15. Social development

When Homo heidelbergensis existed in 300,000 BC, their species had well-developed brains because of the meat added to their diet. This was one of the key reasons of how they figured out many of their ideas, which were key to their survival as well as that they helped to socially develop their species. For example, Homo heidelbergensis were the first species in the world to create stone tools. The tools were a great resolution because stone tools helped with hunting, building shelter, defense, and had many more purposes. As Homo heidelbergensis developed, they started to walk on two feet instead of walking on all fours. This new idea was an advantage because they could easily see what was around them. They stood about 4 feet tall instead of being about 2 feet tall as opposed to walking on their hands and feet. This new way of living, however, had its disadvantages as well. Living on two feet requires much more balance than crawling. Because of this disadvantage, newborns demanded looking after until they were able to walk. Childcare was new to Homo heidelbergensis, and therefore, they adapted to the new lifestyle by having the females take care of the young and collect vegetables and easy-access food, while the males were out hunting. Also, If the Homo heidelbergensis stood taller, they could not only see what was around them, but the creatures around them were able to see them much easier as well. They are scavengers because they are not as big and strong as other species of apes and animals that live around them, and therefore, being easier to see makes them a target for prey. This leads to another idea Homo heidelbergensis established which was the moving around in large groups. This was an extremely useful strategy because when species travel in groups, it is less likely for other animals to attack them when the animal feels outnumbered and frightened.

These leading approaches on improving lifestyle are the reasons why Homo heidelbergensis evolved by 300,000 years ago into Neanderthals and archaic humans. Modern humans began to slowly develop about 100,000 years ago. No Homo heidelbergensis remained by 28,000 years ago. From the little communication and knowledge of Homo heidelbergensis, to the wide range of vocabulary and comprehension of the world that we have today, the different species of apes developed tremendously over time and created strategies that proved to be beneficial to their social development.

Sources:

Manual pages 21, 22, 26, and 27

http://www.becominghuman.org/node/homo-heidelbergensis-essay

Image Sources:

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/about-us/news/2006/september/news_9455.html

http://blogs.sundaymercury.net/weirdscience/2011/09/stone-tools-used-18-million-ye.html