Chapter 6

Evolution of Culture and Society

The historical record of modern man and society began only 5000 years ago, yet evidence of their culture had extended to as far back as 3.5 million years earlier. This span of time covered mans evolution from the Homo habilis to the Homo sapiens. Much of our knowledge on the development of culture and societies within that period are largely derived from archaeology. This area of concern shall be the subject of the discussions which follow.

I.

Geologic Changes and Cultural Development

Earlier discussions on the principle of mutual cause and effect highlighted on the interaction of the biological factors and cultural habits in the development of humans. The biological evolution and the cultural forms that were developed though the periods into its present form is a story on how the species coped with the enviroment at any given time within the enviroment at any given time within the limitations set by its biological capabilities. Is this section the cultural patterns humans developed at certain points of their biological forms are discussed hand in hand with the geologic time scale and the enviromental conditions of the period. This gives the readers an idea in the stages of culture and society which prevailed as humans in their various biological evolutionary stages coped with changes in their enviroment through time. Tracing the evolution of culture and society starts during that period when the first human-like creature existed. This brings us back some 3.5 to 2.5M years ago, the time of Australopithecus, up to the modern period. In the geologic time scale, the first corresponds to the Pleistocene period during the quartenary epoch, the latter to the Holocene period. Figure 6-1 presents the periods during which time the hominid evolved to its present form. This occurred within a few years into the Pliocene. Described briefly are the enviroments characteristic of the respective periods when each species was borne and developed. These periods (pleistocene and holocene or recent) comprise the last geological epch called quaternary.

A. The Pleistocene Period

The Pleistocene period is the span of time covering 3M years ago up tp around 1000 to 14000 years ago. It is divided into three divisions, namely: Lower pleistocene, Middle pliestocene and Upper pleistocene each having its own ecological characteristics.

1. Lower Pleistocene This phrase was the longest in the entire Pleistocene period. It covered almost one-half to three-fourths of the period and spanned between 3 million and 850000 years ago. Is was associated with the drastic cooling of the earths surface and the freezing of large bodies of water in a phenomenon called glaciation. At first, the period was characterized by high rainfall but towards the later part, massive glacination occurred. Rivers, lakes and seas became smalleras portions of their water tured to ice. Continental ice sheets covered the once temperate zomes (large portions of Europe, Asia and North America were covered with huge glaciers similar to that which covers Greenland today) whereas the once arid zones (desert lands particularly those near the equator) which had significantly cooled, turned into temperate grassy plains. These climatological changes, particularly the advancement of glaciers, affected the pland and animal life of the world in the same breadth that the earths physical configuration was transformed. Shifting temperatures led to the migration of animals or extinctions of those that could not adapt to the cold wile uninhabitable places became luxuriant areas of abode for various forms of animals. Era CENOZOIC Millions of Years ago 0-00.01 00.01-3.0 3.0-12.0 12.0-22.5 22.5-37.5 37.5-53.5 53.5-65 MESOZOIC 65-135 135-180 180-225 225-270 270-350 350-400 400-440 440-500 500-600 PRECAMBRIAN 600Period Recent Important Events

PALEOZOIC

Modern animals and Homo Sapiens Giant mamals, now extinct; and evolution of Genus Pleistocene Homo Pliocene Large carnivores, pongids, and hominids Miocene Dryopithecus; abundant grazing mamals Oligocene Large running mammals Eocene Modern types of mammals Paleocene Diversified hoofed mammals Dinosaurs dominant; placental mammals and flowering Cretaceous plants appear Jurassic Dinosaurs dominant; first birds; first mammals First dinosaurs and mammal-like reptiles; conifers Triassic abundant Permian Primitive reptiles become increasingly dominant Amphibians dominant; extensive forests; first reptiles Carboniferous and trees Devonian Fish dominant; first amphibian Sea scorpions; primitive fish; invasion of land by plants Silurian and arthropods. Terrestrial species and trees Ordovician First vertibrates, invertibrates dominate seas All invertebrate phyla present. Abundant record of Cambrian marine life First fossils by 3.3 billions years ago

2. Middle and Upper Pleistocene The middle Pleistocene covered 850000 to 75000 years ago while the upper Pleistocene goes as far back to only 10000 years ago. These two divisions of the Pleistocene period witnessed the warning of the earth after a prolonged period. They were characterized by glacial advances and retreats technically called glacial and interglacial climates, respectively. Glaciers melted, retreated and disappeared completely in many areas. Intergaciation or metlingof the ice naturally increased the volume of waters in the areas, rivers and lakes. In some areas, the sea level fell to as much as 300 feet (lower than the present levels). During the interglacial years, these same areas had the waters rising to as high as 100 feet (higher that present levels). With earth s warming, rainfall areas moved back further away from the equator toward the northern and southern poles whereas islands and coastlines took new forms. One theory claims that the present configuration of our country, the Philippines, was shaped during this period. With the melting of ice, the land bridges that fomerly linked Palawan and the Sulu Archipelago to Borneo bacame submerged, thus settling the regions archipilago character.

B. The Holocene Period The Holocene period covering the years 10000 years ago or roughly 8000 years B.C. p to the present represents the modern post-glacial periond. Peoples historical beginnings are traced back to this time.

II.

Cultural Patterns and Traditions: Transformation of Societies Beals et.al. postulates that cultural systems are made up of the following components: a group or society composed of individuals who exhibits behavior characteristics of the gourp and who participate in decisions made by the group. An enviroment in which the membership carries out its behavior characteristic of the group and who participate in decisions madey by the group. A material culture consisting of the equipment and artifacts used by the membership. This also included the permananent and tangible effects that past and present memberships have upon the enviroment. Material cuture is member culture is further defined as consisting of the sum of artifacts (manufactured goods and devices) resulting from technology (p. 117). A cultural tradition representing the historically accumulated decisions of the membership or its representatives. Such decisions have to do with understanding concerning the nature of the group and its settings; its material

culture as well as their common understandings on the appropriateness and desirability of particular behaviors, circumstances and outcomes. Human activities and behaviors emerging out of complex interactions among the membership, the enviroment , the material culture and the cultural tradition. The evolution of the cultural systems can be classified in two ways. One is by looking into the societys tool- making tradition (the material culture and its non- material component) and the other is by concentrating on the cultural traditions. These cultural traditions are reconstructed from the human activities undertaken by the population to ensure their survival. Their reconstruction therefore centers on the economic activities the population undertook, the nomus associated with them and the entire belief system governing the interactions and actions relative to these.

A. Tool-making Traditions and Cultural Systems The tools and the process associated with their manufacture comprise the tool making tradition of any given period. These are often associated with the sites where they were discovered, the materials they were made of and the techniques used in their manufacture. Toolmaking traditions reflect cultural correlates that reveal significant information concerning the functions served by the tools, the techniques and processes associated with their manufacture, their mode of utilization, the envirioment and some aspects of the toolmaker living patterns (Beals, et. Al. p. 177). Its analysis can not be dissociated from the cultural traditions prevailing during the period. Consequently, the terms used generally indicate not only the type of tools used in particular ages but also refers to some other cutural pattens associated with them. For example, the term Neolithic is currently associated more with the development of agriculture rather than with the refinement of the stoneworking techniques wile the Bronze-Copper age is associated with urbanization (Beals, et. Al. p. 176). Traditionally tool making traditions are divided into four major epochs. These are Paleolithic or old stone age, Neolithic or new stone age, the copper-bronze age and the Iron Age. Some add an intermediate stage between paleolithic and neolithicL the Mesolithic tradition. Prior to these traditions however a long protoculture tradition dominated the equally long lower pleistocene period. This tradition is now known as the eolithic tradition.

1. Eolithic The eolithic tradition is associated with the Australopithecines whose pattern of culture is basically tool using rather than tool making. The identification of stone tools during this period is fraught with difficulty because of the likeness of the

tools used with those naturally occuring in the surrounding areas. However a stones use as a tool was deciphered when either of the following conditions were observed (Beals, et. Al. p. 179): when the stoes shape did not occur naturally; When the stones were systematically given similar shapes in which case some from of alternation or revision on the materials was manifested; When stones of similar shapes or make were found in large numbers near identifiable living floors; or When the stones were found at a significant distance from their place of origin.

The presence of large quantities of unaltered but similarly shaped ovoid stones near the living quarters of the Australopithecines led archeologists to conclude that the species was a tool user rather than tool maker.

2. Paleolithic Basically the Paleolithic tradition, as its name indicates (paleo- old; lithic- stones) consists of stone tools which were made of hard siliceous (glasslike) materials. They were shaped by chipping or flaking off some materials from the stone to make them sharp edged and pointed. This is accomplished by either of the following techniques:

Percussion a technique which involves the striking of a piece of suitable material with a hammer stone to knock off flakes; or, Pressure flaking a technique which removes small flakes from the stones serface thrugh the application of pressure, usually with a bone tool either by hand pressing or striking with a hammer stone.

These two techniques are not mutually exclusive. Both can be used at the same time in the making of a tool. Large ships may be flaked using the percussion technique while its refinement is achieved by pressure flaking. The Paleolithic tradition is further subdivided into three phases: the lower, middle and upper paleolithic.

