Global Migrations and Adaptations to Landscapes
Learning Objective: For students to understand the factors that allowed for humans to successfully populate the planet.
Late Pleistocene World
Late Pleistocene Human Range Expansion
During the Late Pleistocene, humans expanded their range into almost every niche on the planet. This required humans to adapt to a variety of landscapes.
[Image Source: Pleistocene Project] |
Adapting to New Landscapes
The Incredible Human Journey: Out of Africa (1/5)
In this section, you will examine some of the key elements that contributed to humans becoming a successful global species. All of these together, became part of an essential package that Dr. David Christian has referred to as Collective Learning.
Collective Learning
Through communication systems, humans were able to exchange ideas and knowledge with each other. It benefited us in the following ways:
Human Mastery of Fire
Fire provides the following benefits to humans:
Tools
Tools and weapons made from stone, bone, wood, and shells provide the following benefits to humans:
Thermoregulation (Regulating Body Temperature)
Fire can only go so far to keep humans warm. We require other forms to keep our internal body temperatures within an acceptable range.
Canines
Domestic dogs originated from gray wolves. Genetic evidence suggests that domestic dogs separated from wolves possibly as early as 100,000 years ago; however, their physical appearance (morphology) does not seem to have changed until around 10,000 years ago. During the Late Pleistocene, humans and dogs most likely joined forces as hunting partners. Rather than competing, they cooperated in their pursuit of migrating herds that lived during the last ice age. It was not until the develop of agriculture, that humans began to select for other traits that they desired from their long-term companions. Therefore, during the Late Pleistocene, domestic dogs most likely closely resembled the efficient hunting wolf, and after the rise of farming, they were developed in the variety of breeds that we see today.
Collective Learning
Through communication systems, humans were able to exchange ideas and knowledge with each other. It benefited us in the following ways:
- Food Sources (humans exchanged information about useful and harmful plants and animals)
- Water Sources (humans exchanged information about locations and quality of water)
- Social (humans create bonds with each other; this provides a foundation for helping each during times of crisis or difficulty)
- Adaptation Strategies (humans exchanged information about how to successful survive in a less than ideal location)
Human Mastery of Fire
Fire provides the following benefits to humans:
- Warmth (this allows humans to move into cool and cold climates)
- Light (this allows humans to be active during the night)
- Cooking (this allows humans to kill parasites in meats and gain better nutrition from foods)
- Society (sitting around a campfire exchanging stories, cooking a meal, dancing, and stay warm is a good way to stay connected)
- Protection (this allows humans to keep off wild animals and smoke irritates insects)
- Technology (controlling fire is essential for producing pottery in kilns and working with metals)
- Altering Landscapes (fire is an effective way for clearing land for human use, such as preparing a field for farming. Also, the ash is a good fertilizer)
Tools
Tools and weapons made from stone, bone, wood, and shells provide the following benefits to humans:
- Extension of the human body (they allow humans to chop, pound, and cut by acting as our artificial teeth and claws)
- Altering Landscapes (tools were essential in preparing land for human use. They allow us to cut down trees and other vegetation, clear fields and toil in the soil for planting crops, digging wells, and extracting ores.
Thermoregulation (Regulating Body Temperature)
Fire can only go so far to keep humans warm. We require other forms to keep our internal body temperatures within an acceptable range.
- Shelter (building houses functions as a way to maintain a microclimate by shielding us from harsh winds of winter or allowing us to catch a breeze during the summer; trapping limited solar energy during winter or providing shade during the summer; holding the heat of fires at night.
- Tailored Clothing (by wearing plant fibers or animal hides, we create a second skin for ourselves. Materials that are sewn are much more efficient at holding in heat than a garment that is simply wrapped around you)
Canines
Domestic dogs originated from gray wolves. Genetic evidence suggests that domestic dogs separated from wolves possibly as early as 100,000 years ago; however, their physical appearance (morphology) does not seem to have changed until around 10,000 years ago. During the Late Pleistocene, humans and dogs most likely joined forces as hunting partners. Rather than competing, they cooperated in their pursuit of migrating herds that lived during the last ice age. It was not until the develop of agriculture, that humans began to select for other traits that they desired from their long-term companions. Therefore, during the Late Pleistocene, domestic dogs most likely closely resembled the efficient hunting wolf, and after the rise of farming, they were developed in the variety of breeds that we see today.
- Late Pleistocene Mega-fauna [humans and 'dogs' most likely encountered each other as they were hunting the migrating herds of large ungulates (hooved animals) during the late ice age]
- Symbiosis (humans and 'dogs' were both active partners in this relationship. They both benefited, and therefore, they were both more successful as they moved around the planet)
The Movius Line: Bi-facial Stone Tools. Map of the area where the hand axe cultures are spread out during the Middle Pleistocene (Acheulean). This line shows the division where stone tools are found (to the left), and where they do not appear (to the right). It is most likely that tools to the right of the line were made of biodegradable materials, such as wood or bone. It has been proposed, that the availability of bamboo played a critical factor.
Image Source: Wikipedia
Image Source: Wikipedia
Late Pleistocene Adaptation
The Assignment: Create a magazine page layout, a brochure, a flyer, or a textbook page layout that advertises or displays some feature of collective learning that allowed humans to adapt to a wide-variety of landscapes during the Late Pleistocene.
Have fun, and be creative.
Remember to show and tell (use pictures, paragraphs, and captions). Make all examples related to the Late Pleistocene period.
Have fun, and be creative.
Remember to show and tell (use pictures, paragraphs, and captions). Make all examples related to the Late Pleistocene period.
Resources
The Incredible Human Journey: Asia (2/5)
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The Incredible Human Journey: Europe (3/5)
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The Incredible Human Journey: Australia (4/5)
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The Incredible Human Journey: Out of Africa (1/5)
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