Features of the structure of ancient people. Ancient people: their life, way of life and tools

To date, there is no exact hypothesis about how and where they appeared. ancient human ancestors. Most scientists are of the opinion that humans and monkeys have a common ancestor. It is believed that somewhere 5-8 million years ago, the evolution of anthropoid apes went in two independent directions. Some of them remained to live in the animal world, and the rest, after millions of years, turned into people.

Rice. 1 - Human evolution

Dryopithecus

One of the ancient ancestors of man is Dryopithecus "tree monkey"(Fig. 2), who lived in Africa and Europe 25 million years ago. He led a herd lifestyle and was strikingly similar to a modern chimpanzee. Due to the fact that he constantly lived in trees, his forelimbs could turn in any direction, which played an important role in the further formation of man.

Features of Dryopithecus:

developed upper limbs contributed to the emergence of the ability to manipulate objects;
Coordination improved and color vision developed. There was a transition from a herd to a social way of life, as a result of which speech sounds began to develop;
brain size increased;
a thin layer of enamel on the teeth of Dryopithecus indicates the predominance of food of plant origin in its diet.

Rice. 2 - Dryopithecus - an early human ancestor

The remains of Australopithecus (Fig. 3) were discovered in Africa. Lived approximately 3-5.5 million years ago. He walked on his feet, but his arms were much longer than those of modern humans. The climate of Africa gradually changed and became drier, which resulted in a decrease in forests. More than half of the apes have adapted to new living conditions in open space. Due to the hot climate, ancient human ancestors, they mainly began to move on their feet, which saved them from overheating of the sun (the area of their back is much larger than the top of their head). As a result, this led to a decrease in sweating, thereby reducing water consumption.

Features of Australopithecus:

knew how to use primitive objects of labor: sticks, stones, and so on;
the brain was 3 times smaller than the brain of a modern person, but much larger than the brain of large monkeys of our time;
was distinguished by his short stature: 110-150 cm, and body weight could be from 20 to 50 kg;
ate plant and meat foods;
earned his own food using tools he made himself;
lifespan - 18-20 years.

Rice. 3 - Australopithecus

(Fig. 4) lived approximately 2-2.5 million years ago. The posture of his figure was very close to that of a human. He walked in an upright position, which is where he got his second name - “homo erectus.” Habitat Africa, as well as some places in Asia and Europe. In the Olduvai Gorge (East Africa), things made from partially processed pebbles were discovered next to the remains of Homo habilis. This suggests that the ancient ancestors of man of that time already knew how to create simple objects of labor and hunting, and select raw materials for their manufacture. Presumably a direct descendant of Australopithecus.

Features of a “skillful” person:

brain size - 600 cm²;
the facial part of the skull became smaller, giving way to the brain part;
the teeth are not very large, like those of Australopithecus;
was an omnivore;
the foot acquired an arch, which contributed to better walking on two limbs;
the hand has become more developed, thereby expanding its grasping abilities, and the grip strength has increased;
although the larynx was not yet able to reproduce speech, the part of the brain responsible for this was finally formed.

Rice. 4 - A “skillful” person

Homo erectus

Other name - Erectus(Fig. 5). Without a doubt he is considered a representative of the human race. Existed 1 million - 300 years ago. It got its name from the final transition to straight walking.

Features of Homo erectus:

possessed the ability to speak and think abstractly;
knew how to create quite complex objects of labor and handle fire. There is an assumption that an upright man could make fire on his own;
appearance resembles the features of modern people. However, there are significant differences: the walls of the skull are quite thick, the frontal bone is located lower and has massive supraorbital protrusions. The heavy lower jaw is larger, and the chin protuberance is almost invisible;
males were much larger than females;
height is about 150-180 cm, brain size has increased to 1100 cm³.

The lifestyle of the erect walking ancestor of man consisted of hunting and gathering edible plants, berries, and mushrooms. He lived in social groups, which contributed to the formation of speech. Perhaps it was supplanted by Neanderthals 300 thousand years ago, but this version does not have solid arguments.

