Unit+1

=Unit 1 Stages of Human Development=

Formative Assessment
As a Catholic School, it is a very touchy subject to discuss the theory, or process, known as evolution, proposed by Charles Darwin in the mid-19th Century. Although Darwin himself did not dare project the theory on human development because he was an established scientist and Enlightened thinker. He simply, through his famous studies in the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador, South America discovered that species adapted to living conditions based on need. The various bird and reptile life on those islands displayed unique characteristics attributed to their species. The birds had beaks that could help them locate and extract specific food sources from their environment. For example, some birds focused on capturing insects so that they would not have to compete with the birds that focused on finding seeds. Darwin believed that the tortoises that he saw, some of which had long necks, while others had short necks, had adapted these features so as to reduce competition. Darwin's theories, as science caught up his ideas, were proved correct by the succeeding generations of scientists. Darwin just opened the door to the discussion on human appearance, which to that point, was without question, Divinely influenced, or having to do with God. And the unquestioned authority on science was supposed to be the Roman Catholic Church. For the Roman Church to have its authority questioned was not acceptable. So Darwin kept himself out of the question of the origins of humans intentionally. Humans have always been interested in the question of the "origins of life". Fossils were discovered by the Ancient Greeks who were a society of intellectuals whose philosophies are still used by many civilizations in the Western World (Europe and the United States). Many of the famous creatures in Greek Mythology were based on the fossils they found. The Cyclops creatures with one eye that menaced the heroes of many Greek stories were misidentified Wooly Mammoth Skulls, for example. Today, human history has been characterized by historians as developing incrementally, or in stages. The first stage is the **hunter-gatherer stage**. Our earliest human ancestors needed to develop predatory behaviors in order to compete with the famous ancient land-predators such as the ancient saber-toothed cats, the modern big cats, wolves, and bears. Our ancestors, like we do, did not have the biological weaponry of a lion, like claws and teeth, but they did have something just as effective, perhaps more effective: a sophisticated brain. This brain allowed for the development of tools, which were initially sharpened stones for pilfering meat from lion kills in Africa. Eventually, these sharpened tools were pointed and attached to sticks and our ancestors had learned to impale prey either by throwing the spear, or more commonly, by running the antelope or deer to exhaustion then finishing it and preparing it for food processing. Camp sites were set up around the animal kill to commemorate the day because killing animals was an grueling process. Perhaps the groups of humans, or tribes as they would become, would develop worship rituals around these animal kills, thanking some deity for the bounty. The door was opened for the next stage of human development. These ancient campsites, which were uncovered by modern humans throughout recent history, provide pictures into what this ancient world would have been like. It was a frightening and daunting world, and yet it had potential for individual humans who were inquisitive and looked to expand their culture. When groups of hunter-gatherers traveled in search of prey, gathering duties were usually designated to the female members of the tribe. When these people consumed plant life, seeds from the plants were dropped, often unintentionally, either through defecation or through discarding of seeds into latrines or along pathways. Eventually, humans made the connections between the seeds and the growth of plant life along their most known and most used pathways. Interestingly enough, several plants that the humans tried were inedible, poisonous, or simply were not used as food sources. On the other side of this development, new plants were created. For example, did you know that corn, a popular grain in the human diet, was engineered by humans, not nature?? Several of the plants that we take for granted today as food had to be designed for eating. Many kinds of berries are poisonous, but humans learned which berries were safe by watching what animals ate. When humans were able to correctly repeat the growth of edible plants for consumption, they had discovered the science of agriculture, and so the agricultural stage was born. Simultaneously, the art of growing plants was being applied to the art of growing animals for consumption as well. Humans discovered that certain animals could not be consistently domesticated, such as members of the deer and antelope families. Although as herbivores, the herd cultures of members of the deer family and members of the horse and cow family are similar, there is something that separated the creatures in their relation to humans. The Major Five of mammal domestication are cow, sheep, goat, pig, and horse says Dr. Jared Diamond of University of California, Los Angeles. Diamond, a biology and physiology professor, makes a distinction between //domestication// and //taming//. Elephants, he says, are tamed animals and maintain an instinctive wildness as is evident in many of the circus and zoo accidents that have happened in recent years. Zoo incidents aside, however, animals have a certain genetic make-up that allows them to be domesticated. Humans select traits in animals that we find favorable. If a wolf, for example, was approachable, compliant, and trainable, then its descendents would become dogs. Domestication of animals and plants occurred over thousands of years in the agricultural age. But within this stage, the third stage occurred. Humans, now more sedentary, developed major metropolitan areas, explored the arts, and looked to expand their knowledge of the new metals they discovered in the earth.

Once in a set stage, however, it does not mean that human cultures are set in that stage. It does