Homonins: Oldest Human Rituals

 

 

I

Unit: Homonins

Theme: The Oldest Human Rituals

Introduction

 

Human evolution is the lengthy process of change by which people originated from apelike ancestors. Scientific evidence shows that the physical and behavioral traits shared by all people originated from apelike ancestors and evolved over a period of approximately seven million years.

II

Learning Objectives

 

• Understand the influence homonins had on human's abilities to dance
  
• Explain the importance of bipedality for dance development in the paleolithic
• Gain an awareness of the significance the construction of early shelters, burials and art objects had for human evolution
• Experience finger dexterity through choreography of hand gestures 
  

III

 

Main Lesson

 

1

 

First Ancestors

 

2

 N O T E S

First Ancestors 

• Our first ancestors lived 7 million years ago
• Bipedal, upright walking 
• Ability to walk emerged long before humankind developed big brains.
• Even though they walked they were still tree climbers.
• No hominins has been found during this period yet.

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Homonins

• Hominins continued to develop 
  
• 4 million years ago grasping feet were lost.
• Multiple hominin species lived simultaneously. 
• They may have met
  

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Homo habilis

• 3 million years ago hominins lived in Southern Africa.
• Tools allowed hominins to adapt to new environments.
• The first known stone tools were produced in Ethiopia.
• The tools may have been produced by Homo habilis.
• The Homo habilis is a member of our own genus group, the genus Homo

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Homo erectus 

• 2 million years ago Homo erectus became the first hominin to migrate out of Africa.
• Homo erectus had human-like traits such as: 
• large brains
• dexterous fingers
• long legs

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Brain Growth 

• 800,000 years ago advances in cooking was fueling further brain growth.

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Homo sapiens 

• Our own species Homo sapiens emerged in Africa 200,000 years ago.
• They lived alongside and interbred with other hominin species.
• Homo sapiens were highly adaptable, quickly filing nearly every geographic niche.
• Other hominins went extinct.
• Climate pressures and competition with Homo sapiens may have wiped them out.
• Although these ancient hominins are now extinct, they remain our closest relatives on the family tree. 
  

Question 1

What characteristics attributed to the Homo habilis, Homo erectus and Homo sapiens influenced our species' ability to dance?

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 3

Human-like Traits

 

N O T E S

Human -like Traits  

• Each specie exhibited various degrees of human-like physical and behavioral traits such as: large brains, small teeth, bipedality and tool use. 

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Homonins 

These homonins can be divided into three main groups: 

Early homonins: 

Between 7 and 4.4 millions of years ago in Africa; ape like traits such as small brain capacity, some were beginning to show some human-like characteristics such as small canines used more for eating than for hunting or fighting.

Australopithecines: 

Primates, 4.4 - 1.4 millions of years ago across the African continent; they had some ape-like traits; however, changes in their skull, spine and shift, show a shift toward a human-like trait, consistent bipedal locomotion

Genus Homo:  

2 million years ago; contemporaries of some of the australopithecines, they were becoming distinctly more human; cranial capacity growing larger than any other hominin; sophisticated stone tool technology; the first to control fire; first to migrate out of Africa into the rest of the world. 

Question 2

 Why is bipedality an important trait for dance development in the paleolithic?

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4

 

Question 3

 Why is it significant that these early humans built shelters, buried their dead and created the first objects of art?

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IV

 

A Note to Remember 

 

Large brains, dexterous fingers and long legs were key attributes needed to develop dancing bodies. Early human shelters and burials probably included the performance of dance rituals.

 

 

V

Case Studies

The Oldest Known Human Ritual

Hominin Burial

Ancient Human Burial in Kenya

 

The Origins of Dance 

 

8 Bilion People: How Different the World Would Look if Neardenthals Had Prevailed

 

Group Discussion

 

 

VI

Activity

Hand Gestures

Dexterous Fingers / The Homo Erectus

Using the article above, create a sequence of hand/fingers gestures to illustrate the dexterity of the Homo Erectus. Use at lest 8 gestures to create a phrase. 

VII

Glossary

Homonin

Homo erectus

Homo habilis

Homo sapiens

 

 

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VIII

Students' Work

I. Notes on Homonins

 

 Individual

 

Bridget Craig

Why learn evolution for dance

It is important to learn about human evolution when learning about the world history of dance because when consider how dance is the movement of the body, the development of the human body's is important to consider. The ability to move easily is because of the way our body has evolved over a long period of time, and things like fingers and feet development and movement allows us to easily make moves. Also, brain development in humans can allow for creativity and problem solving, and increased intelligence probably led to the ability for the concept of dance and bodily movement to sound to become possible.

