Driving forces of human evolution. Biological and social factors of evolution. The main stages of human evolution. Lecture "Factors of Human Evolution"

Biological factors influence human evolution.

Human development historically could not take place in isolation from the surrounding reality. This process was influenced by the biological factors of human evolution, the same as they influenced the rest wildlife. However, studies show that only biological factors are clearly not enough for anthropogenesis; social factors.

The early stages of human evolution are characterized by the predominance of biological factors. Of decisive importance was the natural selection of individuals with better adaptability to constantly changing environmental conditions.

There was a selection and individuals who showed the ability to produce primitive tools, without which the extraction of food and protection from enemies became problematic.

At later stages, selection was already carried out on the basis of herding and related forms of communication. In the environment, only groups of individuals could continue to exist, capable of jointly resisting surprises and adverse factors.

On the certain stages The biological factors of human evolution also included individual selection, which was based on the selective death of individual individuals and contributed to the formation of morphophysiological features of a person, such as bipedalism, big brain, developed hand.

Man already had a difference from the surrounding animal world in that he could speak, developed thinking and the ability to work. So in the process of anthropogenesis was formed modern man.

The biological factors of the historical-revolutionary process of the formation of man were exactly the same for all living nature. They have become especially important in early stages the formation of man. Charles Darwin wrote a lot about the role of biological factors for human evolution.

The biological factors of human evolution have created the prerequisites for the occurrence of hereditary changes in him, which determine, for example, eye and hair color, height, as well as the body's resistance to influences. external environment.

Man's dependence on nature was especially felt in the early stages of his evolution. Only individuals who were characterized by endurance could survive and leave offspring for procreation. physical strength, dexterity, ingenuity and other useful qualities.

The beginning of the improvement of labor tools significantly reduced the role of biological evolution. Technogenic evolution has forced a person not to wait, as they say, for alms from nature. He no longer adapted painfully and slowly, but he himself consciously changed himself. surrounding nature and forced her to satisfy her needs. To do this, people used powerful tools.

However, the biological factors of human evolution have not completely lost their influence on animal world in general, and per person in particular. Nature is still the cause of the ongoing evolution of man.

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The biological factor of human evolution is... What are the biological factors of evolution?

April 4, 2016

The evolutionary doctrine is theoretical basis biology. It studies the causes and mechanisms historical development all living organisms. Human evolution has its own characteristics and factors.

What is anthropology

According to evolutionary teaching, man like species formed over a long period of time. The processes of its historical development are studied by the science of anthropology.

The emergence of man has its characteristics. They lie in the fact that the process of formation is influenced by both social and biological factors of evolution. The first group includes the ability to work, speech, abstract thinking. The biological factor of human evolution is, in particular, the struggle for existence. As well as natural selection and hereditary variation.

The main provisions of evolutionary theory

According to Charles Darwin's theory, environmental conditions can cause changes in the structure of living organisms. If they are not inherited, then their role in the process of evolution is insignificant. In some individuals, changes occur in the germ cells. In this case, the trait is inherited. If it turns out to be useful in certain conditions, then organisms have a better chance of surviving. They successfully adapt and produce fertile offspring.

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Struggle for existence

The main biological factor in human evolution is the struggle for existence. Its essence lies in the emergence of competition between organisms. The reason for its appearance is the discrepancy between the ability different types to food and reproduction. As a result, a species survives that could the best way adapt to specific conditions.

Despite the fact that the process of the emergence of modern man was subject to general patterns, there are some differences. Natural selection occurred not only in strength, agility and endurance. In addition to these physical signs, special meaning played and the level of mental development. Individuals who had learned to make the most primitive tools and use them, communicate with fellow tribesmen, and act together had a greater chance of surviving.

Natural selection

In the struggle for existence, natural selection occurs - biological process during which adapted individuals survive and actively reproduce. Those who can't adapt die.

Thus, natural selection is also a biological factor in human evolution. Its peculiarity was that individuals with pronounced social traits survived. The most viable were the people who invented new tools, acquired new skills and socialized. Over time, the importance of natural selection in the process of anthropogenesis decreased. This is due to the fact that ancient people gradually learned to build, ennoble and heat dwellings, make clothes, grow plants, and tame animals. As a result, the importance of natural selection gradually decreased.

hereditary variability

The biological factor of human evolution is also hereditary variability. This property of living organisms lies in the ability to acquire new features in the process of their development and pass them on to offspring. Naturally, only useful signs had evolutionary significance in the process of anthropogenesis.

Humans are related to mammals by a number of similar biological traits. This is the presence of mammary and sweat glands, hairline, live birth. The body cavity is divided by a muscular septum into the thoracic and abdominal parts. Similar features are the absence of nuclei in red blood cells, erythrocytes, the presence of alveoli in the lungs, the general plan of the structure of the skeleton, differentiated teeth. Both humans and animals have rudimentary (underdeveloped) organs. These include the appendix, the third eyelid, the rudiments of the second row of teeth, and others. Scientists know cases of birth of people with characteristic features animals - a developed tail, a continuous hairline, an additional number of nipples. This is additional proof of the origin of man from animals. But in the process of anthropogenesis, only the most useful features have been preserved.

The following biological traits are specific only to humans:

bipedalism;

Enlargement of the brain and reduction of the facial part of the skull;

Arched foot with strongly developed big toe;

Movable brush, opposition thumb the rest;

An increase in the volume of the brain, the development of its cortex.

The biological evolution of man is closely connected with the social one. For example, the ability to make a fire and cook food led to a decrease in the size of the teeth and the length of the intestines.

The biological factors of human evolution are a necessary condition for the formation of social factors, which together led to the appearance of Homo sapiens on Earth.

Do you think the principles that explain the origin and evolution of animal species are applicable to explain the origin and evolution of humans? From the standpoint of the synthetic theory, the biological factors of evolution organic world- the mutation process, the waves of life, genetic drift, isolation, the struggle for existence and natural selection - apply to human evolution as well. The cooling of the climate and the displacement of forests by steppes led to the transition of the ancestors of great apes to a terrestrial way of life. This fact was the first step on their way to bipedalism.

Shortcomings in the speed of movement during upright walking were made up for by the fact that the forelimbs were freed. At the same time, the vertical position of the body made it possible to obtain more information. For example, human ancestors could react more timely to the approach of predators. Hands began to be used for the manufacture and use of various tools. Insofar as listed fixtures were aimed at increasing survival, it was along this path that the further action of natural selection was carried out. Consequently, the biological factors of anthropogenesis contributed to the formation of morphophysiological features of a person (upright walking, an increase in the volume of the brain, a developed hand).

Role social factors in anthropogenesis was revealed by F. Engels in his work “The Role of Labor in the Process of the Transformation of Apes into Humans” (1896). It is logical to arrange the social factors of evolution in the following sequence: joint way of life → thinking → speech → labor → social way of life. Human ancestors began to unite in groups for cohabitation mastered the manufacture of tools. It is the manufacture of tools that is a clear boundary between ape-like ancestors and humans. In the struggle for existence, groups of individuals began to receive an advantage, which together could resist adverse conditions environment. Thus, the social factors of anthropogenesis were aimed at improving the relationship between people within the group.

The role of labor in the formation of man

The evolution of the hand after being freed from the support function went in the direction of its improvement for labor activity. This fact reflected in the manufacture of various tools. This was noted when studying the fossil remains of Homo habilis ( Homo habilis).

The structure of the bones of the hand Homo habilis indicates a well-developed grasping ability of the upper limb. The nail phalanges have become short and flat, which once again emphasizes the active use of the brush. Expanded phalanges of the fingers are evidence of severe physical work. In addition, the hand has become the leading human organ in making contacts at a distance with the help of various objects.

The use of manufactured hunting tools significantly increased the efficiency of this process. A person, along with plant foods, began to widely include in the diet more high-calorie foods of animal origin. Cooking food on fire reduced the load on the chewing apparatus and digestive system. As a result, the skeleton of the head became lighter, the intestines shortened.

With the development of labor activity, there was a further unification of people for life together. This expanded the concept of man about the world around him. New ideas were generalized in the form of concepts, which contributed to the development of thinking and the formation articulate speech. With the improvement of speech, the development of the brain went on. It was in these directions that the action of the driving form of natural selection was realized. As a result, ancient people for very short term significantly increased the volume of the brain.

Public lifestyle as a factor in human evolution

During the transition to a terrestrial way of life, human ancestors faced a number of difficulties in the struggle for existence. This is the development of new habitats, and the constant danger associated with predators in open spaces. For successful survival, human ancestors united in groups, and labor contributed to the rallying of their members. Ancient people collectively defended themselves from predators, hunted and raised children. The older members taught the younger ones to seek out natural materials and make tools, taught to hunt and maintain fire. The use of fire, in addition to cooking, helped protect against bad weather and predators.

Public life provided unlimited opportunities for communication through sounds and gestures. Gradually, the undeveloped larynx and mouth apparatus of ape-like ancestors turned into organs of human articulate speech. This was facilitated by hereditary variability and natural selection.

The leading role of social factors in the history of human development

At the stage of evolution of the most ancient people, the leading role belonged to biological factors - the struggle for existence and natural selection. The selection was aimed at the survival of individual populations of people. The most adapted to adverse conditions and more skilled in the manufacture of tools survived. As people united into groups, social factors began to play a leading role in anthropogenesis. The advantage in the struggle for existence did not necessarily go to the strongest. Gradually, the herd and the forms of communication associated with it became the object of selection. Survived those who maximally preserved children - the future of the population and the elderly - carriers of life experience.

Through labor and speech, a person began to gradually master the culture of the production of tools, the construction of dwellings. Training and education, as well as the transfer of experience, were an important prerequisite for the emergence of elements of human culture. Initially, they appeared in the form of rock paintings, figurines, and funeral rites. The improvement of the collective way of life, the distribution of responsibilities between members of the group reduced the role of biological factors in human evolution.

Qualitative differences of a person

Speaking of qualitative differences, let us try to summarize the previously discussed prerequisites for anthropogenesis. A skilled man, the first true representative of the family Homo, distinguishes from representatives of the animal world precisely the ability to make tools.

It is the manufacture that is important here, and not the mere use of a stick or stone by ape-like ancestors to satisfy needs for protection or food. Animals can also use improvised means to obtain food. Monkeys, for example, knock bananas and coconuts off palm trees with sticks and stones. Sea otters use stones to crack shells of mollusks. Some species of Galapagos finches use cactus spines to get insects from under the bark of trees.

All ways of using objects in the life of animals are random or caused by instincts. Therefore, the main qualitative difference of a person is, of course, conscious work. It is labor that is the boundary that separated man and his distant ancestors.

Man has the same body plan as all mammals. At the same time, there are a number of differences in the structure of the human body related to upright posture, labor activity and the development of speech.

In connection with upright posture the position of the body changed and the center of gravity shifted to the lower extremities. This led to a change in the shape of the spine from arched to S-shaped. This shape gave the spine additional flexibility when moving. The shortening of the spinal column provides a stable position of the body on lower limbs, which in humans, unlike ape-like ancestors, are longer than the upper ones.

Other progressive elements associated with walking on two legs were: an arched, springy foot, an expanded pelvis, as well as a shorter and wider rib cage. The foramen magnum in humans moves to the center of the base of the skull, which allows the skull to be balanced on the cervical vertebrae.

In connection with labor activity the human hand is small, thin and mobile. This gives her the ability to perform a variety of movements. Leading the thumb to the side and opposing it to the rest allows a person not only to take an object, but also to comfortably grasp it.

The increase in brain volume led to an increase in the size of the brain region of the skull, on average, up to 1500 cm 3 . In terms of volume, it exceeds the facial region by 4 times, although in monkeys this ratio is 1: 1.

FROM speech development the lower jaw of a person took on the appearance of a horseshoe with a protruding chin. Another distinguishing feature was the presence of a second signal system. The word and the thinking associated with it allow a person to reason logically and generalize the accumulated facts. This is the basis for the transfer of experience, culture, traditions, knowledge over many generations. The knowledge and experience accumulated by a person during his life become the property of the whole society. This became possible thanks to the development of speech, and later - writing.

Such qualities of a person as hard work, plasticity of thinking, culture of speech develop on the basis of education and upbringing in society. Outside of human society, the formation of a harmoniously developed personality is impossible.

Human evolution is based on biological (mutation process, waves of life, genetic drift, isolation, struggle for existence, natural selection) and social (labor, thinking, speech, public life) factors of evolution. Labor contributed to the unification of human ancestors into groups. The development of speech, the improvement of the collective way of life, the distribution of duties among the members of the group - all this strengthened the role of social factors of anthropogenesis. The word and the thinking associated with it allowed a person to reason logically and generalize the accumulated facts. hallmark human is the presence of a second signaling system.

The qualitative originality of human evolution lies in the fact that its driving forces were not only biological, but also social factors, and it was the latter that were of decisive importance in the process of the formation of man and continue to play a leading role in the development of modern human society.

Biological factors of human evolution. Man, like any other biological species, appeared on Earth as a result of the interconnected action of factors in the evolution of the living world. How did natural selection contribute to the consolidation of those morphological features man, in which he differs from his closest relatives among animals?

The main reasons that forced the once arboreal animals to move to life on earth were the reduction in area rainforest, the corresponding decrease forage base and, as a consequence, enlargement of the body size. The fact is that an increase in body size is accompanied by an increase in absolute, but a decrease in relative (i.e., per unit body weight) food needs. Large animals can afford to eat less high-calorie food. The reduction in the area of ​​tropical forests has increased competition between monkeys. Different species approached the solution of the problems that confronted them in different ways. Some have learned to run fast on all fours and mastered open area(savanna). Baboons are an example. Gorillas, their enormous physical strength allowed them to stay in the forest, while being out of competition. Chimpanzees were found to be the least specialized of all the great apes. They can deftly climb trees and run quite quickly on the ground. And only hominids solved their problems in a unique way: they mastered the movement on two legs. Why was this mode of transportation beneficial for them?

One of the consequences of an increase in body size is a lengthening of life expectancy, which is accompanied by a lengthening of the gestation period and a slowdown in the rate of reproduction. In great apes, one cub is born every 5-6 years. His death as a result of an accident turns out to be a very expensive loss for the population. Bipedal great apes managed to avoid such a critical situation. Hominids have learned to take care of two, three, four cubs at the same time. But this required more time, effort and attention, which the female had to devote to her offspring. She was forced to give up many other forms of activity, including the search for food. This was done by males and childless females. The release of the forelimbs from participating in movement made it possible to bring more food for females and cubs. In the current situation, movement on four limbs became unnecessary. On the contrary, upright walking gave hominids a number of advantages, the most valuable of which turned out to be the possibility of making tools after 2 million years.

Social factors of human evolution. The creation and use of tools increased the adaptability of ancient man. From that moment on, any hereditary changes in his body that turned out to be useful in instrumental activity were fixed by natural selection. The forelimbs underwent an evolutionary transformation. Judging by the fossils and tools, the working position of the hand, the way of gripping, the position of the fingers, and the force tension gradually changed. In the technology of making tools, the number of strong blows was reduced, the number of small and precise movements of the hand and fingers increased, the factor of force began to give way to the factor of accuracy and dexterity.

A consequence of the use of tools for cutting carcasses and cooking on fire was a decrease in the load on the chewing apparatus. On the human skull, those bony protrusions to which powerful chewing muscles are attached gradually disappeared. The skull became more rounded, the jaws - less massive, the facial section - straightened (Fig. 101).

Rice. 101. Change in the proportions of the skull during the evolution of hominoids

An instrument of labor can be made only if a mental image and a conscious purpose of labor are formed in the imagination of its creator. Human labor activity helped to develop the ability to reproduce in the mind coherent ideas about objects and manipulations with them.

A sufficiently developed brain, which allowed a person to associate various sounds and ideas, had to serve as a prerequisite for the development of speech. Speech owes its origin to the imitation and modification of various natural sounds (voices of animals, instinctive cries of the person himself). The benefits of community rallying through speech cues were becoming apparent. Training and imitation made speech more and more articulate and perfect.

In this way, distinctive features human - thinking, speech, ability to tool activity - arose in the course and on the basis of its biological development. Thanks to these features, a person has learned to withstand the adverse effects of the environment to such an extent that his further development began to be determined not so much by biological factors as by the ability to create perfect tools, arrange dwellings, get food, raise livestock and grow edible plants. The formation of these skills occurs through training and is possible only in the conditions of human society, i.e. in social environment. Therefore, tool activity, along with the social way of life, speech and thinking, is called the social factors of human evolution. Children who grew up isolated from people do not know how to speak, are not capable of mental activity to interact with other people. Their behavior is more reminiscent of the behavior of animals, among which they found themselves shortly after birth.

The formation of man is inextricably linked with the formation of human society. In other words, anthropogenesis is inseparable from sociogenesis. Together they constitute a single process of the formation of mankind - anthroposociogenesis.

Correlation of biological and social factors in human evolution. Biological factors played a decisive role in the early stages of hominin evolution. Almost all of them are still active today. Mutational and combinative variability support the genetic heterogeneity of humanity. Fluctuations in the number of people during epidemics, wars randomly change the frequency of genes in human populations. These factors together provide material for natural selection, which operates at all stages of human development (culling of gametes with chromosomal rearrangements, stillbirths, barren marriages, death from diseases, etc.).

The only biological factor that has lost its significance in the evolution of modern man is isolation. In the age of perfect technical means The constant migration of people has led to the fact that there are almost no genetically isolated population groups left.

Over the past 40 thousand years, the physical appearance of people has not changed much. But this does not mean the end of the evolution of man as a biological species. It should be noted that 40 thousand years is only 2% of the time of the existence of the human race. It is extremely difficult to catch the morphological changes of a person in such a short period of time on a geological scale.

As human society developed special shape links between generations in the form of continuity of material and spiritual culture. By analogy with the system of inheritance of genetic information, we can talk about the system of inheritance of cultural information. Their differences are as follows. Genetic information is passed from parents to offspring. Cultural information is available to anyone. The death of a person leads to the irrevocable disappearance of a unique combination of his genes. On the contrary, the experience accumulated by a person flows into the universal culture. Finally, the rate of dissemination of cultural information is much greater than the rate of transmission of genetic information. The consequence of these differences is that modern man as a social being develops much faster than as a biological being.

In the course of evolution, man has acquired the greatest advantage. He learned to maintain harmony between his unchanging body and changing nature. This is the qualitative originality of human evolution.

human races. In modern humanity, there are three main races: Caucasoid, Mongoloid and Equatorial (Negro-Australoid). Races are large groups people who are different outward signs, such as skin color, eyes and hair, hair shape, facial features. The formation of racial characteristics was facilitated by the fact that human settlement on Earth 100-10 thousand years ago took place in small groups that made up a small part of the original population. This led to the fact that the newly formed isolated populations differed from each other in the concentrations of certain genes. Since the population of the Earth during this period was very small (no more than 3 million people 15 thousand years ago), the newly formed populations in different parts light evolved in isolation from each other.

in different climatic conditions under the influence of natural selection, on the basis of differing gene pools, characteristic external features human races. However, this did not lead to the formation of different species, and representatives of all races are classified as one biological species - Homo sapiens. According to the ability to know, to labor activity, creativity all races are the same. At present, racial traits are not adaptive. population increase, a sharp decline the level of isolation of populations, fade out racial, ethnic and religious prejudices lead to the blurring of interracial differences. Apparently, in the future these differences should disappear.
  1. What is meant by the biological and social factors of human evolution?
  2. Anthropogenesis is inseparable from sociogenesis. Justify this statement.
  3. On the concrete examples show you are unique biological forms(which, undoubtedly, is a person) can be formed as a result of the action of ordinary biological factors.
  4. Summing up the discussion possible ways human development from some lower form, C. Darwin in his book "The Origin of Man and Sexual Selection" concluded that "the physical signs acquired as a result of natural selection, and some - sexual selection. The Duke of Argyll remarked that, on the whole, "the organization of man has deviated from that of animals in the direction of greater physical helplessness and weakness—an evasion which, of all others, can least be ascribed to natural selection." Darwin came out brilliantly from this situation. And what would you answer from the standpoint of modern knowledge about human evolution?
  5. Does the evolution of man as a biological species continue? Do you think that Homo sapiens will remain a single species?
  6. Give examples that prove that cultural development humanity goes much faster than biological. Why?

Biological factors of anthropogenesis in human evolution. Man is the latest biological species that appeared in the evolution of the organic world. Such factors of the evolution of the organic world as hereditary variability, the struggle for existence and natural selection occupy a significant place in human evolution. These natural patterns in human evolution Ch. Darwin proved on specific examples. Due to the influence of natural factors, important anatomical and physiological changes occurred in the body of ancient apes. As a result, the great apes gradually developed upright posture, the functions of the arms and legs were divided, and the hands adapted to the manufacture of tools. Natural selection created favorable conditions for certain groups of people to improve tools, collective hunting and care for elderly people. As a result of such activities, group selection took place simultaneously with individual selection. However, biological laws alone are not enough to explain anthropogenesis. In his writings, F. Engels (1820-1895) proved great value here and social factors. He especially noted work, the social way of life, consciousness and speech.

Labor is the most important factor in human evolution. Any work begins with the manufacture of tools, carried out with the help of hands. F. Engels highly appreciated the role of labor in the development of man. He wrote that "labor is the first basic condition of all human life, and to such an extent that we in a certain sense must say: labor created man himself. "If so, then the main social driving force anthropogenesis is labor. Some great apes can use simple tools, but are unable to create them. Animals influence nature through their vital activity, while man changes it in the process of conscious labor.

Human influence on nature is significant and diverse. As a result of labor, our ape-like ancestors developed morphological and physiological changes called anthropomorphosis. Labor is the main factor in human evolution. Monkeys lived in the forests, climbing trees, then gradually descended to the ground. This change in their lifestyle created the conditions for walking on two legs. The transition to upright posture "became a decisive step on the path from ape to man" (F. Engels). As a result of upright walking, an S-shaped bend of the human spine appeared, which gave elasticity to the body. The foot (metatarsal bones) became more curved, springy, pelvic bones expanded, strengthened the sacrum, the jaws became lighter. Such hereditary changes continued for millions of years. The transition to upright posture led to certain difficulties: the speed of movement was limited, the fusion of the sacrum with the thigh made childbirth difficult, the heavy weight of a person led to flat feet. But thanks to upright walking, a person's hands were freed for the manufacture of tools.

IN initial period formation, his hand was underdeveloped and could perform only the most simple actions. Due to heredity, such traits were preserved and passed on to the next generation. F. Engels explained that the hand is not only an organ of labor, but also a product of labor. With the free hand, our ape-like ancestors could use simple tools made of stone and animal bones. All this influenced their level of thinking, behavior and contributed to the improvement of tools. The development of labor led to an increase in the role of social factors in anthropogenesis, but gradually weakened the action of biological laws (Fig. 58).

Rice. 58.

Public way of life as the driving force of human evolution. Any vital actions of animals are carried out reflexively and instinctively. The transition to the herd way of life of animals occurred due to natural selection. From the very beginning, labor was social, and the first ape-like ancestors of man lived in herds. Therefore, F. Engels emphasized that it would be wrong to look for the ancestors of man, the most social being in nature, among non-social animals. Group labor contributed to the development of social relationships, the rallying of members of society, they collectively hunted animals, defended themselves from predators, and raised children. Senior members of society passed on life experience to the younger ones. Man gradually learned how to make and keep fire.

Our distant ancestors gradually switched from plant foods to animal foods. Meat food provided the human body with the necessary useful amino acids, so he began to improve hunting tools and fishing. The transition to meat food led to changes in the human body, such as shortening of the intestines, the development of chewing muscles. The use of fire also made life easier for our ancestors.

With a social way of life, the ancestors of man had great opportunities for the knowledge of nature, the accumulation of life experience. The joint activity of members of the society necessitated communication with gestures and sounds. The first words were directly related to labor activity. Gradually, the larynx, the organs of the oral cavity, as a result of hereditary variability and natural selection, were transformed into organs of articulate speech.

Man, like animals, perceives signals from the outside world through irritation of the senses. This is the first signal system. The second signaling system is associated with the higher nervous activity of a person. The emergence of speech, the relationship of ancestors through the word contributed to the development of the brain, thinking - speech gradually turned into a means of education. Speech strengthened the communication of our ancestors, contributed to the development of social relations. The evolution of our ancestors took place under the combined action of biological and social factors. Natural selection gradually lost its significance as the leading factor in the evolution of human society. On the contrary, social factors (labor, speech) have become fundamental in human evolution. If morphological and physiological features of a person are inherited, then the abilities for collective labor activity, thinking and speech have never been inherited and are not transmitted now. These specific qualities of a person historically arose and improved under the influence of social factors and develop in each person in the process of his individual development only in society through upbringing and education. Notable cases sufficiently long isolation of the child with early age from human society (upbringing by animals) showed that when he returns to normal conditions, his ability to speak, think, he develops very poorly or does not develop at all. This confirms that these qualities are not inherited. Each older generation passes on life experience, knowledge, spiritual values ​​to the next in the process of upbringing and education. With the development of society, the work of people became more diverse. Various branches of the economy appeared, industry developed, science, art, trade, and religion arose. Tribes formed nations, states.

Thus, the main driving forces of anthropogenesis were biological (hereditary variability, struggle for existence and natural selection) and social factors ( labor activity, social way of life, speech and thinking) (Scheme 2).

There are three main stages in the social evolution of man.

The first is the knowledge of the environment through works of art. For example, rock paintings.

The second stage is directly related to the domestication of wild animals and the development of agriculture. Thus, man began to influence the natural environment.

The third stage is the development of scientific and technological progress, which began in the 15th century. during the Renaissance. At present, the human mind has become the main social factor. Humanity, having spread widely to the globe, is mastering outer space. The biosphere inhabited by people passes into the noosphere controlled by the human mind.

Biological factors of anthropogenesis. Social factors of anthropogenesis. Anthropomorphosis. Cro-Magnon. Noosphere.

1. The biological factors of anthropogenesis include hereditary variability, the struggle for existence and natural selection.

2. Labor is the main step in human evolution.

3. Progressive changes in human evolution are the making of tools by hand and the transition to upright posture.

4. The social way of life, speech, thinking, mind have become the main social driving forces of evolution.

1. What are the biological driving forces of anthropogenesis?

2. Explain the importance of social factors in human evolution.

3. What signs have developed in the structure of the human body as a result of upright walking?

1. What is the role of labor in human evolution?

2. What is the place of speech in human evolution?

3. What is anthropomorphosis!

1. Describe social factors.

2. Name three stages of human social evolution.

3. What is the current influence of social factors on human evolution?

Explain with examples the driving forces of evolution using diagram 2, which shows the biological and social driving forces of human evolution.