MODULE 4:

SIGNIFICANCE OF
CULTURAL, SOCIAL,
POLITICAL AND
ECONOMIC SYMBOLS
AND PRACTICES
 1. Describe the role of culture
in human adaptation.

2. Evaluate the importance of

artifacts in relation to cultural and
social aspect.

MELC: 3. Form interest on the processes

- Analyze the significance of cultural, social,
involved in cultural and socio-
political and economic symbols and practices.
(UCSP11/12HBS-If-13) political evolutions.
Directions: List 3 tools you can find in your
kitchen and specify its uses.
TOOLS USES

1.

2.

3.
[Link] have you seen in the
pictures?
2. Is it used in the present or in the
past?
3. On a daily basis, what are the
tools used in your home?
4. What is your family’s means of
living?
 ARTIFACT
- ARTIFACT IS AN OBJECT REMAINING FROM A
PARTICULAR PERIOD. AN ARTIFACT, OR ARTIFACT IS
SOMETHING MADE OR GIVEN SHAPE BY HUMANS,
SUCH AS A TOOL OR A WORK OF ART, ESPECIALLY
AN OBJECT OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL INTEREST. IN
ARCHAEOLOGY, HOWEVER, THE WORD HAS BECOME
A TERM OF PARTICULAR NUANCE AND IS DEFINED
AS: AN OBJECT RECOVERED BY ARCHAEOLOGICAL
ENDEAVOR, WHICH MAY BE A CULTURAL ARTIFACT
HAVING CULTURAL INTEREST.
Tool Traditions
 ARTIFACT: Oldowan tools
OLDOWAN TOOLS- ARE PART OF THE
LOWER PALEOLITHIC STAGE OF
TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT. THEY
WERE MADE BY HOMO HABILIS, AND ALSO
BY EARLY HOMO ERECTUS. THERE WERE
TWO MAIN TYPES OF OLDOWAN TOOLS:
CORE TOOLS AND FLAKE TOOLS
 ARTIFACT: Oldowan Tools
1. CORE TOOLS- WERE MADE BY USING A
ROCK AS A HAMMER TO KNOCK FLAKES
OFF ANOTHER STONE, RESULTING IN A
CHOPPING TOOL THAT COULD BE HELD
EASILY IN THE HAND. THE TOOL COULD
ALSO BE USED FOR HAMMERING OR
DIGGING.
 ARTIFACT: Oldowan Tools
2. FLAKE TOOLS - WERE THE FLAKES OF ROCK
THAT WERE REMOVED IN THE PROCESS OF
MAKING THE CORE TOOLS. FLAKE TOOLS
WERE USED AS KNIVES. THEY WERE USED,
FOR EXAMPLE, TO BUTCHER ANIMALS, AS
EVIDENCED BY CUT MARKS ON ANIMAL BONES
FOUND IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE TOOLS.
Acheulian Tools
 Acheulian Tools
HOMO ERECTUS DEVELOPED A MORE COMPLEX TOOL
FROM WHAT THEY INHERITED FROM HOMO HABILIS. USING
THE SAME PROCESS OF PERCUSSION FLAKING, HOMO ERECTUS
CREATED HAND AXES THAT WERE BIFACIAL, SHAPED IN BOTH
SIDES AND WITH STRAIGHTER AND SHARPER EDGES. THESE
STONES WERE USED IN MULTIPLE ACTIVITIES SUCH AS LIGHT
CHOPPING OF WOODS, DIGGING UP ROOTS AND BULBS,
BUTCHERING ANIMALS, CRACKING NUTS AND SMALL BONES.
HOMO ERECTUS MADE OTHER TOOLS SUCH AS CHOPPERS,
CLEAVERS, AND HAMMERS AS WELL AS FLAKES USED AS KNIVES
AND SCRAPERS.
Mousterian Tools
 Mousterian Tools
HOMO
WAS DEVELOPED BY
NEADERTHALENSIS (NEANDERTHALS) IN
EUROPE AND WEST ASIA. THE TOOLS FROM THIS
INDUSTRY COMBINED ACHEULIAN INDUSTRY
TECHNIQUE, WHICH INVOLVED THE USE OF PREMADE
CORE TOOL AND EXTRACTION OF A FLAKE TOOL THAT
HAS SHARPENED EDGES. THIS TYPE OF TOOL IS VERY
EFFICIENT AS ALL THE SIDES OF THE FLAKE TOOL ARE
SHARPENED AND ARE MORE HANDY.
Upper Paleolithic Tools
 Upper Paleolithic Tools
BY ABOUT 75 THOUSAND YEARS AGO, SOME EARLY MODERN
HUMANS BEGAN MAKING TOOLS THAT WERE SIGNIFICANTLY
DIFFERENT FROM THE EARLIER MOUSTERIAN TOOLS. THEY HAVE
BEEN CATEGORIZED IN SEVERAL DIFFERENT TOOL TRADITIONS IN
THE UPPER PALEOLITHIC STAGE OF TECHNOLOGICAL
DEVELOPMENT. THESE NEW TOOLS HAVE BEEN FOUND IN SITES
IN EUROPE AND ELSEWHERE IN THE OLD WORLD AND MORE
RECENTLY IN THE NEW WORLD. THEY RANGE FROM BLADES OF
VARIOUS SHAPES AND SIZES TO BARBED HARPOON HEADS.
 Types of Society
ALTHOUGH HUMANS HAVE ESTABLISHED
MANY TYPES OF SOCIETIES THROUGHOUT
HISTORY, SOCIOLOGISTS AND
ANTHROPOLOGISTS (EXPERTS WHO STUDY
EARLY AND TRIBAL CULTURES) USUALLY REFER
TO SIX BASIC TYPES OF SOCIETIES, EACH
DEFINED BY ITS LEVEL OF TECHNOLOGY.
 Types of Society
HUNTING AND GATHERING SOCIETIES

