One of the most controversial and little-studied processes in biology is anthropogenesis - the evolutionary path of human development as a biological species. What, from the point of view of natural science, is characteristic of human evolution? It is no secret that the existing paleontological remains of fossil forms, which are attributed to humanoid ancestors, are interpreted differently in science. Cases of falsification of facts also played a negative role in the study of the historical development of Homo sapiens. How did this affect the development of anthropology?
English hoax
Let us recall the story of the skull of a Piltdown man found in the dumps of an abandoned quarry in the east of England in 1912, who for more than fifty years was considered a transitional form between a monkey and a man. It was only in 1963 that it was established that the lower jaw of the orangutan was skillfully attached to part of the skull of modern Homo sapiens and presented all this as an artifact and a missing link in anthropogenesis. In this article we will find out what is really characteristic of human evolution. Biology, in contrast to religion and philosophy, has on this account the facts presented by archeology and paleontology. Let's consider them further.
Stages of anthropogenesis
In the development of the human body as a biological species, the following stages are distinguished: the most ancient, ancient and first modern people. Biologists consider fossil parts of skeletons of the Heidelberg man, Sinanthropus, Javanese Pithecanthropus the descendants of Australopithecus, who lived about 1.7 million years ago. Many scientists consider them as populations of a hypothetical species - Homo erectus, who lived in East Africa.
Further, the opinion of biologists is divided. Some suggest that about 300 thousand years ago a separate species of ancient people - Neanderthals, formed, from which the first modern people - Cro-Magnons, later came to be. Other researchers believe that in this historical period, the evolution of man is characterized by the predominance of one species - Homo sapiens, consisting of two subspecies at the same time: Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons. Their populations were in the territory of the modern Caucasus, Western Asia and Europe.
Biological patterns in human development
The results of comparative anatomical observations convincingly prove that Homo sapiens belongs to the Primate order. The similarity of people with animals of this group applies to all parts of the skeleton, the general plan of the structure of the nervous, circulatory, respiratory and other physiological systems. Genetics has confirmed a unified plan for the organization of the genome of humans and higher primates. All the above facts indicate that the evolution of humans is characterized by the presence of a significant number of biological traits that combine them with mammals. But they are not the main ones. The leading role in anthropogenesis belongs to social factors: working together, promoting speech communication, the formation of the social system, the development of religion and culture. Let's consider them in more detail.
Phylogenesis of the human population
Developing in parallel with representatives of the fauna of the Earth, the species Homo sapiens dominated nature. The reason for this is as follows: human evolution is characterized by the predominance of the influence of society over biological factors. The development of the analytical and synthetic function of the cerebral cortex and speech are the main differences between humans and animals.
These properties are not fixed in the genome and are not transmitted to offspring. They can be formed only at an early age in the process of the influence of society: training and education. Thanks to the development of society, a phenomenon such as altruism arose. Along with the influence of socio-economic factors, caring for the elderly, caring for children and women - this is what is currently most characteristic of human evolution.