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The ascent of man: an introduction to human evolution
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August 8, 2024
AN INTRODUCTORY TEXT BY A FAMED PALEOANTHROPOLOGIST
David Pilbeam is the Henry Ford II Professor of the Social Sciences at Harvard University and curator of paleoanthropology at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology.
He wrote in the Preface to this 1972 book, “In the century since Charles Darwin wrote ‘The Descent of Man,’ the physical evolution of man from some ape-like or monkey-like ancestors has become quite widely accepted as fact… Since Darwin’s hypothesis, the fossil evidence accumulated has, first, overwhelmingly attested that human evolution did occur and that man and the other primates are cousins, sharing common ancestors, and, second, allowed us at least an over-all view of the course of human evolution… Reliable studies of living mammals under natural conditions … have enriched our knowledge of the relationships between structure, function, behavior, and ecology… Since natural selection favors adaptive behaviors rather than simply morphologies… we are now in the position to construct realistic dynamic models of human evolution. The evolution of man’s distinctive social behavior …and, above all, his culture, is to most of us still a mystery. It is this aspect of human evolution that has proven most difficult to grapple with… It is hoped that this … book, revised ten years from now, will not only have the fossils sorted out properly but also propose models for social evolution that are plausible, perhaps even testable.”
He states, “the earliest hominids were probably vegetarian ground feeders, foraging in open areas… They were quite likely not habitual bipeds… Sometime in the Pliocene… hominids shifted from being vegetarian foragers to hunters and gatherers. This fundamental… behavior shift eventually brought with it many other profound changes. The basic economic unit became a male plus a female…” (Pg. 12)
He notes, “Chimpanzee social behavior shows … resemblances to our own. Facial expressions, gestures, and postures are very similar. They indulge at times in display behavior analogous to dancing, the animals charging around together---frequently bipedally---vocalizing loudly. In zoos… They exhibit a rudimentary sense of composition and paint with as much skill as a human child does before reaching the representational stage.” (Pg. 39)
He asserts, “the fossil evidence points to a radiation of the apes in the Oligocene and Miocene, with chimpanzee and gorilla ancestors possibly being distinct as long ago as 15 million or 20 million years… Recently, this fossil framework has been questioned by … those who have been involved with the study of the comparative biochemistry of primates. Drs. Sarich and Wilson have surveyed serum albumins … in a variety of living primates and have derived estimates of the relative ‘distance’ between pairs of species… they have calculated the times of divergence of various lineages… These ‘dates’ do not agree at all well with estimates derived from the fossil evidence. There is reason to believe that some of the assumptions made in arriving at the biochemical ages may not be correct… For the moment, let us assume that the fossil framework is acceptable.” (Pg. 46-48)
He explains, “Man shares a number of postcranial features with the other hominids that probably reflect his evolution from an armswinging ancestor… The main changes in upper limb morphology are due to the fact that the human hand and forelimb are no longer utilized in locomotion but instead have become involved almost exclusively in manipulating objects---tools, weapons, and other parts of the environment.” (Pg. 62)
He states, “Perhaps the most profound differences between man and other animals are behvioral. Complexity and organization of behavior are directly related to the fact that the brain of H. sapiens is greatly enlarged compared with the brains of other primates… we have to rely on indirect evidence… for there are unfortunately no brains fossilized so that their internal structure is preserved… Another source of information is study of the internal structure and organization of brains of living primates.” (Pg. 71-73)
He says, “One important difference between men and apes, the development of which cannot be traced in the fossil record, concerns the structure of the human integument [i.e., the tissue surrounding an organism's body]… The apes are covered with long, coarse hairs, their sins have few sweat glands, and pigmentation is confined to the deep layers of the skin… In contrast, men are much less hairy..” (Pg. 82)
He explains, “The hominids appear to have evolved as forest or forest-fringe animals feeding in open spaces in wooded areas… The brain increased in size, probably as a result of internal reorganization associated with basic behavioral changes. These changes are most likely to have resulted in a brain capable of language production and tool making, the type of brain that could impose arbitrary form upon its environment, thus generating at least the beginnings of what was to become human culture.” (Pg. 152)
He acknowledges, “Little is known of the Hominidae of between 11 million and 4 million years ago, but it seems that during this time our ancestors moved from forests into the woodlands and spreading savannas of Africa… Probably the most important adaptations that developed were (1) a trend toward further meat eating requiring hunting and involving food sharing, division of labor between sexes, mor refined communications systems, and so forth, and (2) continuing improvement in the vertebral column, pelvis, and lower limbs associated with the acquisition of habitually erect bipedal locomotor
pattern.” (Pg. 190-191)
This book was a fine introduction to human evolution when it was first published.
David Pilbeam is the Henry Ford II Professor of the Social Sciences at Harvard University and curator of paleoanthropology at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology.
