Globalization and Earthmanship Man

 

Globalisation - dirty word to many and hot favourite for activists these days. Certainly it has helped to fuel Anti-Americanism throughout the world. But perhaps it is not just another American dream, or an attempt to get rich at the expense of enslaved workers. Possibly it is an inevitable part of mans continuing social evolution and if this is the case there is probably little the protesters can do to prevent it

Conceivably it should not be stopped, for it arises fundamentally from the very roots of our culture. Perhaps the best mankind can hope for, is to challenge the direction economic globalisation is taking and channel it towards the ecologically sustainable use of our environment on a global scale. Globalisation has its roots in our ancient history and the story began with the very first day man set his foot on a divergent path to other apes.

One of the fundamental traits of modern man is our quest to trace back the evolution of our culture. It has always fascinated us and yet, paradoxically, it is this cultural evolution that enables us to do it and sets us apart from the rest of the animal kingdom. At what point did the rise of our culture set us apart from other primates?

Our cultural evolution can be divided into three interlocked stages. Within these stages, five distinct phases can be distinguished. It is in the first stage, termed Man In Nature, that there is ample evidence to suggest a number of important events occurred. These formed the basis of our culture and can still be found in our modern age. More importantly, it was during this stage that evidence suggests the "hows" and "whys" of our cultural development emerged.

For the sake of convenience, the Man In Nature stage can be broken into two periods – Early Hunter-Gatherer and Advanced Hunter-Gather. It must be appreciated that the dividing line between the two is blurred and there is no doubt considerable overlapping in a number of areas.

The principle aim of both categories was of course to survive. In the Early Hunter-Gather man, survival due to differential mortality and genetic directional selection produced three major cultural adaptations. All were related to man's increased intelligence. His use of tools and use of language to pass on his survival experiences to increased social organization and co-operation, which enabled him to survive in a hostile environment.

He lived in small nomadic bands and was primarily a gatherer and an opportunistic carnivore. In 1970 F. Pfeiffer pointed out that man bears the marks of vegetarian origins in teeth not specialised for ripping and tearing like those of true carnivores and in the sort of long gut generally associated with a diet of plant food.

According to current thinking, Australopithecus man acquired a taste for meat in time of shortage of fruits and other preferred foods, but was confined to carrion and small game. This can be borne out by the remains of ducks, geese, rats and tortoises that were excavated at the Taung excavation in South Africa.

From an ecological point of view, early man was entirely dependent on his environment. His knowledge was ecological, as he had to adapt to his changing environment in order to survive. His survival was controlled by the availability of food and his ability to find it. It is of interest to note that in this evolutionary stage, man was greatly controlled by nature and he responded to his environment, rather than trying to change it. He consequently had no effect on his environment.

However, as Clark Howell recorded in 1966, if meat eating had never involved more than small game, mans evolution would have remained in the tradition of evolution by genetic rather than cultural change. The most advanced primate today would probably have been a breed of small-brained, small-time toolmakers such as Australopithecus man was, and Homo erectus would not have developed.

Prior to man changing his diet Pfeiffer noted that he differed little from apes. It was the development of big game hunting and the use of fire that was central to the rapid development of mans culture from this point on. The advanced hunter-gatherer stage had been reached.

Having learnt to communicate and co-operate within his band more effectively, mans skills in tool making and hunting improved. The quality and quantity of his food stabilized, which had a number of interesting and important ramifications.

As mans intelligence and dexterity increased, so did the size of his brain. Australopithecus man had to adapt to accommodate this larger brain. The hips of the female enlarged to facilitate the birth of large headed babies. This in turn meant that her gait would be slower and clumsier, making it difficult for her to participate in the hunt. This coupled with longer periods of gestation and longer periods of infant dependency, led to the necessity of a home base.

The stage was set for the home-based female and nurture role so reviled in the first world today. This is, however, still practiced throughout most of the undeveloping countries. Male and female pair bonding resulted. Home based living further encouraged big-game hunting, which in turn necessitated the rapid developing of better communication and skills.

At this stage it was fire that assisted in mans advances and further domestication. After all, it made his occupation of caves as a home base possible. Prior to the use of fire, man competed with cave dwelling predators on an equal footing. With his use of fire he was able to dominate them and drive them out of the caves.

It was not long before man began to use fire to enhance his hunting skills to change vegetation and attract animals to suit his needs near to his home base. Even in the New Millennium, this is practised as a Fire Management Tool in Parks and reserves throughout the world. The remnants of the Bushmen or San people in central Africa still practice this in its raw form. In Australia, current thinking is that the Aborigines should be allowed to practice this ancient land management form in certain areas.

Having developed a taste for cooked meat, man would hurry back to his home base with the kill to sit around the fire, cook, eat and socialise with his family, rather than gorge himself at the kill site. It followed then, that the light from the fire resulted in an extended day and allowed him leisure time. Of all the animals, he alone was no longer governed by the rising and the setting of the sun. Time spent at the hearth talking must have developed his language further and strengthened family bonds.

Another interesting role of fire in mans cultural development could be its influence in mans earliest religious experiences. Rock paintings and relics found in dark caves indicate in Europe that man must have had fire to be able to see what he was doing. Fire could have been used to arouse excitement and influence mood. Candles in modern churches throughout the world still persist after this humble beginning and a great many people believe that light represents life in religious institutions.

With the use of fire, came the beginning of man trying to tame his environment. A road along which we rushed willy-nilly for thousands of years and today we face the consequences of our manipulation of nature. When the stage was set, population was governed by a high infant mortality rate, the practice of infanticide, geronicide and war and it remained constant in relation to food supply. Because mans numbers were small, mans impact was insignificant until suddenly, the use of fire as a tool set man onto the path of Man Versus Nature.

In this significant stage of Man Versus Nature, the evolutionary development of man over several thousand years, changed from food gatherer to food producer. The deliberate cultivation of selected plants and the domestication of wild animals replaced hunting and gathering. He used his tools for cultivation and fire for clearing land and manipulating the bush for his domestic animals. He became Man The Shepherd And Farmer.

During this period he came to be increasingly in conflict with nature. For the first time, man not only satisfied his own needs, but also produced surpluses. Without the threat of starvation, the population increased. As man was no longer limited by food, the long spiral of ever-increasing demands for food and materials began.

More and more land was manipulated for mans needs. Predators were controlled to protect his livestock. With the invention of the plough, huge tracts of land were reshaped and cultivated lands increased sharply.

In the earlier hunter-gatherer period entire adult populations were involved in the food collecting process, but as food surpluses rose, so specialization of activities other than food production, evolved. Urbanisation began as some people now had the means to pursue other interests and skills.

Urbanisation was the beginning of our modern lives. Our ancestors had to relinquish a lot of their individual freedom and give their services and allegiance to the group as a whole. Globalisation had begun for us at this stage, even though it was in its infancy. We began to shape and mould our world at an accelerated pace to fulfil our own and our community needs. The inevitable result was that we were beset by a number of new ecological problems caused by the upset of the natural balance of nature.

To compound the problem, our development from Agriculturalist to Industrialist was reflected in our expanding need for energy. Giant strides in progress were made by the discovery and use of fossil fuels. Pollution was born and we began to incur further ecological penalties through the misuse of the environment.
As we attempt to impose our global structure on the natural environment we need to be aware that we have to protect any gains we may have made towards a sustainable existence.

Sadly, today we seem to spend more and more time and technology attempting to correct the ill effects of our hard labour. As the effects become more apparent, so too is our awareness and we are beginning to realize that our very existence depends on intelligent co-operation with nature.

With raised awareness of the degradation of our environment, perhaps we are now ready to evolve again and reach the third and final stage of development – that of Man and Nature. For the first time since the industrial revolution began, we are realising that pollution in the form of overpopulation is our most limiting factor. The coming decades are critical to our future. The natural trend of our very culture demands globalisation. However, if we are not able to apply our intelligence and see ourselves as members of a global society whose efforts are directed towards working in co-operation with nature once again, perhaps our extinction will preclude our species graduating to Earthmanship Man In A Global Tribe.