Lower Paleolithic The lower paleolithic tool making tradition was dominant during the lower pleistocene period. At certain points it has coexisted alongside the eolithic tradition. It came in two forms: the Oldowan and the Achuellian traditions. Oldowan tradition. The Oldowan tradition is distinguished from the protoculture tradition fo tool using largely because it underscored a systematic manufacture of stone tools. It was first documented in the Olduvai Gorge, Bed I in Tanzania, Africa (hence the name) in close association with Homo habilis fossils. Recently it was found in other locations like Western Hungary and Asia. Oldowan tools are streambed pebbles, sometimes other rocks, usually ovoid in shape, with a few flakes knocked off on one or both sides to make aacutting edge (Beal, p. 180). Earliest Oldowan tools were difficult to distinguish of these probable tools were associated with the living surface together with flakes struck from them. Also the abundance of unworked natural stones in the living area, which, judging from their dissimilarity with nearby stone formations, could have been transported from locations as far as 40 miles away (Beals, p. 180) indicated that tool manufacture was done in that particular area. The simplicity of the Oldowan technique and its association with the oldest hominid find, reinforces the hypothesis that the Oldowan tradition was probably the basic tradition from which all subsequent toolmaking techniques were derived. It persisted on and endured for a long time without significant changes: from about 2.5 million years ago until the end of the Lower Pleistocene some 850000 years ago (Beals, et. Al. p. 180). In South and East Asia, the Oldowan tradition though still basicaly based largely on the use of pebbles, comprise a more sophisticated assemblages of chopperchopping tools traditions. Such finds were unearthed in Soan, India and Choukoutien in China.

Acheulian Tradition. The Acheulian tradition is the best known toolmaking tradition during the Middle Peistocene period. It si representative of early Paleolithic tool tradition and is often times referred to as the biface, core, cleaver, hand- ax tradition. The typical acheulian tool is pearshaped and made from a odule of flint or similar material, such as quartzite that has been flaked over the entire surface. The percussion technique was used to accomplish this. In all cases the larger and rounded end is shaped to be held by the hand while the cutting edges extend along part of the sides. The Acheulian tradition is believed to be the representative work of the Homo Erectus though the tradition extended even up to the neandertalnensis species.

In the Philippines, the flaked tools discovered in Liwan Kalinga cave basically reflected a flake-core industry of the acheulian tradition (Jocano, 1975).

Middle Paleolithic: Mousterian Tradition (Middle Pleistocene or Weischel Glaciation: 100000 to 35000 year ago); The term mousterian is often applied to the cultural remains representing Middle Paleolithic. It is a new tradition characterized by the use of flakes from dislike cores that have been retouched along the edges by pressure flaking. Example of these tools are side scrapers, pointed implements and a variety of other small tools. The flake tools recovered from the Guni cave of Palawan represents this tradition. The Mousterian tradition and the entire middle paleolithic though basically associated with the Homo Neandertalensis was likewise observed among early Homo Sapiens. It flourished during the Weischsel glacination during the middle pleistocene when newly converted tundras in Europe and tropical rainforests in Africa begun to be inhabited. Quite expectedly early man used the variety of tools available to them in different ways as a the relative wide range of tools assemblages retrieved in different areas during this particular period.

Late or Upper Paleolithic Tradition At this point in time, the tool tradition has grown in complexity and efficiency not to mention variablility as technological specialization emerged. Scrappers and burins and multiple tools derived from them such as double scrapers, multiple burins and borers became standard tools of the period. Materials varied just as the tool types multiplied. For example tools made of bone, ivory and horn became widespread. These were awls, needles and chisels. The long-blade type stones became a standard pattern, a machine spear thrower-surfaced and the bow and arrow prevailed during the period. Meanwhile engraving of designs representing animals and female forms appeard to comprise what is now known as the late paleolithic art. Although basically associated with the other human species. It dominated the later part of the upper Pleistocene period some 50000 to 10000 years ago. The continuity of tools forms from early paleolithic across middle paleolithic and into late paleolithic and their overlapping occurrences across species make it extremely difficult to identify particular traditions with particular forms of human beings.

3. Mesolithic The mesolithic tradition which interphases with the late paleolithic tradition began and became the dominant feature of the late pleistocene period particularly after