Rice. 5 - Erectus

Pithecanthropus

Pithecanthropus - is rightfully considered one of ancient human ancestors. This is one of the varieties of upright man. Habitat: Southeast Asia, lived about 500-700 thousand years ago. The remains of the “ape-man” were first found on the island of Java. It is assumed that he is not a direct ancestor of modern humanity, most likely he can be considered our “cousin”.

Sinanthropus

Another species of Homo erectus. Existed 600-400 thousand years ago in the current territory of China. Sinanthropus are relatively developed ancient ancestors of humans.

A representative of the human race, he was previously considered a subspecies of Homo sapiens. Its habitat was Europe and North Africa more than 100 thousand years ago. The period of life of the Neanderthals fell just during the Ice Age; accordingly, in harsh climatic conditions, they had to take care of making clothes and building housing. The main food is meat. It does not relate to the direct relationship of Homo sapiens, but it could well have lived next to the Cro-Magnons, which contributed to their mutual crossing. Some scientists believe that there was a constant struggle between Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons, which led to the extinction of Neanderthals. It is assumed that both species hunted each other. Neanderthals (Fig. 6) had a massive, large physique, compared to Cro-Magnons.

Features of Neanderthals:

brain size - 1200-1600 cm³;
height - approximately 150 cm;
due to the large brain, the skull had an elongated backward shape. True, the frontal bone was low, the cheekbones were wide, and the jaw itself was large. The chin had a weakly defined character, and the brow ridge had an impressive protrusion.

Rice. 6 - Neanderthal

Neanderthals led a cultural life: musical instruments were discovered during excavations. Religion was also present, as indicated by special rituals at the funerals of their fellow tribesmen. There is evidence that these ancient human ancestors had medical knowledge. For example, they knew how to heal fractures.

Direct descendant of Homo sapiens. Existed approximately 40 thousand years ago.

Features of Cro-Magnons (Fig. 7):

had a more developed human appearance. Distinctive features: a fairly high straight forehead, absence of a brow ridge, a more distinctly shaped chin protuberance;
height - 180 cm, but body weight is much less than that of Neanderthals;
brain size was 1400-1900 cm³;
spoke clearly;
considered the founder of the first true human cell;
lived in groups of 100 people, so to speak, tribal communities, building the first villages;
engaged in the construction of huts and dugouts, using the skins of killed animals. He created clothing, household items and hunting tools;
knew agriculture;
he went hunting with a group of fellow tribesmen, chasing and driving the animal into a prepared trap. Over time, he learned to domesticate animals;
had its own highly developed culture, which has survived to this day in the form of rock paintings and clay sculptures;
performed rituals during the burial of relatives. It follows from this that the Cro-Magnons, like the Neanderthals, believed in another life after death;

Science officially believes that the Cro-Magnon man is a direct descendant of modern people.

The ancient ancestors of humans will be discussed in more detail in the following lectures.

Rice. 7 - Cro-Magnon

Ancient people. Ancient people in science are called paleoanthropes, sometimes Neanderthals. Paleoanthropes are considered the direct ancestors of modern humans. In general, in their lifestyle, consciousness and conditions of social life, ancient people were similar to modern people. Their skeleton was found for the first time in 1848 in Europe. In 1856, fossil remains of ancient people were found for the first time in the Neanderthal River valley in Western Germany. The remains of Neanderthals have been discovered in many regions of Russia. The famous Russian anthropologist M. M. Gerasimov based on the structural features of the skull of ancient people created their appearance. Paleoanthropes lived 1.5 million - 250 thousand years ago. Ancient people were 155-165 cm tall, with a brain volume of about 1400 cm3. Compared to archanthropes, paleoanthropes had a well-developed temporal lobe of the cerebral hemispheres, associated with speech, and a smaller lower jaw.

The tools found in the dwellings of ancient people were much more complex (Fig. 56).

