How can I found out about early human existence?

[Backdrifter]

In particular, social practices among the earliest humans - families, eating, communities, dealing with illness. Are there any definitive texts or recognised experts?

[Octavius]

Some info here, with additional links....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/prehistoric_life/human /human_evolution/ice_people1.shtml

[Backdrifter]

Thanks, there are a few bits of potentially useful info there.

[dawkins]

Hi Backdrifter. How far do you want to go back?

[Backdrifter]

dawkins - back to when it's known we first had any kind of social activity, I suppose. In particular, the 2 strands I'm interested in are eating and illness. How/when did our ancestors first learn to hunt; how did we start cooking food (I'm assuming our very early ancestors caught & killed prey and ate it raw). What is the earliest knowledge we have of illnesses and their transmission (and what were they?)

[RATTER15]

Ask my mother inlaw

[jno]

some early info in the introduction to this university course

http://www.rhodes.edu/biology/glindquester/vir uses/history.html#Determining

[Peter Pedant]

Anybook with anthropology in the title

divided into two - social and physical

incidentally the science was invented by a south african anatomy professor called Raymond Dart =- he was the one who discovered and realised what it was...the taung child in 1924 and named it australopithecus - big thing about man rather than monkeys is that they food share

[Octavius]

I think your question spans millions of years of evolution.

Australopithecus aethiopicus lived between 2.6 and 2.3 million years ago. This species is probably an ancestor of the robustus and boisei. This hominid ate a rough and hard to chew diet. He had huge molars and jaws and a large sagittal crest.

Homo habilis was called the handy man because tools were found with his fossil remains. This species existed between 2.4 and 1.5 million years ago. The brain size in earlier fossil specimens was about 500cc but rose to 800cc toward the end of the species life period. The species brain shape shows evidence that some speech had developed.

Homo erectus lived between 1.8 million and 300,000 years ago. It was a successful species for a million and a half years. Early examples had a 900cc brain size on average. The brain grew steadily during its reign. Toward the end its brain was almost the same size as modern man, at about 1200cc. The species definitely had speech. Erectus developed tools, weapons and fire and learned to cook his food. He traveled out of Africa into China and Southeast Asia and developed clothing for northern climates. He turned to hunting for his food.

Homo sapiens (archaic) provides the bridge between erectus and Homo sapiens sapiens during the period 200,000 to 500,000 years ago. Homo sapiens neandertalensis lived in Europe and the Mideast between 150,000 and 35,000 years ago and were known to have beein interested in music by discovery of a flute - thay also cared for their sick and buried them. Neandertals coexisted with H.sapiens (archaic) and early H.sapiens sapiens. Homo sapiens sapiens first appeared about 120,000 years ago. Modern humans have an average brain size of about 1350 cc.

[Backdrifter]

Thanks Octavius, that's very informative. I'm still intrigued as to how and why Erectus learned to cook food - what, I wonder, triggered that initiative? Also very intrigued by the indication that Neandertalensis appreciated music. This sort of links in with another strand of early human development I'm researching - the growth of theatre. The earliest signs of this I'm aware of are drawings of early humans dressed as animals, showing they indulged in some kind of physical representation of "otherness", you might say.

[dot.hawkes]

the best way is to read a book on the excavation of ancient civilisations and see what the forensic archaeologists have discovered, my daughter had a book about these scientific reserchers which i have read and it is fascinating how their analysis can tell in what groups people lived and what they ate, how they worshipped etc.

[jno]

re discovery of cooking: quite possibly when someone ate an animal that had died in a forest fire (say) and discovered it was a lot easier than eating one raw. The next step would be discovering how to make a fire, or at least how to keep one going permanently

[Backdrifter]

jno, I like that theory. dot I'm definitely going to be investigating likely-looking books and other texts along the sort of lines you suggested.

[Octavius]

Many scientists believe that the use of fire enabled Homo erectus to adapt to new environments by providing light, heat, and protection from dangerous animals. Tending fires probably helped foster social behavior by bringing early humans together into a small area. Fires may have tightened family groups as the families congregated around a fire to protect their young. Homo erectus may have used fire to cook food. Most animals were afraid of fire, so a roaring campfire gave protection to the group or tribe. They no longer had to shelter out of the wind, unless they chose to do so. If their fire went out, they could relight it. They could choose where they camped. On a hot night, if they could find a relatively safe place, a breeze might feel good. Control of fire made moving into colder regions possible, as fire they could count on would provide them with warmth. It also changed the way they prepared food.

These people began to cook their food consistently. Food that is cooked is more secure from disease and much softer to eat. As a result, it would have been easier for the young and the old to survive.

See here for info on the flute.
http://www.uvi.si/eng/slovenia/background-info rmation/neanderthal-flute/