Date: Mon, 15 Apr 96 08:16:14 GMT
Subject: Re: human / social evolution



> 
> Adam:
> > The explanation of the rise of human society must start with
> hominids in> their African environment, and use the laws of nature to
> explain why > human society developed. Chronologically , this refers
> to a period> starting roughly 3,000,000 years ago and ENDING with the
> demise of> the neanderthals ( 20 ? 15 ? 10,000 years ago ).
> 
> Lisa:  I take it in this case you mean the origin of human forager
> society. 

I meant human society, as opposed to pre human society.

Lisa:
> I expect then that some idea of forager society is needed
> here, which is part of what we're talking about, i.e. various ways to
> view it.  BTW, the neanderthals are not likely to have been our
> direct ancestors.  It is now clear that they were regional, and
> coexisted in time with more anatomically modern humans, which were
> appearing in parts of Africa by 80-90,000 yrs ago.  Neans disappeared
> around 30 kya.  
> 

Yes, I know neanderthals are not likely to have been our direct ancestors.
But I misguessed the their demise by about 10,000 years.

But the point I was making was that upto this point any explanation 
has to be basically evolutionary, but after it it has to be basically
social.

After the demise of the neanderthals, evolution had resulted in us, with
no competitor "us"s. The massive changes since then ( in a period of
time far quicker than evolutionary changes take, even accelerated ones )
must be explained by theories about society, I was arguing.

> There may have been a boundary between the two regional types that
> moved north and south with climatic changes.  Some people think that
> Neans were specifically cold-adapted.  Their remains have been found
> down into the near east, i.e. east end of mediterranean, at the same
> location as moderns, although they were probably there at different
> times.
> 

Adam.

Adam Rose
SWP
Manchester
UK


---------------------------------------------------------------


     --- from list marxism2-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---