1. Man and the Environment: An Overview
M. Stafford
8/07

2. Note taking - Remember
Cornell Style – questions, comments, points of emphasis in margin.
Summarize slides
Add information from discussion

3. Origins Homo sapiens Latin “wise man”
Humans and apes share ancestry (Hominoids)
Hominids are humans and direct ancestors

4. The Early Days 30-35 million years ago (mya) Tree dwellers
Tropical environments

5. 20 MYA Indian Plate collides with the Asian Plate Himalayas form
Results Africa drier
More Savanna
Arboreal ancestors adapted to less life in the trees

6. 5-7 MYA Humans and Apes diverged (split) Differences in: Brain size
Jaw shape (shorter)
Family structure (extended parental care)
Australopithecus

7. We are pretty recent and there have been many species of human-like organisms
Homo habilis 2.5 – 1.6 mya
Larger brain and stone tools

8. 1.8 to 500,000 Years Ago Homo erectus migrates out of Africa
Taller, larger brains

9. 200,000 to 30,000 Years ago Neanderthals in Europe
Very similar to modern humans (we may have shared DNA)
Art and burial ceremonies
Used Stone tools

10. Approximately 100,000 Years ago
Migrations throughout Asia and Europe
May have been due to climate change and/or increasing populations
Several hypotheses

11. Modern Humans Survival Strategies
Hunter-gatherer
Gather natural foods
Hunt
Extinction of North American Megafauna
Nomadic
Beginning of division of labor

12. Hunter -gatherer Valued old people
Make little or no effort to control the natural resources in an area in which they live
Possible exception (fire)

13. Hunter-gatherer Small environmental impact
Population density remained low
Result:
Environment has time to regenerate
Disease does not become pandemic

14. Agricultural Societies
Originated about 10,000 years ago in several areas
Middle East, Asia, Africa and possibly the Americas
Produced crops and domesticated animals

15. Agricultural Societies
Agriculture caused two changes in society
Reduced Nomadism
Increased division of labor

16. Inventions followed such as the plow
Populations increased
Food excesses meant that some did not need to farm which leads to formation of cities with craftsmen, manufacturing and trade networks

17. Agricultural Societies
If an agricultural society can live within the limits of its environment, it can sustain indefinitely

18. Agricultural Societies
Early agriculture rotated crops and left some fields fallow
Now logging and overgrazing often result in loss of soil followed by loss of vegetation, climate change and desertification

19. Industrial Societies
1700’s Production of goods switched from skilled craftspeople to machines
Coal-fired steam engine allowed for mass production of goods

20. Mass production and advances in agriculture resulted in more food produced by fewer people

21. Industrial Society Defined
Society in which the production of food and other products is performed by machines, demanding large amounts of energy and resources.

22. Scientific advances:
Increased crop yields
Medical advances

23. The population rises dramatically
Along with this is the industrialization of many aboriginal societies
Increased energy use and human population

25. End result:
Environmental damage

26. Pollution of land, air and water is a widespread problem of the 20th and 21st century.

27. End