Short essay assignment

Short essay assignment Topic: How did “culture” impact the course of hominid evolution; how did the changing cultural behaviour of early Homo influence biological evolution, resulting in modern Homo sapiens? Make sure that you include two to three specific examples of ways in which culture has changed the course of our evolutionary path from Archaic to modern, and explain clearly how the examples you cite demonstrate the point you are making. This assignment is broken up into two stages (see course schedule for due dates): Stage 1 • Write an introductory paragraph for the essay and very briefly (point form is fine) outline the examples you plan to use in the full essay. You must cite at least two different sources in the text, and include a properly formatted reference list at the end. All of this can be done on a single page. • This is designed to make sure that you are on the right track with the content of your essay, and that you know how to correctly reference your material. • You will get feedback on this at least a week before the next stage is due. Stage 2 • Write a 600-700 word essay, using the introductory paragraph you started in Stage 1. Suggestions: • First, what is culture? How are you going to define it for the purposes of the essay? • Think about the various aspects of culture that make up the ancient hominin adaptive strategy. • Do use examples from throughout the course material provided. I want to see that you’ve read the material and that you can pick out some of the key developments in hominid evolution that were related to cultural adaptations. • Explain your examples. Don’t just say “This is an example of culture influencing evolution” – tell me why how this fits with the topic; tell me what changed because of this cultural behaviour. • Do not confuse “cultural evolution” with “culture influencing evolution” – they are not synonymous. Cultural evolution is about how culture changed over time. This essay is about biocultural evolution – how cultural behaviours resulted in physiological and biological changes in the hominid line and not just how culture has shifted. Submit your assignment to the folder designated for each stage.