainly the steps an archaeologist has to go through to make a dig. We did this in a fun way, and actually found some real evidence (not just buried modern pottery pieces), which made it even more exiting. Another thing that I learned from the dig is a skill that all archaeologists must have- patience. Often, we would skip screening the soil, or maybe when we found an artifact in the soil we would only dig in that certain area, and not in layers. It's also hard collaborating in a group and following everyone's ideas and suggestions. When everyone wants to do something different we can disagree and argue. Even when we all wanted to do the same thing like dig or screen soil there's only two shovels and one bucket. Something we didn't do that well in was field notes, we mainly took them about 10 minutes before the end of the dig, and we rushed through them. In this way I've learned that archaeologists have to practice cooperation. Cooperation was exceptionally hard for my group, since we were a group of three. From the dig I learned that I have to be more patient, follow directions better, cooperate with my group, not skip important steps and not rush through the less fun parts and only dig as deep as possible. I also discovered that I should be spending some more time with my definitions and that I was missing some of the notes from certain chapters. This proves that I have to be more organized. I also sometimes couldn't remember parts of sections of the textbook and sine my notes weren't good enough I had to go online to study. This took me a very long time and wouldn't be nearly as productive and efficient as having neat and detailed notes in my notebook. I've learned that it's not easy being an archaeologist, and that it takes a lot of work just to complete one project or dig!