 

 

Jolie Montlick

Evolution Importance

The importance of knowing human evolution when it comes to dance is that we need to understand the conditions of being able to dance. First of all, if you aren't able to stand on two feet, then you can't dance. Humans had to become upright and their feet had to be transformed into what they are today. For example, we learned about the homo Erectus who had human-like traits such as long legs and dexterous fingers. Our species, homo sapiens, which were highly adaptable, emerged in Africa about 200,000 years ago.

 

Jiya Arora 

 

 

Why is it important for us to know our evolutionary history?
- The various adaptations we have acquired since evolutionary splitting off from chimpanzees dictate so much of our physicality today. 

- It wasn’t until bipedalism evolved that we’d be able to walk (and also thus dance)
- It wasn’t until homo habilis began to use tools that future homo species would be able to cook
- It wasn’t until homo neanderthalis/ homo sapiens / denisovans / etc learned to cook that we would have the brain complexity that we do, as well as starting to settle down
- It wasn’t until we settled down that we’d be able to form communities
- Once those communities are formed, they would finally be able to develop their own customs, which includes rituals
- Rituals are one of the places where we most commonly saw dance at the beginning of human history
- Rituals are still seen today and dictate so much of our culture.

 

Anna Maria Davis

1. The characteristics that attribute to the Homo Erectus would include large brains, dexterous fingers, and long legs. In addition, for Homo Habilis it allowed or new tools to adapt to the new environment. For Homo Sapiens they were highly adaptable and able to fill near every geographic niche. 

2. Bipedality is an important trait because of the development/changes in skull, spine, and a shift towards human like traits like bipedal locomotion. 

3. It is significant that early humans built shelters because the burials and early shelters included the performance of dance rituals. Included large brains, dexterous fingers, and long keys being key attributes needed to develop dancing bodies.

 

 

Hailey Scarantino

Question 1

What characteristics attributed to the Homo habilis, Homo erectus and Homo sapiens influenced our species' ability to dance?

One characteristic that influences our ability to dance is the idea of having a bug brain. This allows people to have more intellectual thoughts and learn further knowledge. Another trait that helps people to dance is having Dexterous fingers. Finger movement is important in dance. It helps to create a sequence of hand/fingers gestures to illustrate the dexterity of the Homo Erectus. Also having long legs and flat feet help allow people to dance. Also the evolution of feet, having feet that do not grip things, helps people to dance.

Question 2
Why is bipedality an important trait for dance development in the paleolithic?

Bipedalism is important because it helps individuals move easier. Like discussed earlier, having longer legs helps people to elongate. Bipedalism also allows individuals to get from place to place much easier, which encourages exploration in the world and in the world of dance. It also helps to develop different styles of dance, since these humans now have more ability to dance with the use of their legs.

Question 3

Why is it significant that these early humans built shelters, buried their dead and created the first objects of art?

It is important that these early humans made these first discoveries so that people today can trace back the early developments of people back then. It allows future generations to improve these Strategies.

 

 

Hayden Leff

The characteristics that attributed to our species ability to dance starts with the development of their brains and the ability to stand up right. It is important to understand the characteristics that contributed to this evolution because every stage of evolution brought our species closer to the ability to dance.

 

Simone Dodge

Evolution and the History of Dance

Homo-Sapiens have evolved to have dextrous fingers, big brains, and long legs, which are characteristics that Homo erectus also had. These traits, as well as Homo sapiens' highly adaptible nature and fine motor skills, have impacted the species' ability to dance. Thus, we have evolved in a way that has expanded our movements and made them more advanced over time. This has impacted our species on many levels, but in the context of dance, it has allowed us to move our bodies in different ways and connect with each other through movement.

 Mia Roselli 

The evolution and depiction of the Homonins is very important to dance. this is because if it weren't for them and the evolution of humankind, dance would not exist. Each variant of the hominins get us closer to what we are today.

 Gui Ferla

The ability to stand up, to cook and therefore settle down and create communities. A bigger brain was also key to develop the ability to dance. 

