Evolution of culture, Biology

Assignment Help:

A general agreerncnt anlong nll the human evolutionists who may have a very radical philosophical hackground and convictions is that man is the result of an extraordinary evolutionary process. Whereas evidence is available from fossil remains of our ancestors and relatives for the comparative morphology and even anatomy to structure a biological classification, fossil forms do not record the behavioural aspects of man. Essentially the artifacts or the environment in which the fossils were found have to be examined judiciously to draw inferences, relating to the behaviour and cultural aspects. For instance, aggressiveness is a behaviour pattern but this behaviour pattern cannot be fossilised. On the other band, the environment in which the sharp fossile tool, and the fossils of big animals killed by game hunting speak volumes of the aggressive behaviour of the men of the times. The uniqueness of man can be attributed to the instinctive culture that he has evolved. Culture is sum total of a store of information and behaviour patterns. This is inherited by one generation from the other by instruction and learning and by examples and imitation. In other words, although the culture by itself may not be controlled by genes, the capacity tc acquire it is determined genetically. As we discussed in our earlier section, the symbol systems should have played a significant role in the transmission of cultures. Because of this difference that the culture is not transmitted by genes, it is called "superorganic". This notion is not necessarily true. After all it is only the possessors of the human genotype who can acquire, transmit, innovate or transmute culture. In other words, human genotypes are indispensible for culture although the genotypes themselves do not decide which one of the variants of the existing cultures they will acquire. It amounts to saying that there are no genes for Hindu, Islamic, Sikh, American, Chinese or European cultures. The acquiring of a particular culture depends on the environment in which a child is brought up. The same argument can be extended to the concept of the learning and using of a language. Such acts although are decided by genes, the genes do not decide which particular language will be learnt.


Related Discussions:- Evolution of culture

Define micronutrient needs of a lactating mother, Define Micronutrient need...

Define Micronutrient needs of a lactating mother? Vitamin and mineral deficiencies can have profound influence on the composition of milk. Calcium is a nutrient of special conc

Define carbohydrates needs in postoperative nutritional care, Define Carboh...

Define Carbohydrates needs in Postoperative Nutritional Care? Carbohydrates ensure the use of protein for tissue synthesis and energy required for increased metabolic demands.

Describe protein glycosylation, Protein Glycosylation is the reaction in th...

Protein Glycosylation is the reaction in that a carbohydrate, example for a glycosyl donor that is attached to a hydroxyl or other functional set of another molecule a glycosyl acc

Explain tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF, ...

Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF, Viread)  Tenofovir DF is the only nucleotide RTI available for treatment of HIV. It is a prodrug of tenofovir, a potent inhibitor of HIV rep

What capacity does the brain have to repair itself, What capacity does the ...

What capacity does the brain have to repair itself after injury or disease? It has long been accepted dogma that central nervous system doesn't regenerate itself after traumati

Explain changes in mental development of infants, Explain Changes in Mental...

Explain Changes in Mental Development of Infants? There is evidently an increase in the brain size. There is a rapid increase in the number of brain cells in the first 5-6 mont

Histamine - monoamine transmitter group, A fifth member of the monoamine tr...

A fifth member of the monoamine transmitter group is histamine. That release histamine as their neurotransmitter is located in the hypothalamus and project to cerebral cortex, lim

Predation, Think back to the patterns of predator-prey cycling from Section...

Think back to the patterns of predator-prey cycling from Sections 2 and 3. Which of the three predator functional responses would you expect to be most likely to give stable popula

Agro-industrial by-products (aibp), Agro-industrial by-products (AIBP) ref...

Agro-industrial by-products (AIBP) refer to the by-products derived due to processing of the main crop products and allied industries. They are in comparison to crop residues, are

Human skeleton, HUMAN SKELETON - Hard supportive or protective elements...

HUMAN SKELETON - Hard supportive or protective elements of the animal body form the skeleton system. It's study in osteology. EXOSKELETO N - Present outside skin. It

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd