Early Hominids and Tools
Early Hominids and Tools
Jacky Thompson
ANT 101
March 20, 2013
Even though humans seem to be the most advanced creatures walking this earth, we certainly had ancestors before us. We share similar genetic information of other animals. They are what we consider early hominids. Early hominids date as far back as 6 to 8 million years ago. Just like humans, they had to have some type of culture in order to survive and make a living. Culture is defined as a dynamic adaptive process of learned, shared, and integrated behaviors. But it is not so obvious that these hominids had culture, so the presences of stone tools and home bases might be the answer to determine if they had culture.
Tools are defined as a device or implement used with the hand, to carry out a specific function. Primates learn and share in certain culture, but their social behavior is not as complex as those of humans. The earliest hominids were classified as Australopithecus, which is a type of ape. Scientists claimed that their brains were not big enough to fathom the thought of making tools. Perhaps they used tools to hunt animals. The animals that later hominids hunted were used for food and maybe the furs were used for clothing. This is what we consider hunting and gathering. It is a technique in which the men are responsible for hunting while the women gather the resources. In order for them to hunt they must have had tools to help them kill and clean animals. This process of hunting can be learned and passed on through generations, which are basic parts of culture. The use of tools allowed or ancestor’s opportunities to hunt and do other useful things that were off-limits before the use of tools. Scientist still really does not have clues as to how and why this transition took place. The actual history and time comes from the actual tools themselves.
The act of making tools is an example of how developed our ancestor’s brains were. To actually create the thought of making tools and
Jacky Thompson
ANT 101
March 20, 2013
Even though humans seem to be the most advanced creatures walking this earth, we certainly had ancestors before us. We share similar genetic information of other animals. They are what we consider early hominids. Early hominids date as far back as 6 to 8 million years ago. Just like humans, they had to have some type of culture in order to survive and make a living. Culture is defined as a dynamic adaptive process of learned, shared, and integrated behaviors. But it is not so obvious that these hominids had culture, so the presences of stone tools and home bases might be the answer to determine if they had culture.
Tools are defined as a device or implement used with the hand, to carry out a specific function. Primates learn and share in certain culture, but their social behavior is not as complex as those of humans. The earliest hominids were classified as Australopithecus, which is a type of ape. Scientists claimed that their brains were not big enough to fathom the thought of making tools. Perhaps they used tools to hunt animals. The animals that later hominids hunted were used for food and maybe the furs were used for clothing. This is what we consider hunting and gathering. It is a technique in which the men are responsible for hunting while the women gather the resources. In order for them to hunt they must have had tools to help them kill and clean animals. This process of hunting can be learned and passed on through generations, which are basic parts of culture. The use of tools allowed or ancestor’s opportunities to hunt and do other useful things that were off-limits before the use of tools. Scientist still really does not have clues as to how and why this transition took place. The actual history and time comes from the actual tools themselves.
The act of making tools is an example of how developed our ancestor’s brains were. To actually create the thought of making tools and