Rice. 56. 1 - wooden spear made 300 thousand years ago; 2 - stone tool made 250 thousand years ago; 3 - stone tool made 200 thousand years ago

They knew how to make devices for processing animal skin. It was proven that they built their homes from the bones of large animals (mammoths). Paleoanthropes had well-developed thinking abilities. At this time, various branches of applied art appeared. A public consciousness was formed, rock paintings and drawings on bones appeared, and the dead began to be buried. Ancient people, in unfavorable weather conditions, lived in caves and used fire. They hunted animals collectively and lived in many areas of the globe. Skeletal remains of ancient humans discovered in North Africa are similar to those found in Europe. Therefore, there is an opinion that ancient people lived simultaneously in many areas of the Earth. In 1938, the Russian scientist A.P. Okladnikov (1908-1980) discovered the remains of ancient people in the Tesiktas cave in Uzbekistan. This discovery had international significance. The remains of ancient people's dwellings, stone tools, and animal bones have been discovered in many places in Kazakhstan.

In 1958-1962. Kazakh scientist Kh. A. Alpysbaev discovered the dwellings of ancient people in the Karatau region of Southern Kazakhstan. Stone tools of ancient people were also discovered in Central Kazakhstan, in the vicinity of Betpakdala. The outstanding scientist A. Kh. Margulan made a significant contribution to this area. In science, this period is called the Stone Age (or Stone Age). Stone Age tools were found in Eastern Kazakhstan (Altai region), in the vicinity of Semipalatinsk, near the Aral Sea, Saryarka, in Western Kazakhstan, Mangistau region.

Ancient people lived in groups of 50-100 people. Men collectively hunted animals, women collected edible plants and fruits. The older, more experienced ones made the tools. Ancient people processed skins and dressed in them. In the harsh conditions of the Ice Age, natural selection contributed to the survival of the most resilient, dexterous, and courageous ancient people. During this period, social factors played an important role: collective work, joint struggle for life and the development of rational thinking.

The first modern people. In science they are called “fossil forms of neoanthropes” or in popular literature - “Cro-Magnons”. Their remains were first discovered in 1868 in the Cro-Magnon cave in France. Cro-Magnons lived 30-50 thousand years ago. Their dwellings were also found in many places in Kazakhstan. Neoanthropes were 170-180 cm tall and lived 30-40 years. The brain volume reached 1400-1600 cm3. The frontal and temporal lobes of the forebrain were well developed. The frontal bones protrude forward, the eye sockets are large, the chin is developed, and the forehead is not very high. Neoanthropes lived in the dwellings they built. They ate mainly meat. For hunting, various tools were used and made from stone and bone. In caves, there are paintings or scratches on the walls. At this time, various branches of applied art were developed (Fig. 57).

Rice. 57. Hunting for mammoths 35 thousand years ago

They knew how to make dishes from clay. The Cro-Magnons began to domesticate some animals and took their first steps in agriculture. Traditions of clan and tribal society were formed. They paid special attention to admiration for the surrounding nature and care for it. In the process of their evolution, the first modern people appeared - the species Homo sapiens. In the life of neoanthropes, social factors began to play a leading role, rather than biological ones. They began to pay attention to education, training, and transfer of experience. Ancient people adopted a new way of life, using their dexterity, determination and intelligence. The main goal of their life was caring for their offspring and respect for their elders. Neoanthropes acquired the ability to fight, sacrifice themselves, and think about the future of their tribe, clan and family.

The emergence, development and formation of modern man is a complex and lengthy process. According to the famous Russian scientist Ya. Ya. Roginsky (1895-1986), the following main morphological changes occurred in human evolution. Firstly, thanks to changes in the bones of the upper and lower extremities and torso, man switched to upright walking. Secondly, the brain was complicated and its size increased. Thirdly, the jaw bones became smaller and the ability to speak appeared. People also placed the use and improvement of tools, articulate speech in communication with each other, and a collective way of life in first place. The development of consciousness and culture influenced the emergence of qualitative changes in human evolution.

Individual hereditary changes - mutations - are still observed in humans. Only on the basis of knowledge of biological patterns is it possible to control them and prevent the manifestation of harmful signs. The special role of labor in human development was noted by the outstanding scientist Al-Farabi. He said that man had risen to the highest level of development of living organisms on Earth, making tools and using them for his needs. Al-Farabi came to the conclusion that only labor separated man from the animal world and enabled his physical and spiritual development.

Paleoanthropes. Neanderthals. Neoanthropes. Cro-Magnons. A reasonable man.

1. In the scientific literature, ancient people are called paleoanthropes, or Neanderthals.

2. Many signs of ancient people are similar to those of modern people (the ability to make tools, speech, an increase in brain volume).

3. Dwellings and tools of ancient people were found in the vicinity of Karatau, in some areas of Central Kazakhstan, Altai, Semipalatinsk, Aral, Saryarka, Mangistau.

4. The direct ancestors of modern humans are Cro-Magnons.

1. What are ancient people called in scientific literature?

2. Where were the remains of ancient people first found?

3. Name the main features of the body structure of ancient people.

1. In what areas of Kazakhstan were the remains of dwellings and labor tools of ancient people found?

2. Name the features characteristic of the body structure of Cro-Magnons.

3. What differences in the way of life were there between ancient people and Cro-Magnons?

1. Name successively the stages of human evolution and characterize the structural features of their body at each stage of evolution.

2. Name the features of a person’s lifestyle at each stage of his evolution.

3. Prove with an example the connection between biological and social factors in human evolution.

Systematize the main stages of human evolution and make a table.

It is known that the distinguishing feature of the ape from the representative of the human race is the mass of the brain, namely 750 g. This is how much is necessary for a child to master speech. Ancient people spoke in a primitive language, but their speech is a qualitative difference between the higher nervous activity of humans and the instinctive behavior of animals. The word, which became a designation for actions, labor operations, objects, and subsequently general concepts, acquired the status of the most important means of communication.

Stages of human development

It is known that there are three of them, namely:

the oldest representatives of the human race;
modern generation.

This article is devoted exclusively to the 2nd of the above stages.

History of Ancient Man

About 200 thousand years ago, the people we call Neanderthals appeared. They occupied an intermediate position between representatives of the most ancient family and the first modern man. Ancient people were a very heterogeneous group. A study of a large number of skeletons led to the conclusion that, in the process of the evolution of Neanderthals against the background of structural diversity, 2 lines were determined. The first was focused on powerful physiological development. Visually, the most ancient people were distinguished by a low, strongly sloping forehead, a low back of the head, a poorly developed chin, a continuous supraorbital ridge, and large teeth. They had very powerful muscles, despite the fact that their height was no more than 165 cm. The mass of their brain had already reached 1500 g. Presumably, ancient people used rudimentary articulate speech.

The second line of Neanderthals had more refined features. They had significantly smaller brow ridges, a more developed chin protuberance, and thin jaws. We can say that the second group was significantly inferior in physical development to the first. However, they already showed a significant increase in the volume of the frontal lobes of the brain.

The second group of Neanderthals fought for their existence through the development of intra-group connections in the process of hunting, protection from an aggressive natural environment, enemies, in other words, by combining the forces of individual individuals, and not through the development of muscles, like the first.

As a result of this evolutionary path, the species Homo sapiens appeared, which translates as “Homo sapiens” (40-50 thousand years ago).

It is known that for a short period of time the life of ancient man and the first modern man was closely interconnected. Subsequently, the Neanderthals were finally supplanted by the Cro-Magnons (the first modern people).

Types of ancient people

Due to the vastness and heterogeneity of the group of hominids, it is customary to distinguish the following varieties of Neanderthals:

ancient (early representatives who lived 130-70 thousand years ago);
classical (European forms, the period of their existence 70-40 thousand years ago);
survivalists (lived 45 thousand years ago).

