do humans vary?
The question of what makes human beings different from all other species is central to anthropology. This chapter explores the particular characteristics that, over the past 6–7 million years, since they shared a common ancestor with apes, have allowed Homo sapiens to become the most successful of the primates. We now know that there were many types of early human, so this chapter explores how Homo sapiens interacted with other forms of early human, and what this tells us about humans today. It also looks at the behavioural and physical traits that humans continue to share with other primates, such as chimpanzees and bonobos. The study of human origins and of the adaptations that make our species unique defines the field of evolutionary anthropology. This field overlaps with paleontology, which is the study of life on earth, drawing on information provided by fossil remains. This field overlaps with archaeology, which is the study of early human objects, or artefacts, that tell us what early human life was like.
primate A mammal of the order Primates, characterized, for example, by refined development of the hands and feet and a large brain
paleontology The study of life on earth, often drawing on information provided by fossils
One of the first evolutionary anthropologists was Charles Darwin, creator of the theory of evolution. Evolutionary anthropology has since grown into a multifaceted discipline investigating the origins of humanity through fossils and, more recently, ancient DNA, and genetic analyses. This is supported by an ever-clearer picture of what make humans unique. Among the many features that distinguish us from other species – perhaps the fundamental difference – is the fact that humans have a highly developed culture. Simply put, culture is every aspect of life that goes beyond biology.
Although there is evidence of culture in some other species, nowhere is it more complex, rich and evolved than within human societies. So, how did the specific physical evolution of Homo sapiens lead to the development of a complex culture while that of other species did not? What is the relationship between biological evolution and cultural evolution? If all humans share the same biology, to what extent do they share the same culture? Are there such things as cultural universals?
cultural evolution The ways in which humans have evolved beyond their biology
The final section of this chapter explores the extent of biological variations between humans, making a clear distinction between biological differences and socially constructed ideas about race (which are widely criticized).
How Did Humans Evolve?
How are human origins explained?
How do different groups explain the existence of dinosaurs and other extinct animals?
Explanations of human evolution
There have been a number of attempts to explain the origins of the human species. These explanations are of interest in themselves as they reflect the dominant ideas of the times from which they originate. They have also been highly contentious and continue to provoke a strong response that goes much further than anthropology, to religion, politics and economics.
Creationism and evolution
Until the eighteenth century, religion shaped the dominant explanations for the origins of human life. In Europe, these came largely from Genesis, the first book of the Bible. This explanation, known as creationism, was based upon the idea that God had created all life in six days, and that the characteristics of plants and animals were fixed and unchangeable.
creationism The belief that all life was created by the actions of God
That is not to say there was no interest in the great diversity of animal and plant life. Early scientists showed a strong desire to organize different species and locate human beings within classification systems. For example, the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus (1707–78) was among the first to develop a scientific classification of animals and plants, or taxonomy. Linnaeus accepted the biblical explanation of creation, and his classification system is still influential today. This system is based on similarities and differences between species, which Linnaeus argued were part of God’s plan.
taxonomy The classification of organisms in an ordered system that indicates natural relationships
Creationist ideas are not limited to Christianity. Muslim creationists, for example, base their thinking on similar arguments and on passages such as this in the Qur’an: ‘God has created every animal from water. Of them there are some that creep on their bellies, some that walk on two legs and some that walk on four. God creates what he wills for verily God has power over all things’ (Sura 24:45). However, fossil discoveries during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries challenged the ideas central to creationism by proving that different types of life had existed in the past. Creationists responded to these findings by arguing that various forms of catastrophe had occurred, which they claimed had destroyed other ancient species. This branch of creationists, known as catastrophists, argued that events such as the biblical flood involving Noah’s Ark destroyed ancient species, after which God created new species, leading to contemporary species.
fossil The preserved remains or traces of animals, plants and other organisms from the remote past
catastrophism The theory that the Earth has been affected in the past by sudden, short-lived, violent events, possibly worldwide in scope, which have led to the contemporary world with its current variety of animals and plants
There has recently been a resurgence of creationism. For example, the Discovery Institute, an American nonprofit public policy think-tank, developed a theory known as intelligent design (or neo-creationism). This is defined as a belief that the universe could not have been created by chance and that some higher power must have had a hand in it. The effects of this theory have been felt within both the public and the political sphere. For example, there has been a lot of debate over the teaching of the origins of human life in schools. Some creationists argue that teachers should explain the origins of human life through creationist ideas only.
intelligent design Also known as neo-creationism, the belief that the current state of life on Earth has come about through the actions of an intelligent designer; this designer need not be God, but most proponents of intelligent design seem to have God in mind
Scientific explanations of human origins
The Enlightenment and Victorian naturalism The eighteenth-century Enlightenment prompted a major revolution in the way Europeans thought of the world in which they lived. Whereas previously the Bible had been relied upon to explain the world, people began increasingly to seek explanations based on science and rational thought. The Enlightenment coincided with the expansion of Europeans across the world and the discovery of previously unknown peoples. This diversity of humanity needed explaining somehow, since there were clearly many more human populations in the world than were described in the Bible.
Enlightenment A period in Europe during the eighteenth century when there were many scientific discoveries