the Weischel glacination retreated. It might be recalled that it was during this time when new areas in Europe became habitable while deserts and semi- deserts is Asia and Africa expanded. This resulted in changes in the distribution of animals hunting, induvidual hunting was favored as reindeers were replaced by elks, deers, awocks and wild pigs. This explains, the evolution of tools which were lighter, smaller, and composite in nature. Microliths becam predominant during the period. These were fitted into grooves of wood or bone to form arrows and harpoons. Toward the end of the upper pleistocene period or the mesolithic toolmaking tradition, some of the axes that were manufactured were ground. Some coarse pottery cooking vessels started to appear. These two techniques paved the ways for the emergence of a new toolmaking tradition known as the neolithic tradition. 4. Neolithic As earlier mentioned, the neolithic tradition was associated not only with the appearance of tools made by grinding but rather with a new way of life ushered in by farming. The completely different lifestyle produced by agriculture earned for the neolithic tradition the label of agricultural revolution. Most of the tools excavated in communities associated with neolithic cultures were hard- millig stones, querns and possible sickle stones. Some of the se tools were dated as old as 8900 B. C. Meanwhile, the neolithic tradition is definitely associated with Homo Sapiens who were dominant during the Holocene or recent period. 5. Age of Metals The age of metals is characterized by the invention of smelting, first of copper, then its alloy, broze. The second stage is the age of iron. B. Cultural Traditions and Typologies of Societies As earlier mentioned, the typologies in cultural traditions are derived from an analysis of the peoples subsistence patterns or economic activites and their relationship with the enviroment. Cultural traditions are generally broken down into the following stages: a. Pre-agricultural which is further subdivided into foragoing, generalized hunting and gathering and specialized hunting and gathering; b. agricultural revolution. This tradition is marked by mans deliberate attempt at domesticating plants and animals. The shift to agriculture signified a change in mans cultural life as well. The technology paved of a way for the establishment of settlements and the evolution of a way of life entirely different from preagricultural times;

c. urban revolution. This tradition is characterized by urbanization and specialization coupled with the establishment of a centralized political system.

1. Pre-Agricultural Societies Two types of pre-agricultural economic activities dominated the lower pleistocene epoch. These were foraging and foraging with rudiments of hunting and gathering. Foraging As an activity. Foraging refers to the unplanned harvesting of whatever natural foods are nearby. This is believed to have been mans earliest form of ecological adaptation and economic activity. It endured through the entire span of the lower pleistocene epoch streching between 3 million to 850000 years ago. It was associated with the Australopithecus africanus. As foragers the Australopithecines, like the other primates, moved from place to place within a given territory. Largely a vegetarian forager (gathering and harvesting whatever narutal foods were available nearby), they supplemented their diet with insects and small animals like lizards, crabs, fish, tortoise, bats and birds. Early man used a variety of plant and animal species as possible sources of food at any given day bacause of the abundance of naturally occurring harvests in tropical enviroments. Since no single species dominated an enviroment at any given time, the demand for specialization in tools was nil. Instead man could have visited different palces or localities each day to take advantage of seasonal concentrations of food resources. This meant that: (1) tool specialization was not necessary tools if any, must have been simple, portable and useful for a variety of purposes; (2) the population had to move incessanly thus perfomance of dwelling was never recorded and storage of food was neither observed among foragers. Toolmaking tradition associated with the activity. Foraging is associated with the eolithic tradition. This meant that the Australopithecines were mainly tool users, not tool makers. These tools however were restricted to deriving their food. No evidences have been found to show that the Australopithecines have used tools to make other tools. The use of fire and clothing has not yet been discovered either. Such limited technological capabilities confined the species to warm or sub-tropical climates. Still Preagricultural:(Foraging with rudiments of hunting and gathering or collecting)

Activity and period. Hunting, gathering and utilization of particular plants and animals species started during the later part of the lower pleistocene period. Gathering or collecting, unlike foraging entailed a planned and systematic harvesting of particular plant species. This economic activity which represents an advancement over foraging os associated with the Homo habilis. It si said that while the Australopothecus africanus remained foragers, the Homo habilis ventured into the plains and started preying on other animals. The initiation of hunting and preying on other animals as a way of life generated subsequently alternations in the species social interaction patterns. One theory maintains that the evolution of a rudimentary language may have started during the period. This school of thought justifies such assertion by assuming that since hunting requires some kind of a collaborative effort and some degree of organization to enable them to catch their prey some form of communication must have effected such coordination and organization, thus the evolution of rudimentary language is highly probable as this responds to a specific need. This assertion is being challenged though by some scholars who maintain that based on the evidences found at the Olduvai Gorge complex, the hominid at Olduvai obtained large carcasses only after the animals were killed and eaten by other predators. It might have hunted small preys such as antelopes, although they were basically scavengers. The development of language therefore could not be identified during this stage. Toolmaking tradition. Associated with rudimentary hunting and gathering as a way of life among the Homo habilis is the toolmaking tradition known as the Oldowan tradition. As earlier discussed, the Oldowan tradition is paleolithic involving flaking in the preparation of a tool. This technology gave early man the tools to use in search for preys. In a way the early humans were henerally mobile. However, Homo habilis always returned to one spot or site after a hunt. This characteristic defferentiated the species from its nearest kin. The use of fire might have also been discovered during this period as the species was found to have lived in colder areas. The fossil sites in Nice, France for exampe yielded clusters of oval huts in one site while caves contained hearths.