Neanderthals: daily life, activities

Fire played an important role. For many hundreds of thousands of years, man did not know how to make fire himself, which is why people supported the one that was formed due to a lightning strike or a volcanic eruption. Moving from place to place, the fire was carried in special “cages” by the strongest people. If it was not possible to save the fire, then this quite often led to the death of the entire tribe, since they were deprived of a means of heating in the cold, a means of protection from predatory animals.

Subsequently, they began to use it for cooking food, which turned out to be more tasty and nutritious, which ultimately contributed to the development of their brain. Later, people themselves learned to make fire by cutting sparks from stone into dry grass, quickly rotating a wooden stick in their palms, placing one end in a hole in dry wood. It was this event that became one of the most important achievements of man. It coincided in time with the era of great migrations.

The daily life of ancient man boiled down to the fact that the entire primitive tribe hunted. For this purpose, men were engaged in the manufacture of weapons and stone tools: chisels, knives, scrapers, awls. Mostly males hunted and butchered the carcasses of killed animals, that is, all the hard work fell on them.

Female representatives processed skins and collected (fruits, edible tubers, roots, and branches for fire). This led to the emergence of a natural division of labor by gender.

To catch large animals, men hunted together. This required mutual understanding between primitive people. During the hunt, a driving technique was common: the steppe was set on fire, then the Neanderthals drove a herd of deer and horses into a trap - a swamp, an abyss. Next, all they had to do was finish off the animals. There was another technique: they shouted and made noise to drive the animals onto thin ice.

We can say that the life of ancient man was primitive. However, it was the Neanderthals who were the first to bury their dead relatives, laying them on their right side, placing a stone under their head and bending their legs. Food and weapons were left next to the body. Presumably they considered death to be a dream. Burials and parts of sanctuaries, for example, associated with the bear cult, became evidence of the emergence of religion.

Neanderthal tools

They differed slightly from those used by their predecessors. However, over time, the tools of ancient people became more complex. The newly formed complex gave rise to the so-called Mousterian era. As before, tools were made primarily of stone, but their shapes became more diverse, and the turning technique became more complex.

The main weapon preparation is a flake formed as a result of chipping from a core (a piece of flint that has special platforms from which the chipping was carried out). This era was characterized by approximately 60 types of weapons. All of them are variations of 3 main ones: scraper, rubeltsa, pointed tip.

The first is used in the process of butchering an animal carcass, processing wood, and tanning hides. The second is a smaller version of the hand axes of the previously existing Pithecanthropus (they were 15-20 cm in length). Their new modifications had a length of 5-8 cm. The third weapon had a triangular outline and a point at the end. They were used as knives for cutting leather, meat, wood, and also as daggers and dart and spear tips.

In addition to the listed species, Neanderthals also had the following: scrapers, incisors, piercings, notched, and serrated tools.

Bone also served as the basis for their manufacture. Very few fragments of such specimens have survived to this day, and entire tools can be seen even less frequently. Most often these were primitive awls, spatulas, and points.

The tools differed depending on the types of animals that Neanderthals hunted, and, consequently, on the geographical region and climate. Obviously, African tools were different from European ones.

Climate of the area where Neanderthals lived

The Neanderthals were less fortunate with this. They found a strong cold snap and the formation of glaciers. Neanderthals, unlike Pithecanthropus, who lived in an area similar to the African savanna, lived rather in the tundra and forest-steppe.

It is known that the first ancient man, just like his ancestors, mastered caves - shallow grottoes, small sheds. Subsequently, buildings appeared located in open space (the remains of a dwelling made from the bones and teeth of a mammoth were found at a site on the Dniester).

Hunting of ancient people

Neanderthals mainly hunted mammoths. He did not live to this day, but everyone knows what this beast looks like, since rock paintings with its image were found, painted by people of the Late Paleolithic. In addition, archaeologists have found the remains (sometimes even the entire skeleton or carcasses in permafrost soil) of mammoths in Siberia and Alaska.

To catch such a large beast, the Neanderthals had to work hard. They dug pit traps or drove the mammoth into a swamp so that it would get stuck in it, then finish it off.

Also a game animal was the cave bear (it is 1.5 times larger than our brown one). If a large male rose on his hind legs, then he reached 2.5 m in height.

Neanderthals also hunted bison, bison, reindeer, and horses. From them it was possible to obtain not only the meat itself, but also bones, fat, and skin.

Methods of making fire by Neanderthals

There are only five of them, namely:

1. Fire plow. This is a fairly fast method, but requires significant physical effort. The idea is to move a wooden stick along the board with a strong pressure. The result is shavings, wood powder, which, due to the friction of wood against wood, heats up and smolders. At this point, it is combined with highly flammable tinder, then the fire is fanned.

2. Fire drill. The most common way. A fire drill is a wooden stick that is used to drill into another stick (a wooden plank) located on the ground. As a result, smoldering (smoking) powder appears in the hole. Next, it is poured onto the tinder, and then the flame is fanned. Neanderthals first rotated the drill between their palms, and later the drill (with its upper end) was pressed into the tree, covered with a belt and pulled alternately on each end of the belt, rotating it.

3. Fire pump. This is a fairly modern, but rarely used method.

4. Fire saw. It is similar to the first method, but the difference is that the wooden plank is sawed (scraped) across the fibers, and not along them. The result is the same.

5. Carving fire. This can be done by hitting one stone against another. As a result, sparks are formed that fall on the tinder, subsequently igniting it.

Finds from the Skhul and Jebel Qafzeh caves

The first is located near Haifa, the second is in the south of Israel. They are both located in the Middle East. These caves are famous for the fact that human remains (skeletal remains) were found in them, which were closer to modern people than to the ancients. Unfortunately, they belonged to only two individuals. The age of the finds is 90-100 thousand years. In this regard, we can say that modern humans coexisted with Neanderthals for many millennia.

Conclusion

The world of ancient people is very interesting and has not yet been fully studied. Perhaps, over time, new secrets will be revealed to us that will allow us to look at it from a different point of view.

)

External differences are probably the first thing that catches your eye when comparing prehistoric and modern people. Modern people look different, eat differently, lead a significantly different lifestyle, wear different clothes, have different skills and abilities, and so on. In addition, ancient man did not know writing, had primitive technologies and was more dependent on the forces of nature. This is true, and these are certainly significant differences. Essential, but not fundamental. Modern stories of “Robinsonades”, zones of military conflicts and, in general, the ups and downs of life show how outwardly a person can change, becoming almost indistinguishable in appearance from an ancient one, but at the same time still largely remaining modern internally.

What other differences are there? Life expectancy? Yes, on average it was small in ancient man, in the period under study at different stages from 20 to 35 years. It seems that this is very little, although depending on how you look at it. In the Russian Empire, for example, in the middle of the 19th century, the same figure was only about 24 years, that is, even noticeably lower than in the Late Paleolithic, where it was about 32 years. It sounds incredible at first glance, but it is true. The point here is that a significant contribution to the formation of a short average life expectancy is made by extremely high child (and female) mortality. Those who managed to overcome the barrier of childhood, even Neanderthals, quite managed to live to be 50-60 years old. Thus, it turns out that in the case of life expectancy there are no fundamental differences. Then what is the difference between modern and prehistoric man?

The fundamental difference was the changes that occurred in human consciousness. Having completed mainly biological evolution, man began cultural evolution. It is generally accepted that this happened about 35–40 thousand years ago. And just as the first representatives of biological species at the initial stages of evolution were extremely “primitive,” so human thinking at the beginning of its development was severely limited in the possibilities of conscious activity. What were these restrictions?

Yuri Verderevsky, RVS

Scientists claim that modern man did not descend from modern apes, which are characterized by narrow specialization (adaptation to a strictly defined way of life in tropical forests), but from highly organized animals that died out several million years ago - dryopithecus. The process of human evolution is very long, its main stages are presented in the diagram.