THE MEMBERS OF HUNTING AND GATHERING

SOCIETIES PRIMARILY SURVIVE BY HUNTING
ANIMALS, FISHING, AND GATHERING PLANTS.
MOST OF THEM WERE NOMADIC, MOVING
CONSTANTLY IN SEARCH OF FOOD AND WATER.
 Types of Society
PASTORAL SOCIETIES
MEMBERS OF PASTORAL SOCIETIES, WHICH FIRST EMERGED
12,000 YEARS AGO, PASTURE ANIMALS FOR FOOD AND
TRANSPORTATION. DOMESTICATING ANIMALS ALLOWS FOR A
MORE MANAGEABLE FOOD SUPPLY THAN DO HUNTING AND
GATHERING. HENCE, PASTORAL SOCIETIES ARE ABLE TO PRODUCE
A SURPLUS OF GOODS, WHICH MAKES STORING FOOD FOR
FUTURE USE A POSSIBILITY. PASTORAL SOCIETIES ALLOW CERTAIN
OF ITS MEMBERS (THOSE WHO ARE NOT DOMESTICATING
ANIMALS) TO ENGAGE IN NON-SURVIVAL ACTIVITIES. TRADERS,
HEALERS, SPIRITUAL LEADERS, CRAFTSPEOPLE, AND PEOPLE WITH
OTHER SPECIALTY PROFESSIONS APPEAR.
 Types of Society
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETIES

HORTICULTURAL SOCIETIES RELY ON CULTIVATING

FRUITS, VEGETABLES, AND PLANTS. THESE SOCIETIES
FIRST APPEARED IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE PLANET
ABOUT THE SAME TIME AS PASTORAL SOCIETIES. LIKE
HUNTING AND GATHERING SOCIETIES, HORTICULTURAL
SOCIETIES HAD TO BE MOBILE. DEPLETION OF THE
LAND'S RESOURCES OR DWINDLING WATER SUPPLIES,
FOR EXAMPLE, FORCED THE PEOPLE TO LEAVE.
 Types of Society
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES USE TECHNOLOGICAL
ADVANCES TO CULTIVATE CROPS (ESPECIALLY
GRAINS LIKE WHEAT, RICE, CORN, AND BARLEY)
OVER A LARGE AREA. SOCIOLOGISTS USE THE
PHRASE AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION TO REFER
TO THE TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGES THAT
OCCURRED AS LONG AS 8,500 YEARS AGO THAT
LED TO CULTIVATING CROPS AND RAISING FARM
ANIMALS.
 Types of Society
FEUDAL SOCIETIES

THE 9TH TO 15TH CENTURIES, FEUDALISM WAS A

FORM OF SOCIETY BASED ON OWNERSHIP OF LAND.
UNLIKE TODAY'S FARMERS, VASSALS UNDER FEUDALISM
WERE BOUND TO CULTIVATING THEIR LORD'S LAND. IN
EXCHANGE FOR MILITARY PROTECTION, THE LORDS
EXPLOITED THE PEASANTS INTO PROVIDING FOOD,
CROPS, CRAFTS, HOMAGE, AND OTHER SERVICES TO
THE OWNER OF THE LAND.
 Types of Society
INDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES
BASED ON USING MACHINES (PARTICULARLY FUEL DRIVEN
ONES) TO PRODUCE GOODS. SOCIOLOGISTS REFER TO THE
PERIOD DURING THE 18TH CENTURY WHEN THE PRODUCTION
OF GOODS IN MECHANIZED FACTORIES BEGAN AS THE
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION.
AS PRODUCTIVITY INCREASED, MEANS OF
TRANSPORTATION IMPROVED TO BETTER FACILITATE THE
TRANSFER OF PRODUCTS FROM PLACE TO PLACE. GREAT
WEALTH WAS ATTAINED BY THE FEW WHO OWNED FACTORIES,
AND THE “MASSES” FOUND JOBS WORKING IN THE
FACTORIES.
 Types of Society
POST-INDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES

SOCIOLOGISTS NOTE THAT WITH THE ADVENT OF THE

COMPUTER MICROCHIP, THE WORLD IS WITNESSING A
TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTION. THIS REVOLUTION IS CREATING A
POSTINDUSTRIAL SOCIETY BASED ON INFORMATION, KNOWLEDGE,
AND THE SELLING OF SERVICES. THAT IS, RATHER THAN BEING
DRIVEN BY THE FACTORY PRODUCTION OF GOODS, SOCIETY IS
BEING SHAPED BY THE HUMAN MIND, AIDED BY COMPUTER
TECHNOLOGY. ALTHOUGH FACTORIES WILL ALWAYS EXIST, THE KEY
TO WEALTH AND POWER SEEMS TO LIE IN THE ABILITY TO
GENERATE, STORE, MANIPULATE, AND SELL INFORMATION.
 PROCESSES OF
CULTURAL AND
SOCIOPOLITICAL
EVOLUTION
 Processes of Cultural
and Sociopolitical
Evolution
THE NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION

THIS PERIOD IS CHARACTERIZED BY A MAJOR

SHIFT IN ECONOMIC SUBSISTENCE OF EARLY
HUMANS FROM FORAGING TO AGRICULTURE.
THIS DRAMATIC SHIFT AFFECTED THE OTHER
ASPECTS OF THEIR LIFESTYLE, AS FORAGING
MADE THEM NOMADS AND AGRICULTURE
ENCOURAGED PERMANENT SETTLEMENT.
Processes of Cultural and
Sociopolitical Evolution
 Early Civilization and the
Rise of the State
THE EARLIEST CIVILIZATIONS ROSE BY THE END OF
THE NEOLITIC PERIOD AS THE COMPLEXITIES
BROUGHT ABOUT BY THE SHIFT IN FOOD PRODUCTION
DEMANDED A MORE RIGID SOCIAL STRUCTURE THAT
WOULD MANAGE THE OPPOSING PERSPECTIVE OF
VARIOUS SECTORS. AS A CONFLICT BETWEEN GROUPS
DEVELOPED AND INTENSIFIED, THE NEED TO CREATE A
MORE COHESIVE SOCIETY BECAME DEFINITE.
 Early Civilization and the Rise
of the State
Early civilizations were characterized by the
presence of city-states, a system of writing and a
ceremonial center where public debates and
decision were made. However, it must be noted
that not all societies during this period could be
considered as civilizations as not all possessed a
political system that could be equated to a state.
A state is apolitical entity that has four requisite
elements: territory, sovereignty, people and
government.
 Democratization of Early
Civilization
The traditional view on the history of
democracy highlights its development among
the city states of ancient Greece, around 507
BCE. It is believed that an Athenian statesman
named Cleisthenes proposed demokratia as a
political ideology that aimed at dispersing
power from the monopoly of the elites to the
masses. This allows for the closing n of social
gaps between diverging social groups.
 Activity 4. 1

Directions: List down at least 5 tools that were used in the primitive
times and think of how these have advanced over the course of time. Fill
in the table with necessary information about the evolution of primitive
tools. Write your answers in ONE WHOLE SHEET OF PAPER

Primitive Tools Usage and function Equivalent counterparts Usage and

in the present function

Ex: hammering or digging Steel hammer Pounding nails in

Core tools Iron Shovel construction work
Gardening
ASSESSMENT:
A. Identification: Write your answers in your notebook.
________________1. It is a type of society that was based on the ownership of land.
________________2. It was a tool developed by Homo Neaderthalensis
(Neanderthals) in Europe and West Asia.
________________3. It is something made or given shape by humans, such as a
tool or a work of art, especially an object of archaeological interest.
________________4. These tools are part of the Lower Paleolithic stage of
technological development.
________________5. These tools were bifacial, shaped in both sides and with
straighter and sharper edges made by Homo erectus using the same process of
percussion flaking.

B. Essay

1. How different was the lifestyle of early humans compared to us now?

Direction: TRUE OR FALSE. Write T if the statement is true and F if it is false on
the blanks provided. Write your answers in your notebook.
_________1. Most of hunting and gathering societies were nomadic, moving
constantly in search of food or water.
_________2. The two main types of oldowan tools were core tools and flake tools.
_________3. Feudal societies are based on using machines to produce goods.
_________4. New tools have been found in sites in Europe and elsewhere in the Old
World and more recently in the New World.
_________5. Pastoral societies won’t allow some of its members to engage in non-
survival activities like healers, traders and craftspeople.
Test III.
Direction: List 3 tools you can find in your kitchen and specify its uses.

TOOLS USES
1.
2.
3.
Activity 4.2
GROUP ACTIVITY
Direction: Create a photo collage of the early humans
focusing on their survival means of day to day living.