What Makes us Human?

WHAT MAKES US HUMAN?

Adapted from https://sites.google.com/site/highlandhsp3m/unit-1-what-makes-us-human

WHAT MAKES US HUMAN? What does being human mean to you?  What distinguishes humans from animals? 

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Take a moment an think. REALLY think.

WHAT MAKES US HUMAN? 

Anthropologists = Evolution

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Psychologists = Cognitive process and personality

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Sociologists = Culture

WHAT IS ANTHROPOLOGY? Very simply....  Anthropologists ask: 

Where did we come from?  What are we?  Where are we going? 

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Read Wright excerpt

WHAT IS ANTHROPOLOGY?

WHAT MAKES US HUMAN? Anthropologists use human biological evolution to answer the question of what makes humans different from animals  They use fossils, cultural remains and the study of DNA as evidence supporting the development of humanity. 

ANTHROPOLOGICAL: HUMAN EVOLUTION 

Physical Anthropologists study human biological evolution  Palaeontology

– study of fossils  Archaeology – study of cultural remains -- ?

ANTHROPOLOGICAL: PROOF OF EVOLUTION 

Jacques Boucher de Crevecoeur (1788 – 1868)  Found

stones shaped into tools and weapons  Primitive weapons less advanced than what can be created today  Shows evolution

PROOF OF EVOLUTION 

Neanderthals  Did

not evolve tool making  Survived for millions of years but eventually died out

ANTHROPOLOGICAL: PROOF OF EVOLUTION 

Charles Darwin (1809 -1882) Studied on the Galapagos islands  Found that within each group of plant or animal there was variation 

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Natural Selection: Animals and plants adapt to their environment to survive and produce similar offspring. Survival of the Fittest 

HUMAN EVOLUTION It was thought that humans followed the same patterns of evolution.  In 1924 Raymond Dart discovered the fossil of a child in South Africa 

 Australopithecus

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Africanus

Subsequent discoveries showed an evolutionary pattern

ANTHROPOLOGICAL: PROOF OF EVOLUTION Human brains got larger  Faces got smaller 

HUMANS VS PRIMATES The genetic make up of humans and primates varies by only 1-2 percent  Why are we the dominate species? 

HUMANS VS PRIMATES 

Features we share:  Opposable

thumbs  3 dimensional vision (allows us to judge distances)  Our children remain dependant for a long time and require a lot of care to learn and develop

HUMANS VS PRIMATES 

 

Highly developed brain which allows us to learn and think (however the human brain is more developed) Social (humans more advanced) Can be aggressive and territorial

WHAT MAKES HUMANS HUMAN 

There are many different opinions as to which factor is the most important in human evolution  Bipedalism

– the ability to walk upright over long distances and perform tasks while standing  Ability to communicate complex and abstract ideas through language  It is thought the combination of using tools, hunting in a group and communicating with language led to the rapid growth of the human brain  Our ability to share/cooperate with others  Developed symbols and art

WHAT MAKES US HUMAN - PSYCHOLOGY 1) 2)

3)

The Brain The Cognitive Process (advanced reasoning, problem solving, complexity of our thinking) Personality

THE BRAIN 

The Central Core: All vertebrates  Controls

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basic functions (breathing, eating)

The Cerebrum: Sets us apart from other species.  Controls

human senses, thoughts, language, memory

THE COGNITIVE PROCESS 

How we acquire, store and use knowledge

REASONING Use information to draw conclusions – uniquely human  Deductive Reasoning (general to specific): 

 Eg.

All humans have brains – Sonia is a human – Therefore Sonia has a brain.

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Inductive Reasoning (specific to general): 

Eg. Most men enjoy sports – I am a man – I enjoy sports

PROBLEM SOLVING Humans problem solve throughout the day  Can use reasoning to help solve problems 

1. 2.

3. 4.

Identify the problem Develop a strategy to solve the problem (trial and error, hypothesis, rule of thumb, insight) Carry out the strategy Determine if the strategy worked

COMPLEXITY OF OUR THINKING Complexity of our thinking  Human are able to think about what others are thinking.  Humans are able to think within different time frames 

 We

can remember the past and consider what might happen in the future.

PERSONALITY Characteristics and behaviours that make us unique  It is thought that our personality is shaped by our genetics and environment (nature – nurture) 

PERSONALITY Animals may appear to have personality traits  This may be more the result of instinct and conditioning 

WHAT MAKES US HUMAN: SOCIOLOGY Sociologists characterize a human as different from animals because of human culture.  Culture: The abilities, ideas and behaviours people have acquired to become members of society 

O Canada Hockey Canadian flag

CULTURE 

Symbols  Something

or someone that represents something

else.  Symbols have a particular meaning for people

CULTURE Human culture (beliefs, ideas, behaviours) is constantly evolving and changing.  It is through interactions in society that culture develops.  To be part of the human culture we need to cooperate, have laws/rules and have a capacity for knowledge (we can learn and teach others) 