Lecture
Outline #14: Major Phases of Sociocultural Evolution
I. ADVANCED HOMINIDS: Australopithicus (500 cc brain)
(Lucy is 3.2 million years old)
1.
3-4,000,000 years ago. (could walk and run on two legs)
II. EARLY HUNTER-GATHERERS: Homo Erectus
( and #4)(1,000 cc) (negligible language) (fire)
1. 2,000,000 years ago. (a couple million,
population???)
III. ADVANCED
HUNTER-GATHERERS: Homo
Sapiens (1,400 cc brain) (oral
language)
1. 200,000 years ago. (out
of
IIIa. Homo Sapiens Sapiens: (1,440 cc brain)
(advanced oral language)
1. ~40,000 years ago. (a
few more in population)
IV. AGRICULTURAL
SOCIETIES: (written language)
1. 10-12,000 years ago. (5,000,000-10,000,000,
population)
V. SCIENTIFIC/INDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES: (printed language)
1. 300-500 years ago. (500,000,000, population)
VI. ADVANCED INDUSTRIAL
SOCIETIES: (telephone &
telegraph & radio)
1. 100-150 years ago (1,000,000,000 population)
VII. ADVANCED ELECTRONIC
SOCIETY: (television & computer)
1.
30-60 years ago
(5,000,000,000 population)
VIII. CULTURE: (the underlying cause of population growth???)
CULTURE = The accumulation of educational information in a society,
transmitted exosomatically from generation to
generation, in order to avoid the miseries of natural selection.