The Emergence of Us Homo Sapiens

The Genus Homo and the Emergence of Us ANTH 2301 The Emergence of Us: Homo sapiens About 200,000 years ago, modern humans initially emerged in Africa. These individuals are commonly referred to as "anatomically modern H. sapiens" by anthropologists, a term used to describe the fact that although these individuals share the same body as modern humans, they had not yet acquired the technologies, symbolic behaviours, and cultural traditions of later H. sapiens, such as those living today. The chin is arguably the most distinguishing characteristic of anatomically modern Homo sapiens. The earliest hominid to display a protruding chin is modern Homo sapiens. The chin's evolutionary adaptation to human speaking as a means of shielding the jaw from the pressures caused by the activation of certain tongue muscles is one of the most widely accepted theories explaining this anatomical characteristic. There was a sudden shift in tool technology, subsistence strategies, and symbolic expression among Homo sapiens around 40,000 years ago. It appears that these shifts took place throughout Australia, Asia, Europe, and Africa nearly concurrently. Even though earlier populations like the Neanderthals are known to have engaged in certain creative artistic endeavours, these activities did not reach the same heights as those observed during the Upper Palaeolithic, often known as "the human revolution." It has been suggested that the degree of cultural transformation linked to this era is comparable to that of the 19th-century Industrial Revolution. Amidst these modifications, Homo sapiens started creating an increasingly complex toolkit by crafting implements from a broader range of materials, such as bone, ivory, and antler. The production of blade tools replaced the production of round flakes by humans during the Upper Palaeolithic. The blade tool industry is the name given to this building technique. Blades are made of stone fragments with a sharp edge that resemble contemporary knife blades in length, thinness, and flatness. They are more efficient than earlier technologies because they have a far longer cutting edge than flakes. Pre-shaped blades were produced by refining and expanding the Mousterian prepared-core process, which produced pre-shaped flakes. Within the broader category of the blade tool business during the 23,000 years of the Upper Palaeolithic, there were several separate tool industries, such as the Aurignacian, Gravettian, Solutrean, and Magdalenian. The burin was the most important tool used in the Upper Palaeolithic. A flint with a thin blade that can scrape little grooves in bone is called a burin. A little piece of bone might be separated to use as stock for an awl, needle, or pin by scraping two parallel grooves. The period covered by the Gravettian tool industry was between 33,000 and 22,000 years ago. Animal carcasses are frequently utilised in this tool sector for both conventional and ornamental tool applications. For instance, arctic foxes' arm bones were utilised as awls and barbs, and their teeth were used as ornaments. Certain animal bones, like the tusks and bones of mammoths, were utilised to build art as well as implements. This figurine may be the first example of a figure with animal and human features combined, a form sometimes connected to priests or shamans. Because the "lion man" doesn't have a lion mane, some have suggested that she is in fact a woman. The Solutrean tool business used previously unheard-of methods to create tools. Rather of using flint knapping, it created highly wrought bifacial points manufactured using lithic reduction percussion. Lithic reduction is the process of cutting away portions of stones or rocks to form them into tools or weapons. With one hand, the lithic core—such as a partially produced tool or a naturally occurring rock—is hammered with a hammer or percussor with the other. The original bulk of the stone or lithic core decreases when the flakes separate. The invention of the atlat, or spear thrower, is another feature of the Solutrean period, in addition to advancements in stone tools. A long stick called an atlatl is used to throw a dart or spear. Serving as an extension of the arm, this wood or antler stick increased the kinetic energy and, hence, the range of a short spear with a flint or bone point. This innovative tool's earliest archaeological proof dates back to 17,500 years ago in France, when an atlatl made of reindeer antler was discovered. It is thought that people hunted huge animals with the atlatl. The Magdalenian tool industry emerged 17,000 years ago, taking the role of the Solutrean tool industry. In addition to stone, bone and ivory are being utilised throughout this time. In contrast to Mousterian tools, Solutrean tools are formed from rocks that have travelled quite great distances in addition to adjacent rocks. Remember that this involved discovering and excavating the chosen rocks in addition to transporting them. The most famous products from the Gravettian tool industry are the carved figures of Venus, usually composed of limestone or ivory and depicting a lady. The majority of figures have big breasts, broad hips, and small heads. The majority of academics think they had ceremonial or symbolic purposes. Some have proposed that they are a manifestation of fertility and wellness. A significant amount of cave art was produced by Homo sapiens during the Upper Palaeolithic. There are now approximately 350 known cave painting locations, most of which are in France and Spain. Between 40,000 and 10,000 years ago, cave art appears to have been continuously produced. It then vanished about 10,000 years ago, most likely as a result of climatic change. Surface colonies eventually supplanted subterranean shelters as temperatures rose. The Chauvet cave site, which dates back 32,400 years, is the most well-known in France. together with the 17,000-year-old Lascaux Caves. Both caves have artwork that depicts common themes including horses, deer, and bison in addition to human hand tracings. Although the majority of the species shown were often hunted, bone deposits were not always discovered with them. Upper Palaeolithic cave paintings exhibit a degree of complexity and even holiness not seen in earlier human history. Natural pigments, such as dirt, red ochre, hematite, manganese oxide, and animal blood, were combined with animal fat and saliva to generate the colours used in cave paintings. Twigs fashioned into brushes and birdbone blowpipes, which sprayed paint onto the cave wall, were used to apply paint. Across the world, hand stencils on cave walls may be discovered in Africa, Argentina, Europe, and Australia, among other places. In order to identify potential painters, anthropologist Dean Snow (2013) studied eight cave sites in France and Spain. He deduced that women were responsible for 75% of the ochre stencilled handprints in the Palaeolithic caves based on measurements of the handprints.