Lauren Tierney

Understanding the adaptation and development of Homo sapiens is important to the study of dance because it explains how and why our bodies are able to move in specific ways. Many forms of dance are performed on two feet or even require balancing on one leg which would be difficult for a person if they required four limbs for walking. Additionally, some forms of dance require heavily on facial expressions or minute hand gestures to convey meaning. Therefore, it is necessary for humans to be able to perform these actions with great detail due to the dexterity of our limbs. However, some dance forms utilize the floor and many four-limbed techniques or balancing on two hands which is more similar to how humans, or homonins, would have moved years ago. In this way, humans are able to get in touch with their ancestral roots and find ways to move that are unfamiliar to us in every day life but are possible due to our evolution.

 Josh Roit

It’s important to study the evolution of the humankind. each stage of evolution was a milestone for us. I thought it was cool how Homo Erectus enabled people to stand. This impacts dance because each stage in human evolution also evolves how people are able to move their bodies.

 

Abby Shultz

It is important to understand our evolution to understand how dance developed and the importance of dance. When our first ancestors were able to walk upright, it allowed for the capability of dance movement. Before that, we were unable to physically dance. When our ancestors the Homo Habilis developed tools, they were able to adapt to new environments, allowing for settlement and community building. Along with the development of cooking allowing community building, dance emerged from rituals. Different rituals in communities often involved dance as an expression of self and belief. The Homo sapiens we have evolved into today are able to perform complex dances.

 Kayla Humphrey

 

It is important to know revolution when learning about dance because to know where certain dances came from or groups of cultures came from it’s important to know about how humans came to be. With the development the type of feet needed to start movement ups right there. And then the larger brain fostered more creative thinking and more adaptability.

 

 

Renato Franchi

 

It's good that we know how humans evolve throughout history. Each part of the evolution made us the people that we are today. What helped us become Homo Erectus is the ability to stand up, have bigger brains, develope fingers, cooking, etc. 

 

Leah Levin

It is important to understand the origin of the human body and human movement to understand where dance came from and how our bodies are able to move the way they are. We were not always able to move like this so we need to appreciate all the different ways our bodies can move. Our legs are the most important part of our body to be able to stand, walk, and dance so this makes sense that this was the first motion to develop. 

Emi Haderer

 

•  - important to know about evolution because it shows how humans have been able to stand up and change their bodies 
• - homonins: started to stand up 
• - homo habilis: 3 mill years ago
• - homo erectus: first hominin to migrate out of africa: long legs,dexterous fingers, large brains 
• brain growth: advanced 800k years ago, showing evolution in cooking
• - Homo Sapiens: emerged 200k years ago, highly adaptable. 
• - adapting to new environments is crucial because if you don't adapt you die

Nydia Kyriakopoulos

Through evolution, humans began to stand up and consequently had their bodies changed. This is the reason we can use our bodies to express our selves and move. 

Carlota Sagarduy

Evolution is important for dance because we would not be able to dance without it. Knowing this allows us to understand how dance came about and how it changed as we evolved. This is very important when learning the history of dance in order to learn how dance started. For example by knowing when we began to stand and jump, we know that we began to dance around this time.

Jason Fiske

 

It is important to watch this video in the context of learning the history of dance because we learn about the evolution of certain body parts and actions: Human's grew longer limbs, stood upright/erect, better ability to adapt to environmental and social situations.

 

 

Natalia Hoadley

Knowing the evolution of humans is definitely important and necessary to begin understanding the evolution of dance and how it came to be. We dance a certain way. For example, we are able to stand up, walk, jump, and produce certain movements that if we had not evolved a certain way, we would not be able to do those movements and dance this type of way. Therefore, understanding the way we evolved as individuals is essential and significant in our understanding of dance and movements. 

Alyssa Plasencia

It is important to know this because over the years evolution has changed the way human bodies have been able to move/stand up straight. This allowed for an evolution of movement as well. Over the years, this allowed humans to move in new ways which led to the birth of dance.

Nick Marino

It is important to know the development of humans throughout history because each stage of evolution shaped how humans are today, and the actions that we are able to complete. Each stage shaped who we are and how we are able to dance. 

 

Groups

 Anna Maria Davis, Michael Farnen, Malia Freedhand, Hailey Scarantino

The origins of dance has a complex history that includes evolvement over time. There have been 3 findings that can attribute to the development of dance history. These include molecular, lineage, and skeletal comparison. There is a heavy focus on primates such as modern chimpanzee and gorillas sharing a "common ancestor with humans." This portrays how we can track the history of dance back to primates.

