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Course: 23andMe > Unit 1
Lesson 1: Human prehistoryHuman prehistory 101: Epilogue
Last in a series of videos on human prehistory, this video describes how human populations from different geographical regions have reunited in the modern era. Created by 23andMe.
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What group of people would you say is the most stable, according to evolution?(5 votes)
It all depends on what environment you have them in. Right now, people are pretty safe from evolution because of modern technology. We do not live in a "natural" environment where we must gather food and resources. If you clarify the question, I may be able to answer more.(11 votes)
At1:13it shows a conquistador (perhaps Cortez?) being pelted with arrows, but weren't they considered gods by the natives and at least attempted to maintain peace at first?(5 votes)- Yes, the video oversimplifies this subject somewhat. In many cases (including Cortez's), natives received explorers openly, or even as gods. However, as was the case with Cortez and other explorers of America, continued encroachment by the civilizations that followed these explorers (and other factors, such as Cortez's greed for native goods) generally pitted the natives against the colonizing civilizations.(6 votes)
How come all cultures are starting to fade away? I mean, everyone is still diverse. It's not like you go to another country and all the sudden you are completely different.(5 votes)
Well, yes, there are still many differences between various cultures, but we can already observe that cultures tend to have more and more similarities with each other, and cultures start to subtly "blend" with each other. As stated in the video (1:39), many people in the US can already trace their ancestry to almost any of the major cultures of the world.
Distinct cultures might not actually disappear altogether. They may just acquire more traits from other cultures, and that can be a good thing. For example, there is a gene that confers resistance to HIV (the CCR5-Δ32 mutation), and it is found in 5–14% of people with Northern European ancestry. In due time, this might spread all over the world and benefit everyone! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CCR5(5 votes)
- I know that our geographical location has influenced our culture. However, has culture influenced our biology?(3 votes)
- Culture can influence biology. Behaviors from populations will create selection pressures for certain traits. This link talks about how Japanese people, through their diet (aka culture) have gained seaweed gut bacteria that helps in digestion. http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2010/04/07/gut-bacteria-in-japanese-people-borrowed-sushi-digesting-genes-from-ocean-bacteria/#.UlbebtJwqSo
This next article talks about how the rise of agriculture lead to the ability for adults to digest milk sugars. http://www.nature.com/news/archaeology-the-milk-revolution-1.13471(6 votes)
- At 27 seconds, there are still many culture differences today, so what differences disappeared?(3 votes)
things like human sacrifice and other religious differences, some languages probably changed or died, clothing often changes depending on influences etc. People often adapt to each other by borrowing or being forced to accept changes to their society and culture.(2 votes)
Why did some countries pass on there own cultures or technologies?(2 votes)
To provide future generations with commodities that would enhance the way they live life most likely =)(1 vote)
- How is racism justified if we all come from the same ancestors?(2 votes)
how did language originate and how was the first language formed(1 vote)
Language was just a common system of communication that was taught and shared among a population. Chimpanzees have their own language, its not nearly as complex as ours but they have one, it mostly consists of body language but there are a few sounds. Humans probably made it more advanced as they started to need to communicate more complex things.(2 votes)
- I am always confused as to why Neanderthals are not considered humans. As the last two species on earth and as having come from some common ancestor... I would think they would be. What are they considered? Please don't tell me "Neanderthals" because our ancestors who co-existed with them in Europe/ Asia were the Cro Magnon.(1 vote)
- Of course Neanderthals were humans. Who says they are not? They were not sapiens, but they were humans.(1 vote)
How did people come up with their dialects or language?(1 vote)
Dialects and languages evolve over time as individuals communicate with one another and respond to one another's variations in usage.(1 vote)
1:13Video transcript
500 years ago, trans-oceanic travel became a reality. Since the end of the last Ice Age, farming societies have been absorbing their neighbors, making populations more similar within continents. That when people began to cross oceans, in large numbers, the genetic and cultural differences between people from different continents also began to fade, though not disappear. Many families relocated Willingly, or unwillingly to very distant lands. Sometimes, they found unoccupied lands, and sometimes they found lands occupied, and wished they weren't. And sometimes they found land and labor, and devised ways of exploiting both. All over the world, people separated by thousands of kilometers for thousands of years began meeting once again and producing children. Today, whole regions, like the Americas, are populated by people who can trace their ancestry back to multiple continents. But some small groups are more geographically or culturally isolated, and remain genetically distinguishable. As long distance transportation gets easier and easier, and individual societies become more diverse, languages are being lost, and genetic distinctions across the globe are fading. But these genetic distinctions, are a relatively recent phenomenon in our history. We haven't been separated for very long.