Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
Region V
Division of Masbate Province
Southern Masbate Roosevelt College, Inc.

School Grade level 11 Quarter 1st

Teacher Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics

Learning Area

Teaching Date and Time

The learner demonstrates an understanding of the human

A. Content Standards origins and their capacity for culture.

The learner analyze key features of interrelationships of

B. Performance Standards biological, cultural, and sociopolitical processes in human
evolution that can still be used and developed.
I. OBJECTIVES
The learner should be able to:

1. trace the biological and cultural evolution of early to

modern humans (UCSP11/12HBS-Ie-12)

Specifically:
C. Learning a) understand the biological makeup of humans,
Competencies/Objectives b) identify the origin of humans and their capacity for
culture; and
c) recognize the industries that first introduced tools to
humanity
d) Explore the significance of human material remains
as pieces of artifactual evidence in interpreting
cultural and social, political, and economic
processes.
e) Recognize national, local, amd specialized museum,
and archaeological and historical sites as venues to
appreciate and reflect on the complexities of
biocultural and social evolution as part of being and
becoming human.

II. CONTENT (Subject Matter/Lesson) Human Evolution and Culture

1. Teacher’s Guide pages
A. REFERENCES
III. LEARNING
Not Available
RESOURCES
2. Learner’s Materials pages Not Available
3. Textbook pages Understanding Culture, Society and Politics
p.13-22
4. Additional Materials from
Learning Resource portal
B. Other Learning Resources
TEACHER’S ACTIVITY STUDENT’S ACTIVITY
The teacher will ask the students
about the previous topic.
 A. Reviewing previous lessons What is the differrence between
nationality and ethnicity?

“ Yes, Mr. Bunda.”

“Ma’am I just
scratched my head, I
didn’t raise my hand

“Okay, but can you give us the

difference between nationality and
ethnicity?”

“Ma’am from what I

remembered,
nationality is the
identity that is tied to
being part of a nation
or country, while
ethnicity is being part
IV. PROCEDURES of smaller cultural
groups that share
specific environments
traditions, and histories
that are not necessarily
subscribed to by the
mainstream culture “

“Very good, thankyou very much

Mr. Bunda, let’s give him a round
of applause.”

“Now, who can give the purpose

of Biological Egalitarianism?
Why was biological egalitarianism
made by the scholars?”
“Ma’am I want to try”

“Yes Ms. Diaz.”

“Biological
Egalitarianism was
made to promote
equality for all races. It
is to prevent further
discrimination to races,
especially to the black
americans and
africans.”

“Thank you very much for your

answer Ms. Diaz, Very good!.
Let’s give her a round of applause
everyone.”
B. Establishing a purpose for the “We will be playing a game called
lesson BLOBS AND LINES.
 “Here is the mechanics of the
game: organize yourselves in
a line (for example, in
alphabetical order of last name) or
in blobs according to something
you have in common (birth
month)
The students will
actively participate

 Line up in chronological order

of your birthdays

 Line up in order of how many

siblings you have

 Find those who are allergic to

the same things as you

 Gather with those who have

the same colored clothing as
you

 Line up in alphabetical order

of your fathers’ names

 Gather in four blobs: those

who traveled by car to class,
those who traveled by bicycle,
those who traveled by
motorcycle and those who
traveled another way

 Line up in a chronological
order of your height

 Gather up with those who has

the same birth month

 Gather up those who failed

their midterm examinations in
this subject

C. Presenting examples/instances of The teacher will paste pictures in

the new lesson the board.

The pictures are about the

comparison of brain size among
primates, vocal tract comparison
between chimpanzee and human,
and the comparison of the hands
of selected primates and human.
 “Observe the pictures pasted on
the board. In a 1 whole sheet of
paper, write your observations
about each picture, and explain
what you think is the reason about
the differences of everything that
is in the picture”

The students will get a

sheet of paper and start
writing about their
observations. Answers
between students may
vary.
D. Discussing new concepts and CULTURAL BEGINNINGS
practicing new skills #1
Culture is defined as "that
complex whole which
encompasses beliefs, practices,
values, attitudes, laws, norms,
artifacts, symbols, knowledge, and
everything that a person learns
and shares as a member of a
society" (Tylor, 2010)

Biological Capacity for Culture

The need to scrutinize human
anatomy to understand culture is
indispensable. Physical and
cultural anthropologists argue that
we could trace how culture
became possible by understanding
our biological makeup.

1. Our thinking capacity

The primary biological component
of humans that allowed for culture
is the developed brain. It has the
necessary parts for facilitating
pertinent skills such as speaking,
touching, feeling, seeing, and
smelling.
The frontal lobe and the motor
cortex function for cognition and
motor abilities. The parietal lobe
allows for touch and taste
abilities. The temporal lobe
allows for hearing skills. The
occipital lobe allows for visual
skills.

Compared with other primates,

humans have a larger brain,
weighing 1.4 kg Chimpanzees
have a brain weighing only 420 g,
and those of gorillas weigh 500 g.
Due to the size of their brain and
the complexity of its parts,
humans were able to create
survival skills that helped them
adapt to their environment and
outlive their less adaptive
biological relatives.

2. Our speaking capacity

As the brain is the primary source
of humans' capacity to
comprehend sound and provide
meaning to it, the vocal tract acts
as the mechanism by which
sounds are produced and
reproduced to transmit ideas and
values. A longer vocal tract means
that there is a longer vibration
surface, allowing humans to
produce a wider array of sounds.
The tongue of humans is also
more flexible allowing for more
control in making sounds.
Traditional scientific belief pegs
the development of language at
100 000 years ago, making it an
exclusive trait of the modern
human. However, Dan Dediu
from the Max Planck Institute for
Psycholinguistics in the
Netherlands argued that the origin
of language may be rooted as far
back as 500 000 years ago based
on the discovered bone fragment
from an ancestor known as Homo
heidelbergensis. This fossil is a
hyoid bone which is "crucial for
speaking as it supports the root of
the tongue" (Hogenboom, 2013)
Homo neanderthalensis
(Neanderthals), our nearest
relative, was also found to have
the same bone, which functions
similarly as ours. Hence, current
arguments include that the
Neanderthals were a truly human
species

3. Our gripping capacity

Look at your hands. Notice how
your thumb relates with your other
fingers. This capacity to directly
oppose your thumb with your
other fingers is an exclusive trait
of humans. It allowed us to have a
finer grip. Thus, we have the
capability to craft materials with
precision.
The hand of a human has digits
(fingers) that are straight; notice
that the thumb of the human is
proportionately longer. These
characteristics of the human hand
allowed for two types of grip:
power and precision. Power grip
enabled humans to wrap the
thumb and fingers on an object; it
became the cornerstone of our
capacity to hold tools firmly for
hunting and other activities.
Precision grip enabled humans to
hold and pick objects steadily
using their fingers. This capacity
was crucial for tool-making
activities.

4. Our walking/standing
capacity
Primates have two forms of
locomotion: bipedalism and
quadropedalism. Bipedalism is
the capacity to walk and stand on
two feet, whereas
quadropedalism uses all four
limbs. Although apes are semi-
bipedal, humans are the only fully
bipedal primates. Being bipedal,
humans gained more capacity to
move while carrying objects with
their free hands. This is an
important trait, as it gave humans Answers may vary
more productivity with their
 hands. Apart from this, humans
gained a more efficient form of
locomotion suitable for hunting
and foraging.

ACTIVITY 1

1. What are the four capacities

that enabled human to develop
culture?

2. What is the significance of

studying human biology in
understanding cultural capacity?
3. If our biological make up is the
same as the primates, and the only
difference is our capability to
rationalize, would culture still
form in the early ages? Why or
why not?

E. Discussing new concepts and HUMAN ORIGINS AND THE

practicing skills #2 CAPACITY FOR CULTURE

Our evolution toward humanity as

we know it has been a long
journey of survival against the
elements of the environment and
against competing species. As our
ancestors evolved biologically in
response to their environment,
they have also developed cultural
technologies that aided them to
efficiently obtain food and deter
predators. Archaeologists refer to
these early traditions as stone tool
industries instead of culture, as
the material products of these
periods merely display the
methods used by early humans in
creating tools and not the modern
context by which we define it.
It is believed that the crudest
methods of tool making may have
been practiced by the earlier
Australopithecines (A. afarensis
and A. africanus). These methods
may have involved the use of
wood as digging sticks or even
crude spears. Although there is no
archaeological evidence to prove
this claim, it is being assumed that
the earlier homos had at least this
capacity, which is observed
among present-day chimpanzees.
Some contest this perspective,
arguing that the evidence of stone
tool usage found in the Dikika
region in Ethiopia, Africa, puts
the timeframe to 3.4 million years
ago, the period of the
Australopithecines. These pieces
of evidence include grooved and
fractured bone fossils. However,
as the pieces of evidence are not
as conclusive as the other
discoveries, current archaeological
and anthropological timelines
suggest that toolmaking started
2.6 million years ago.