He wrote in the Preface to this 1972 book, “In the century since Charles Darwin wrote ‘The Descent of Man,’ the physical evolution of man from some ape-like or monkey-like ancestors has become quite widely accepted as fact… Since Darwin’s hypothesis, the fossil evidence accumulated has, first, overwhelmingly attested that human evolution did occur and that man and the other primates are cousins, sharing common ancestors, and, second, allowed us at least an over-all view of the course of human evolution… Reliable studies of living mammals under natural conditions … have enriched our knowledge of the relationships between structure, function, behavior, and ecology… Since natural selection favors adaptive behaviors rather than simply morphologies… we are now in the position to construct realistic dynamic models of human evolution. The evolution of man’s distinctive social behavior …and, above all, his culture, is to most of us still a mystery. It is this aspect of human evolution that has proven most difficult to grapple with… It is hoped that this … book, revised ten years from now, will not only have the fossils sorted out properly but also propose models for social evolution that are plausible, perhaps even testable.”
He states, “the earliest hominids were probably vegetarian ground feeders, foraging in open areas… They were quite likely not habitual bipeds… Sometime in the Pliocene… hominids shifted from being vegetarian foragers to hunters and gatherers. This fundamental… behavior shift eventually brought with it many other profound changes. The basic economic unit became a male plus a female…” (Pg. 12)
He notes, “Chimpanzee social behavior shows … resemblances to our own. Facial expressions, gestures, and postures are very similar. They indulge at times in display behavior analogous to dancing, the animals charging around together---frequently bipedally---vocalizing loudly. In zoos… They exhibit a rudimentary sense of composition and paint with as much skill as a human child does before reaching the representational stage.” (Pg. 39)
He asserts, “the fossil evidence points to a radiation of the apes in the Oligocene and Miocene, with chimpanzee and gorilla ancestors possibly being distinct as long ago as 15 million or 20 million years… Recently, this fossil framework has been questioned by … those who have been involved with the study of the comparative biochemistry of primates. Drs. Sarich and Wilson have surveyed serum albumins … in a variety of living primates and have derived estimates of the relative ‘distance’ between pairs of species… they have calculated the times of divergence of various lineages… These ‘dates’ do not agree at all well with estimates derived from the fossil evidence. There is reason to believe that some of the assumptions made in arriving at the biochemical ages may not be correct… For the moment, let us assume that the fossil framework is acceptable.” (Pg. 46-48)
He explains, “Man shares a number of postcranial features with the other hominids that probably reflect his evolution from an armswinging ancestor… The main changes in upper limb morphology are due to the fact that the human hand and forelimb are no longer utilized in locomotion but instead have become involved almost exclusively in manipulating objects---tools, weapons, and other parts of the environment.” (Pg. 62)
He states, “Perhaps the most profound differences between man and other animals are behvioral. Complexity and organization of behavior are directly related to the fact that the brain of H. sapiens is greatly enlarged compared with the brains of other primates… we have to rely on indirect evidence… for there are unfortunately no brains fossilized so that their internal structure is preserved… Another source of information is study of the internal structure and organization of brains of living primates.” (Pg. 71-73)
He says, “One important difference between men and apes, the development of which cannot be traced in the fossil record, concerns the structure of the human integument [i.e., the tissue surrounding an organism's body]… The apes are covered with long, coarse hairs, their sins have few sweat glands, and pigmentation is confined to the deep layers of the skin… In contrast, men are much less hairy..” (Pg. 82)
He explains, “The hominids appear to have evolved as forest or forest-fringe animals feeding in open spaces in wooded areas… The brain increased in size, probably as a result of internal reorganization associated with basic behavioral changes. These changes are most likely to have resulted in a brain capable of language production and tool making, the type of brain that could impose arbitrary form upon its environment, thus generating at least the beginnings of what was to become human culture.” (Pg. 152)
He acknowledges, “Little is known of the Hominidae of between 11 million and 4 million years ago, but it seems that during this time our ancestors moved from forests into the woodlands and spreading savannas of Africa… Probably the most important adaptations that developed were (1) a trend toward further meat eating requiring hunting and involving food sharing, division of labor between sexes, mor refined communications systems, and so forth, and (2) continuing improvement in the vertebral column, pelvis, and lower limbs associated with the acquisition of habitually erect bipedal locomotor
pattern.” (Pg. 190-191)
This book was a fine introduction to human evolution when it was first published.
February 28, 2024
This fine one-volume summary of our understanding of human evolution was assigned in my Anthropology class in 1974. The book starts with an introduction discussing the primates and the general adaptations of the hominids. The explanation of the evolutionary process which follows may be outdated. However, specimens and various fossil fields are described at length, and the illustrations are all superbly done.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews