What are the biological and cultural changes that have led us to be human, and who we are today?

Question

What does it mean to be human? This is for an anthropology class we have and some of us are stumped on what to write....

Answer 1

1. Grasping (precision grip, thumb opposability, nails instead of claws). Becoming upright allowed us to hold things while walking, so we could bring things back home. (bipedalism)
2. Smell to Sight (stereoscopic, eye placement, brain organization, color vision)
3. Nose to Hand (increasing reliance on sense of touch in fingerpads)
4. Brain Complexity (thought, memory, and association =more elaborate and proportionally larger)
We have the capacity for abstract thought. Displacement is when you can think about things that are not present (past, future, etc)
We are better at making (a lot of) tools and can make a large variety of tools
5. Parental Investment (more opportunities for learning)
6. Sociality (strongly associated with parental investment)

If it's an anthropology class, your teacher/prof is probably looking for something about culture. What really separates us from the rest of the Animal Kingdom is our capacity for culture and cultural transmission.

Answer 2

Tanvi has listed most of the significant changes, however the most important is the development of a discriptive language & the ability explain/communicate things in great detail. This allowed for better transfer of information & detailed plans to be communicated to other members of the group. Abstract thinking is our most important construct.

Answer 3

There are many groups still out there that have yet to reach the necessary biological and cultural changes.

Answer 4

You should be doing your homework by reading the text instead of looking for a free ride on Yahoo Answers.