The Oldowan Industry

The Oldowan industry, a stone

tool industry, is characterized by
the use of "hard water worn creek
cobbles made out of volcanic
rock" ("Neil, 2012). These raw
materials were then made into
tools through percussion flaking,
which is a process involving the
systematic collision of a hammer
stone with a core stone. The
impact of the collision produces a
core tool (used for general
purposes) and a flake tool (used
as a knife),
Supporting the existence of this
industry is the evidence found by
Mary and Louis Leakey at
Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, which
was dated at 2.6 million years
ago. This industry is known to
have been used by Homo habilis
These forms of technology
allowed for the species to "butcher
large animals, because human
teeth and fingers are totally
inadequate for cutting through
thick skins and slicing off pieces
of meat. Evidence of their use in
this manner can be seen in cut
marks that still are visible on
bones" and it improved their food
gathering skills using the
"hammering, digging, and
chopping implements"" (O'Neil,
2012).

From Africa, this industry spread

out to Europe and Asia during
the migration of Homo erectus,
who acquired it from Homo
habilis within 1.9-1.8 million
years ago. By 1.8-1.6 million
years ago, the Oldowan industry
has already reached Java,
Indonesia, and Northern China

The Acheulian Industry

Homo erectus developed a more

complex industry from what they
inherited from Home habilis
Using the same process of
percussion flaking. Homo erectus
created hand axes that were
bifacial, shaped in both sides, and
with straighter and sharper edges
Some archaeologists contest the
general label of "hand axes," as
the stone implements may have
been used in different context.
However, it is still generally
accepted that these stone
implements were used in multiple
activities such as light chopping of
wood, digging up roots and bulbs,
butchering animals, and cracking
nuts and small bones .Tools that
were made were kept and not
disposed of like the tools in the
Oldowan industry, as the tools of
the latter set were more useful due
to their generic application. Homo
erectus made other tools such as
"choppers, cleavers, and hammers
as well as flakes used as knives
and scrapers (O'Neil, 2012).

This industry was named after

Saint Acheul, a patron saint in
southwest France, as these
artifacts were discovered in the
area. The artifacts date to 1.5
million years ago. Although this
industry is believed to have
originated in East Africa, scholars
argue that its extensive use may
have been out of Africa as Homo
erectus invented this industry and
brought it to Europe 500 000-900
000 years ago and to China 800
000 years ago. As no evidence is
found in other parts of Asia
signifying the usage of this
industry, scholars proposed that
the region may have
accommodated an industry that
used perishable materials such as
bamboo and other trees.

The Mousterian Industry

This industry was developed by

Homo neaderthalensis
(Neanderthals) in Europe and
West Asia between 300 000 and
30 000 years ago. This industry
was named after a site in France
called Le Moustier, where
evidence was uncovered in 1860.
The tools from this industry
combined Acheulian industry
techniques with the Levalloisian
technique, which involved the use
of a premade core tool and the
extraction of a flake tool that has
sharpened edges. This type of
tools is very efficient as all the
sides of the flake tool are
sharpened and, due to the
reduction in size, more handy.
Evidence of this industry dating
back 100 000 years was also
found in Northern Africa and
West Asia, where modern humans
such as that of Qafze migrated.
Most archaeologists hypothesize
that this industry could be an
evidence of acculturation of
modern humans with their
Neanderthal relatives.

The tools are different in terms of

size, shape, and sharpened sides.
These differences are primarily
due to the shifting needs of the
users who were adapting to their
environment as they addressed
their need for food and security. It
could also be said that these are
pieces of evidence of the
development of tradition, as one
efficient trait is borrowed or
passed on to the next generation
or group of species.

By the end of the Palaeolithic

period, early humans have been
engaged in proto-culture type of
industries wherein they did not
just create tools but also started
creating art and other symbolic
materials. For the purposes of our
discussion, two industries shall be
discussed: Aurignacian and
Magdalenian.

The Aurignacian Industry

This industry was mainly present

in Europe and southwest Asia
from 45 000 to 35.000 years ago.
The term Aurignacian was
derived from Aurignac, an area in
France where the evidence for this
industry was found. Users of this
industry used raw materials such
as flint, animal bones, and
antlers. The method they
employed in creating tools such as
fine blades was similar to the
one used in the Mousterian
industry.

Apart from a more advanced

toolmaking industry, what made
this industry a cultural milestone
for the modern humans in Europe
is their development of self-
awareness. This development was
projected through cave paintings
and the fabrication of accessories
such as figurines, bracelets, and
beads.

The cave paintings found in the El

Castillo Cave in Cantabaria,
Spain provide us with a glimpse
of the environment that the early
humans lived in. Most of the
paintings are that of the animals
that existed at that time.
Apart from the animal-themed
figurines, archaeologists also
unearthed human-inspired
figurines. One of which is the
Venus of Schelklingen, which is
also called the Venus of Hohle
Fels. This figurine was sculpted
from a woolly mammoth tusk.
Emphasis was also made by the
artisan on several parts of the
body such as the breasts and the
hips, Scholars theorize that this
emphasis may be due to the
importance of these parts in
childbearing or childrearing.

The earliest evidence of music

appreciation was also related to
this period through the discovery
of a bone flute in Hohle Fels,
Germany.

The Magdalenian Industry

This industry saw the end of the

Paleolithic period as it
transformed to the Neolithic
period. The industry was named
after the La Madeleine site in
Dordogne, France. This industry,
which is also a proto-culture used
by the early humans, was defined
by several revolutionary
advancements in technology such
as the creation of microliths from
flint, bone, antler, and ivory.

Apart from functional tools which

were at times beautified by artistic
engravings, the early humans
during this period were engrossed
in creating figurines, personal
adornments, and other forms of
mobiliary art. A defining method
used in toolmaking during this
period was the application of heat
on the material prior to the flaking
process. This was done by casting
the raw material on fire, which
allowed for a more precise cut
upon flaking.

The creation of specialized

weapons such as barbed
harpoons is evidence of the
growing sophistication of the
hunting skills and technology of
the early humans.

Another cultural milestone for the

users of this industry was the use
of temporary man made shelters
such as tents made of animal
skin. Although the use of rock
shelters and caves were still
predominant during this period,
the creation of tents allowed the
early humans to be more mobile.
The technological development in
this industry has allowed the early
humans to have more leisure time,
as evidenced by their
preoccupation with decorative
materials.

By 10 000 BCE, this industry has

spread to parts of Europe
 including contemporary territories
such as Great Britain, Germany,
Spain, and Poland.

ACTIVITY 2

1. What factors drove the shifts in

tradition and industries of the
early humans? Answers may vary

2. How different was the lifestyle

of the Paleolithic society from the
Neolithic society?

3. Why is the Neolithic period

considered as revolution?
F. Developing Mastery The teacher will paste questions
under the students armchair.

The class will play “Never have I

ever” The students will
participate with the
The teacher will say things that activity.
she hasn’t done yet. The student/s
that has done it will get the paper
under his/her armchair and answer
the question written on it.

The paper will contain objective

questions about the topic taught.
G. Finding practical applications of ACTIVITY 3
concepts and skills in daily living The teacher will group the
students into 5 and will ask the
students to bring the following:
The students will
 ¼ illustration board participate with the
 Pencil activity
 Any coloring material

Make a representation/drawing of
the tools that was developed for
each industry.
H. Making generalizations and The teacher will be calling over
abstractions about the lesson. students to explain to the whole
class about:

Why could humans talk while

other primates cannot?
The students will
answer. Answers May
How special are the human vary
species?
 What makes human special?

I. Evaluating Learning Test I – Box your answer Test I

1. The frontal lobe and motor 1. B

cortext function for ___________ 2. B
A. Thinking and Senses 3. B
B. Cognition and Motor abilities 4. C
C. Motor abilities and Balance 5. C
D. Cognition and Skills
Test II
2. What is the weight of the
human brain? Answers may vary
A. 2.1 g
B. 1.4 kg
C. 1.4 g
D. 2.1 kg

3. This locomotion has the

capacity to walk and stand on two
feet
A. Multipedalism
B. Bipedalism
C. Quadropedalism
D. Tripedalism

4. This a tool making process

involving the systematic collision
of a hammer stone with a core
stone
A. Olduvai
B. Percission Flaking
C. Percussion Flaking
D. Axe Flaking

5. This industry was named after

Saint Acheul, a patron saint in
southwest France, as these
artifacts were discovered in the
area.
A. The Mousterian Industry
B. The Aurignacian Industry
C. The Acheulian Industry
D. The Oldowan Industry

Test II – Short Explanation

Why is there a need to trace our

biological and historical evolution
to understand human cultural
capacity?

J. Additional activities for application The teacher will group the class
or remediation into 5 and will assign a topic for
 each group. Each group is given a
time to make a written report
about the given topic. After
submitting the written report, the
students will report the given
topic. The students will
prepare their reports
for the next meeting
V. REMARKS