The main stages of anthropogenesis (the evolution of human ancestors)

According to paleontological finds (fossil remains), about 30 million years ago ancient primates Parapithecus appeared on Earth, living in open spaces and in trees. Their jaws and teeth were similar to those of apes. Parapithecus gave rise to modern gibbons and orangutans, as well as the extinct branch of Dryopithecus. The latter in their development were divided into three lines: one of them led to the modern gorilla, the other to the chimpanzee, and the third to Australopithecus, and from him to man. The relationship of Dryopithecus with humans was established based on a study of the structure of its jaw and teeth, discovered in 1856 in France.

The most important stage on the path to the transformation of ape-like animals into ancient people was the appearance of upright walking. Due to climate change and forest thinning, a transition has occurred from an arboreal to a terrestrial way of life; in order to better survey the area where human ancestors had many enemies, they had to stand on their hind limbs. Subsequently, natural selection developed and consolidated upright posture, and, as a consequence of this, the hands were freed from the functions of support and movement. This is how Australopithecines arose - the genus to which hominids (a family of humans) belong..

Australopithecus

Australopithecines are highly developed bipedal primates that used objects of natural origin as tools (hence, Australopithecines cannot yet be considered human). Bone remains of Australopithecines were first discovered in 1924 in South Africa. They were as tall as a chimpanzee and weighed about 50 kg, their brain volume reached 500 cm 3 - according to this feature, Australopithecus is closer to humans than any of the fossil and modern monkeys.

The structure of the pelvic bones and the position of the head were similar to those of humans, indicating an upright position of the body. They lived about 9 million years ago in the open steppes and ate plant and animal foods. The tools of their labor were stones, bones, sticks, jaws without traces of artificial processing.

A skilled man

Not having a narrow specialization of the general structure, Australopithecus gave rise to a more progressive form, called Homo habilis - a skilled person. Its bone remains were discovered in 1959 in Tanzania. Their age is determined to be approximately 2 million years. The height of this creature reached 150 cm. The volume of the brain was 100 cm 3 larger than that of australopithecines, the teeth of the human type, the phalanges of the fingers were flattened like those of a person.

Although it combined the characteristics of both monkeys and humans, the transition of this creature to the manufacture of pebble tools (well-made stone) indicates the appearance of its labor activity. They could catch animals, throw stones and perform other actions. The piles of bones found with the Homo habilis fossils indicate that meat became a regular part of their diet. These hominids used crude stone tools.

Homo erectus

Homo erectus is a man who walks upright. the species from which modern humans are believed to have evolved. Its age is 1.5 million years. Its jaws, teeth and brow ridges were still massive, but the brain volume of some individuals was the same as that of modern humans.

Some Homo erectus bones have been found in caves, suggesting its permanent home. In addition to animal bones and fairly well-made stone tools, heaps of charcoal and burnt bones were found in some caves, so, apparently, at this time, Australopithecines had already learned to make fire.

This stage of hominid evolution coincides with the settlement of other colder regions by people from Africa. It would be impossible to survive cold winters without developing complex behaviors or technical skills. Scientists hypothesize that the prehuman brain of Homo erectus was capable of finding social and technical solutions (fire, clothing, food storage, and cave dwelling) to the problems associated with surviving the winter cold.

Thus, all fossil hominids, especially australopithecus, are considered to be the predecessors of humans.

The evolution of the physical characteristics of the first people, including modern man, covers three stages: ancient people, or archanthropes; ancient people, or paleoanthropes; modern people, or neoanthropes.

Archanthropes

The first representative of the archanthropes is Pithecanthropus (Japanese man) - an ape-man who walks upright. His bones were found on the island. Java (Indonesia) in 1891. Initially, its age was determined to be 1 million years, but, according to a more accurate modern estimate, it is slightly more than 400 thousand years old. The height of Pithecanthropus was about 170 cm, the volume of the skull was 900 cm 3.

Somewhat later there was Sinanthropus (Chinese man). Numerous remains of it were found in the period 1927 to 1963. in a cave near Beijing. This creature used fire and made stone tools. This group of ancient people also includes Heidelberg Man.

Paleoanthropes

Paleoanthropes - Neanderthals appeared to replace the Archanthropes. 250-100 thousand years ago they were widely distributed throughout Europe. Africa. Western and South Asia. Neanderthals made a variety of stone tools: hand axes, scrapers, pointed points; they used fire and rough clothing. Their brain volume increased to 1400 cm3.

The structural features of the lower jaw show that they had rudimentary speech. They lived in groups of 50-100 individuals and during the advance of glaciers they used caves, driving wild animals out of them.

Neoanthropes and Homo sapiens

Neanderthals were replaced by modern people - Cro-Magnons - or neoanthropes. They appeared about 50 thousand years ago (their bone remains were found in 1868 in France). Cro-Magnons form the only genus of the species Homo Sapiens - Homo sapiens. Their ape-like features were completely smoothed out, there was a characteristic chin protuberance on the lower jaw, indicating their ability to articulate speech, and in the art of making various tools from stone, bone and horn, the Cro-Magnons went far ahead compared to the Neanderthals.

They tamed animals and began to master agriculture, which allowed them to get rid of hunger and obtain a variety of food. Unlike their predecessors, the evolution of Cro-Magnons took place under the great influence of social factors (team unity, mutual support, improvement of work activity, a higher level of thinking).

The emergence of Cro-Magnons is the final stage in the formation of modern man. The primitive human herd was replaced by the first tribal system, which completed the formation of human society, the further progress of which began to be determined by socio-economic laws.

Human races

Humanity living today is divided into a number of groups called races.
Human races
- these are historically established territorial communities of people with a unity of origin and similarity of morphological characteristics, as well as hereditary physical characteristics: facial structure, body proportions, skin color, shape and hair color.

Based on these characteristics, modern humanity is divided into three main races: Caucasian, Negroid And Mongoloid. Each of them has its own morphological characteristics, but all of these are external, secondary characteristics.

The features that make up the human essence, such as consciousness, labor activity, speech, the ability to cognize and subjugate nature, are the same in all races, which refutes the claims of racist ideologists about “superior” nations and races.

The children of blacks, raised together with Europeans, were not inferior to them in intelligence and talent. It is known that the centers of civilization 3-2 thousand years BC were in Asia and Africa, and Europe at that time was in a state of barbarism. Consequently, the level of culture depends not on biological characteristics, but on the socio-economic conditions in which peoples live.

Thus, the claims of reactionary scientists about the superiority of some races and the inferiority of others are groundless and pseudoscientific. They were created to justify wars of conquest, plunder of colonies and racial discrimination.

Human races cannot be confused with such social associations as nationality and nation, which were formed not according to a biological principle, but on the basis of the stability of common speech, territory, economic and cultural life, formed historically.

In the history of his development, man has emerged from subordination to the biological laws of natural selection; his adaptation to life in different conditions occurs through their active alteration. However, these conditions still have a certain effect on the human body to some extent.

The results of this influence are visible in a number of examples: in the peculiarities of digestive processes among reindeer herders of the Arctic, who consume a lot of meat, among residents of Southeast Asia, whose diet consists mainly of rice; in an increased number of red blood cells in the blood of highlanders compared to the blood of inhabitants of the plains; in the pigmentation of the skin of the inhabitants of the tropics, distinguishing them from the whiteness of the skin of the northerners, etc.

After the completion of the formation of modern man, the action of natural selection did not cease completely. As a result, in a number of regions of the globe, humans have developed resistance to certain diseases. Thus, among Europeans, measles is much milder than among the peoples of Polynesia, who encountered this infection only after the colonization of their islands by settlers from Europe.

In Central Asia, blood group O is rare in humans, but the frequency of group B is higher. It turned out that this is due to a plague epidemic that took place in the past. All these facts prove that biological selection exists in human society, on the basis of which human races, nationalities, and nations were formed. But man's ever-increasing independence from the environment has almost stopped biological evolution.