What is characteristic of human evolution?

One of the most controversial and poorly 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 classed as ancestors, are interpreted differently in science. The facts of falsification played a negative role in the study of the historical development of Homo sapiens. How did this affect the development of anthropology?

The English hoax

Let us recall the story of the Piltdown man's skull, found in 1912 in the dumps of an abandoned quarry in the east of England, which for more than fifty years was considered a transitional form between the monkey and man. Only in 1963 it was established that to the part of the skull of modern Homo sapiens the lower jaw of the orangutan was skillfully attached and presented it all as an artifact and the 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 represented by archeology and paleontology. Let's consider them further.

Stages of anthropogenesis

In the development of the human organism as a biological species, the following stages are distinguished: the oldest, the ancient and the first modern humans. The biologists consider the fossil parts of the skeletons of the Heidelberg man, Sinanthropus, Javanese Pithecanthropus descendants of Australopithecus, who lived about 1.7 million years ago. Many scientists consider them as populations of a hypothetical species - Homo erectus, inhabiting East Africa.

Further, the opinion of biologists is divided. Some suggest that about 300 thousand years ago a separate species of ancient people was formed - the Neanderthals, from which the first modern people, the Cro-Magnon people, further developed. Other researchers believe that in this historical period for 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-Magnon people. Their populations were located in the territory of the modern Caucasus, the Near East and Europe.

Biological patterns in human development

The results of comparative anatomical observations convincingly prove that Homo sapiens belongs to the order of Primaty. The similarity of people with animals of this group concerns all parts of the skeleton, a general plan for the structure of the nervous, circulatory, respiratory and other physiological systems. Genetics confirmed a unified plan for organizing the genome of humans and higher primates. All of the above facts indicate that the evolution of humans is characterized by the presence of a significant number of biological traits that unite them with mammals. But they are not the main ones. Leading role in anthropogenesis belongs to social factors: labor joint activities, promoting speech communication, the formation of the social system, the development of religion and culture. Let us consider them in more detail.

Phylogeny of the human population

Developing in parallel with representatives of the fauna of the Earth, the species Homo sapiens took the dominant position in nature. The reason for this is the following: for the evolution of man, the predominance of the influence of socium over biological factors is characteristic. The development of the analytic-synthetic function of the cerebral cortex and speech is the main difference between man and animals.

These properties are not fixed in the genome and are not transmitted to the offspring. They can be formed only at an early age in the process of the influence of society: education and upbringing. Thanks to the development of the society, a phenomenon such as altruism arose. Along with the influence of socio-economic factors, careful attitude to the elderly, care for children and women - this is what is most characteristic of human evolution at the present time.