Generalized hunting and gathering: Middle Pleistocene

Generalized hunting and gathering dominated the middle Pleistocene particularly covering roughly around 500,000 to 75,000 years ago. It is however believed to have extended on to the upper Pleistocene period some 10,000years ago. During this cultural and geologic stages the hominid evolved through various stages into its present form. The Homo erectus (1M to 300,000 years ago) has evolved into the Homo neanderlalensis (500,000 to 70,000 years ago) and then eventually into the Homo sapiens (100,000 to 70,000 years ago). Just as the biological evolution of the human being proceeded

towards complexity, the tools were enhanced to complement their respective biological adaptations. For example at the time the early hominid evolved into one with a much improved biological capability (e.g., Homo erectus with a larger brain section that accounts for an improved control over his fingers and thumbs and the foresight to plan and improve his weapon in the light of a past experiences), that species was able to develop a technology for transporting food. This development favored and explained the evolution of hunting and food gathering as way of life among the early hominid. At first, early humans hunted practically any animal. However, a trend toward big game hunting eventually became established as large animals (large bisons, horses, mammoths, hairy rhinoceros, reindeers, arctic foxes and carnivores like hyena, wolves, panthers and bears) became abundant in open plains. Group hunting in this case was inevitable and necessary. As the hominid shifted to regular group hunting, its social behavior eventually transformed to set it totally apart from the apes and the monkeys. For comparison, apes and monkeys lead an extremely cohesive social existence. They move together, eat together and sleep together. Unless they happen to be leaving a group for good, no member of the group is ever more than a hundred yards away from the other members. Likewise, early humans might also have been similarly bound to each other. When they shifted to regular hunting, role differentiation between sexes might have also started. Temporary physical separation and division of labor might have been dictated by the nature of the activity itself (hunting) and the biological constraints faced by females. Women were oftentimes either pregnant or nursing their young and were therefore physically incapable of moving through great distances with the males. Hunting required males to travel distances (not returning at night) even staying out for many days. So unlike the apes and monkeys, the humans had to face a dilemma imposed by hunting. They have to arrange some kind of a meeting place where they could be sure to find their women in their infants after the hunt was over. The idea of a base camp therefore was conceived to be the first time (Ember and Ember). From this arrangement subsequent relationships were developed. Men returned with their catch. Women stored or shared them with others in the camp. In exchange, females in the camp shared with the males the roots and fruits they gathered. When a sick man returns, he is cared for not only by members of his own family but also others in the camp. Mutual dependence in the camp eventually tightened social relationships and strengthened the bonds among the families. In all these interactions (planning and protecting base camps, sharing food, reassuring injured companions, team effort, rigorous cooperation, planning and mutual assistance in tracking down and catching games), a system of communication that went beyond simple expression of alarm or threat or fear necessitated the development of a system of communication based on sounds. Whether or not the rudiments of communication was laid down among the Homo habilis, the rudimentary language eventually evolved into a systematic means of communication at the time of the Homo erectus. Apropos to this development, the Homo erectus already lived in relatively open country, mainly in areas with mild climates where food sources particularly game animals were abundant. This abundance of food sources coupled with the difficulty of transporting heavy

loads (as in a catch of big game) encouraged the establishment of a fairly stable or semipermanent residence. Caves were extensively used as dwellings. In the same manner, the complexity of their social life was inferred from the religious rituals they practiced. Some of these rituals (intentional burial with offerings) are analogous to present day practices. In a hunter- gatherer society the band became the basic unit of social organization. The band was made up of a small number of related families whose leadership was largely informal and flexible. Population exchange between neighboring bands was commonly practiced perhaps as a way of sharing and tapping resources.

Specialized Hunting and Gathering

This period is particularly characterized by the cultural evolution of specialized hunters and collectors. Hunting was selective (i.e., planned and systematic hunting patterns) while collecting was seasonal. Specialized collectors were characterized by three elements: 1. they possessed a processing technique that converts an inedible plant into platable and nourishing food; 2. they possessed efficient storage techniques, to preserve some storable plants; 3. they had adequate containers for transport and storage In specialized hunting societies, the basic social arrangement was still the band. Its social organization however had become fairly complicated and activities highly coordinated. This is inferred from their cooperative way of killing large animals. Among the Crow Indians of America for example, the pursuit of buffaloes has become a specialized occupation that required skill and the coordinated efforts of the men and women in a community. Communal hunts involved the circling of men behind a herd of animals and driving them over a cliff or a corral. Rock piles are erected leading to the corrals and men and women stood between them waving their hide robes at beasts attempting to escape. Among the Eskimos, specialized technologies and social organization also evolved to enable them to particularly deal with the harsh arctic environment. For the most part of the year, the Central and Eastern Eskimos depended upon individual hunting of seals through holes cut in the sea ice. As ice break up during spring men organized themselves into groups to pursue seals and walrus from Kayaks. Also, Polar bears were hunted in groups. During summer, Central Eskimos moved inland to hunt migrating herds of caribou. Harpoons and spears were used in hunting whereas a variety of cutting, scrapping and graving implements were used in butchering games, making clothing and various other objects. Heating their igloos and insuring their survival during winter was the seal oil lamp. In both specialized hunting and gathering societies, the harshness of their respective environments contributed to the development of complex skills and elaborate technologies. However the same element made it impossible to develop larger communities. Hence among hunters the small and widely scattered settlements became standard abodes. The various hunting and gathering societies have the following typical characteristics:

1. It had a low population density. Being scattered in a wide area where food was available, social grouping was barely limited to known relatives and kins. 2. Band was the basic social organization unit. 3. Food resources were widely dispersed. This required frequent movement to enable them to take advantage of natural harvests which were seasonal and location specific. To date, specialized hunting and gathering societies tend to be influenced by agriculture. Nevertheless, hunting practices still survive among them. In the Philippines, the ethic minorities who have been pushed to the hinterland due to expanding lowland population still retain their hunting and gathering tradition even while practicing some form of agriculture particularly swidden agriculture. Even among lowland communities, certain hunting practices survive to date. For instance, quail hunting still involves a communal effort of males in a given community. Hunting by circling behind a flock of quails and beating the sugarcane field where they are found and driving them towards the corner where the salyang (quail trap) is concealed are still observed in such places such as Tarlac. The catch are then shared among the farmer hunters (Masquiso, 1995).

2. Agricultural Revolution (Domestication of Plants and Animals)

This was the period when humans began to plant crops and to raise animals. Among the first animals that were domesticated were: Sheep and goats Pigs and cattle Horses 8000 B.C. in Iran 7000 B.C. in Greece 2000 and 4000 B.C. in Iran

How was domestication inferred from fossil sites? Archaeologists usually look for differences between the wild type and those found in fossil sites. For example, grains of wild wheat have a fragile rachis while the domesticated ones have a sturdy rachis. Horns of wild animals were also shaped differently from domesticated ones. Another indicator aside from morphological differences, was the imbalances in the sex and age ratios of animals remains in fossil sites. For instance, the predominance of the remains of young animals in fossil sites indicated the practice of raising the young for food, while older bones showed that animals had been kept for breeding purposes. Moreover, while farming patterns had already been developed during this period, the earlier hunting and collecting way of life also co-existed with it. The earliest centers of plant and animal domestication were noted in what is now called Middle East, particularly those in the Fertile Cresent: the arc stretching from the Zagros mountain in Iran through Turkey and southward to Israel and Jordan.

Also in places where food sources was intensely pursued, concentration of population was always manifested. This observation was bourne out in the following centers: Jarmo, Iran Some 25 houses (mud huts) were uncovered in the fossil sites. Catal Hayuk, Turkey Hayuk is a Turkish name for a mound formed by a succession of settlements. Some 200 houses were discovered as early as 5600 B.C. Jericho (north of the Dead Sea in Israel) A succession of settlements each preserved in horizontal layers of earth was found, suggesting that different groups of people might have occupied the place at different periods. The structures of houses were markedly different of each level. These suggested culture break, possibly brought about by the destruction or the conquest of earlier settlements by new conquerors. In other words, the latter as victors could have superimposed their culture on the vanquished settlements.

From a study of excavated fossil sites, the following observations are made: a. High population growth appeared to have always accompanied sedentarism whereas lower population growth was always associated with mobility. Having less children among mobile bands was apparently an adaptive strategy that gave mothers respite from carrying their infants on their backs as they moved from one settlement to another. On the other hand, sedentarism required more labor to cope up with agricultural activities and specialization. Bigger families therefore had an edge over smaller families. b. Sedentary life also encouraged the extensive use of pottery. This might have been brought about by the need for storage resulting from production activities. c. Trading was also inferred from the fossil remains in Jericho. The presence of specific items on the buried dead indicated transport to and from various places which only trade could have facilitated. Examples of these were marine shells from the sea coast; obsidian from Western Turkey; and turquoise from the Sinai Peninsula. The expansion of trade eventually led to acquisition of property and subsequent stratification of society. The latter was inferred from the variations observed in how the dead were buried d. On the whole, villages during the Holecene period until 5,500 B.C. remained small and isolated from one another. There was no evidence of government authority beyond the villages, and there were few differences I status and wealth among households. 3.Cultural

traditions: Urban Revolution

At about 5,000 B.C., transformation in the quality and scale of human life evolved. The small villages paved the way for urbanization and the development of cities. Communities began to differ in size and to specialize in crafts. A strong centralized political system called the state also began to take shape. Cities first appeared in the Near East (now called Middle East) in 3,500 years B.C. Mesopotamia (todays Iraq) is one of the oldest cities (Beals, et. al, p.201). As earlier cited urban revolution was marked by a number of innovations. Among these were: 1) the smelting of metals; 2) the invention of the wheel to iacilitate transport; and 3) the emergence of trade which necessitated record keeping. Writing might have also emerged during the period.

III. Theories on the Emergence of Cities

How did cities emerge? Some of the theories explaining the emergence of cities at the time and place where they sprouted are as follows: the irrigation theory, the theory on population growth, circumscription and war and the local and long distance trade theory.

A. Irrigation Theory
City states, according to this theory, were offshoots of the operation of an extensive irrigation system. It suggests that labor and management were needed for the upkeep of an irrigation system which led to the formation of a political elite (the overseer of the system), eventually producing the governors of that system. The strength of this theory lies in the presence of an irrigation system. Regardless of its size, it gave populations unequal access to productive land. Such a situation contributed to the stratification of the society because those with irrigated land were quite wealthier. Moreover, the presence of an irrigation system generated border conflicts that encouraged movements or migrations of populations toward urban centers (usually fortified) for common defense. This situation stimulated the development of political and military controls. These twin factors were necessary in the formation and maintenance of a state. Also the presence of an irrigation facility intensified production endeavors and encouraged specialization in craft and trade. These stimulated on the development of an administrative bureaucracy. On the other hand, this theory has its weaknesses. Some cities were established before the construction of an irrigation system. Other cities with an irrigation system were small in operation to warrant a complex administration machinery. Critics argue, therefore, that the irrigation theory cannot singlehandedly explain the evolution of cities.

B. Population Growth, Circumscription and War

This theory posits that city-state formation was the result of the relationships between the victor and the vanquished. This meant when competition and warfare occurred, the victor took control of the vanquished. The theory claims that a clash between peoples was inevitable in the face of a growing population on one hand and geographic circumscription or limitation on the other (i.e. when ones land is circumscribed by the sea or a growing population is blocked by these geographic limitations). Competition among the villages and settlements for control over prized lands often resulted in warfare. The powerful villages usually took control of weaker settlements in surrounding valleys. By sheer inferiority of force, conquered fiefs reluctantly submitted to the victors political dominion. Thus kingdoms emerged out of the vanquished fiefs.

C. Local and Long-Distance Trade

Another theory on city-state formation underscores the role of trade. This theory asserts that the production of goods for export, redistribution of imported items as well as the protection of

trading parties contributed to the formation of states. In all these transactions a central authority prevailed. He decided how trading was to be undertaken, who were authorized to land and transact business, and how his people would be protected. In essence, where there was trade, city states existed.

Summary
The evolution of culture and society is affected in no small way by changes in the environment. However, it could not be claimed with alacrity that these cultural traditions are exclusive of geological periods. Records have shown that cultural patterns and traditions have been shared by humans of the same species across geological periods. Needless to say, different human species generally maintained different cultural traditions or for that matter cultural systems even as they grapple with similar environment and/or situation. Notwithstanding these differences, cultural patterns were certainly not exclusive of one species. Two species may have exhibited it but one moved on the newer cultural patterns where the other got stuck to it. The way each species develops its mode of adaptation explain its ability to survive and maintain its kind. In the same breadth the same species was also found to have varied in the way they coped with their environment thus spawning different cultural systems through time and locations. Cultural systems encompass the following elements: a society or a group of individuals, an environment where the members carry out their characteristic activities, a material culture, a cultural tradition and the human activities and behaviors emerging out of the complex interactions among the four other elements of the cultural system. Generally cultural traditions and patterns revolve around activities that have something to do with the sustenance and nurturance of the members of society. Expediently these traditions therefore have been associated with tool making and using. They are made up of the material culture (tools) and its non-material correlates (habits, practices, beliefs, structure of social relations and the like). At one point, societies in the process of evolution have been traditionally viewed within the context of the tool making tradition extant at the time. Thus among the early humans (the Australopithecine species particularly) the Eolithic tradition (basically tool using only, not tool making), was dominant while among the Homo habilis it was the Oldowan tradition. It represented the arliest tool making tradition consisting of large stone pebbles that have been flaked off on one or both sides to make a cutting edge. Appearing next to the Oldowan tradition was the Acheulian tradition, characteristically of the biface, core, cleaver and hand-axe type constructed using the percussion technique. This tradition was discovered to have been dominant among the Homo erectus although it was also believed to have extended even up to the neandertalensis species. Subsequent developments in the tool making process resulted in the refinement of tools: use of flakes from disklike cores and retouching them by pressure flaking. The technology resulted in the development of smaller tools like side scrapers and pointed implements. Altogether these assemblages constituted the Mousterian or middle Paleolithic tradition that was noted to have been dominant among the neandertalensis and to some extent even among the Homo sapiens.