 

Simonne, Autumn, Abby, Bridget

When considering the origins of dance, it is important to note differences between ape and human behavior overtime. The evolution of dance was not random but instead, a complex behavior that developed in tandem to species evolution. We can refer to the movements of apes as "dancelike" behaviors and the movements of humans as actual "dance" behavior. The transition of behavior from dance-like to dance can be attributed to not only physical changes within the species but also advances in cognitive and cultural complexities and capabilities. Ultimately, it is important to recognize that dance was not randomly invented but actually has had many purposes throughout history (mating, energy release, communication, play, culture, etc).

 Nick, Jason & Jacky

Who Buried the Dead by Paige Madison. The article discussed the idea that burial rituals allow scientists to track the emergence of more complex thoughts that previously were thought to be unique to humans. The piece delves into the fact, through discoveries over the years, that maybe previous species had more complex brains and that things such as burials were not necessarily just practiced by direct ancestors of modern humans. 

 

 

Emi, Jolie, Alyssa, Nydia, Nat, Carlota, Ale

Article name: Who First Buried the Dead?"

Author: Paige Madison

Explores Homo Naledi discovery in a South African cave for our understanding of human evolution and behavior, particularly regarding mortuary rituals. It talked about a chamber that was discovered, which was actually a graveyard. The recovered bones of Homo Naledi, which showed small brain, and a mix of modern and more traditional features. This challenges the timeline and traditional thinking about  how a group of apes developed into creatures that could think abstractively, which is what we call human- like symbolic thought and behavior, a key aspect of human uniqueness. This chamber carried the importance of thinking symbolically through death, showing how humans think uniquely. It discusses the evolving view of human uniqueness in the context of broader evolutionary processes, suggesting that human behavior, including abstract thinking and complex symbolic actions. This perspective could lead to a more complete understanding of human nature and our place in the natural world. Mortuary rituals are a key example of symbolic thoughts, showing that treatment of the dead represents a whole web of ideas All in all, this chamber shows that humans use symbols to communicate and convey these abstract thoughts and ideas. 

Jiya Arora

 

Group Discussion- Origins of Dance

 

“The Origins of Dance: The Perspective of Primate Evolution” (Francis, 1991) first touches on how current historians specializing in the arts and dance approach the origins of dance methodically. Questions like “where to start” are popular, and most begin with cave art from 35,000 years ago. However, there are still many questions. Many also ask the question “why humans dance”.

The article discusses how to answer this question, we must look at the most primitive forms of dancing done by apes (including but also preceding us), such as a “spinning top” move done during play. It has also been observed that apes will sometimes intentionally move rhythmically, in patterns, without verbal input. A reason for this might include the therapeutic release of energy. That is to say, dance was instinctually done for a biological and psychological reason. Other reasons could be to scare off intruders. Yet another could be to attract a mate, to play, and social connection… all before our ancestors could even speak.

The findings most important are those from molecular evidence, lineage, and skeletal composition.

Reference:

Sandra T. Francis, Dance Chronicle, 1991, Vol. 14, No. 2/3 (1991), pp. 203-220

 

 

 

Josh, Arden, Mia, Renato, Luis, Felipe, Gui

 

This article talks about how homo-sapiens cared for human remains and where bodies were buried. This was discovered through evidence found in an ancient burial in Africa. A child was carefully arranged in an excavated pit. This shows that humans had care for their loved ones even during ancient times. This is one thing that differs from other species. The burial shows that the effort was intentional and done for a specific reason, with thought and effort.

 

 

Leah, Sydney, Shoshana, Abby, Hayden

This article talked about how in Kenya, they discovered a burial where from the remnants, they were able to see that the body was buried very delicately and gentle. There was even a pillow under the child's head. This showed how early humans nurtured each other and really cared for one another even after people passed away. It is super rare that we are able to understand a snapshot in time from that long ago so this was very special.

 

II. Dexterous Hands Dance

Hand Movement Routine

Hailey S, Anna Maria, Mike, Natalie

 

I love You Dance

Make Up Work

 

Renato Franchi Filho

Renato Franchi Filho - 1/23

1. The huge brains, long legs, and dexterous fingers of the Homo erectus are qualities that define them. Furthermore, it gave Homo Habilis new tools to help them adapt to their new environment. They were extremely versatile and could occupy almost any geographic niche for Homo sapiens.

2. The evolution of the skull, spine, and a trend toward characteristics more akin to those of humans, such as bipedal locomotion, make bipedality a significant trait.

3. The fact that early humans constructed shelters and performed dancing rites during the making of graves makes them noteworthy. included long legs, dexterous fingers, and enormous brains as essential qualities for the development of dancing bodies.