Later developments witnessed the growing efficiency and variability of the tools being produced not to mention the eminent complexity of the processes involved in their making. Specialized tools for specific purposes were developed such as the scrapers and burins, spear thrower and so on. Such growing specialization and dimunition of tool sizes were characteristic of the late Paleolithic tradition and were associated principally with the Homo sapiens. The subsequent stages of the toolmaking tradition withnessed changes not only in the process by which tools were made but also in the materials from which they were generated. From stones of the Paleolithic tradition to wood, clay and ground stone in the Neolithic tradition and eventually metals for the metal tradition. Undoubtedly these changes had their ripple effects on the peoples ways of life. The name given to the tradition therefore not only underscored the tool making technology but a host of other cultural practices as well. The neolothic tradition that followed the later paleolithic tradition for example underscored not only the appearance of tools made by grinding (e.e. hard milling stones, querns, sickle stones) and also pottery among others but also the development of agriculture. Given this exigency later typologies of societies took note of cultural traditions based on the economic activities pursued by the people and the subsequent belief system surrounding them rather than basically on the tools they made in pursuit of these activities. Thus societies, as social systems, were regarded and classified according to the level of development they were in even while gradations within a particular social system itself were likewise manifested. The earliest social system was known as pre-agricultural. Within this broad category societies were yet found to have differed in their ways of life. Such differences were significant enough to warrant a societys differentiation from another altogether. Hence, the earliest stage of the pre-agricultural society (its Eolithic technology limited its capabilities and the biological capabilities possessed by the species at the time constrained its mobility), was basically and dominantly foraging (the unplanned harvesting of whatever natural foods are nearby). This was considered as mans earliest form of ecological adaptation and economic activity. It lasted the entire span of the lower Pleistocene epoch stretching between 3 million to 850,000 years ago. Subsequent refinement of technologies and biological capabilities generated a hunting society, first generalized, later on specialized, with particular species (games, specifically) being preferred over the others. The pre-agricultural society was one of the long enduring stages of social and cultural development. It was home to two genera: Australopithecus and the Homo and all the species of the genus Homo for that matter (habilis, erectus, neandertalensis and sapiens). It lasted from the Pleistocene to the Holocene epochs or roughly 3 million years to 10,000 years ago. The next stage of social and cultural development is the agricultural stage. This stage is characterized by the onset of the practice of domesticating plants and animals. The oldest civilizations which practiced agriculture were concentrated in the Middle East particularly the Fertile Crescent, the communities that were found in the arc stretching from the Zagros Mountain in Iran through Turkey and southward to Israel and Jordan. The accumulation of surplus as a result of agriculture favored the concentration of a large number of population beyond the dimension of bands in specific areas. At about 5,000

B.C. the small villages paved the way for urbanization and the development of cities. Specialization in crafts surfaced as people continued to flock in special centers now called cities and a centralized bureaucracy evolved to administer the day to day needs of varied people in these communities. How did cities emerge? Three theories explain this phenomenon: the Irrigation theory, the Population Growth, Circumscription and War Theory and the Local and Long-Distance Trade Theory. The first identifies the role irrigation played in the allocation and investiture of power to certain quarters in the process of administering and rationalizing the distribution of a scarce resource. It is surmised that the political structure which evolved in this enterprise eventually constituted the bureaucracy that was to control and administer al other affairs of the affected community. Population Growth, Circumscription and War Theory on the other hand plays up the role population growth in a country whose terrain circumscribes and limits their expansion assumes in a nations colonial adventures and eventually conquest of foreign dominions. In these aggressive epicodes the victors establish supremacy over the conquest and introduces a centralized bureaucracy not to mention a new culture and pattern of life. The theory on local and long distance trade on the other hand underscores the role played by trade in asserting and underscoring the presence of a centralized bureaucracy. The convergence of people along trade routes is a tacit example how trade (long distance or otherwise) drew people towards the sea or riverine areas.

Reflective Thinking
1. Reflect on your own communities. Do you think it fits any of the typologies of societies discussed in the chapter? Why? Why not? 2. Based on the archaeological evidences gathered so far in the country, how distant in the past has our society and culture existed? 3. Which theory of city formation best explains the formation of early settlements (hence urbanization) in the country? 4. What accounts for the transformation of societies from one stage to another? Explain by citing examples.