live in group
Said like that, it does not sound like something exclusive to humans. Wolves and lions live in packs, bees in hives, and birds fly in flocks. But we knew how to give another dimension to group life. We need individuals of our species around us more than any other animal. But we benefit from this situation more than any living being.
A fundamental element is added to our group life: the cognitive revolution that has allowed us to exchange more information between us than the rest of the species is capable of. Aristotle said that the human being is a “zoon politikón”, a political animal, referring to the polis , that is, we live in society. But the real key is that we are a “zoon gossip.” The reason we can take over the world is because we can cooperate in as many ways as we can think of with countless strangers . In the words of Yuval Noah Harari:
“The marauding bands of storytellers sapiens were
the most important and most destructive force that the animal kingdom has ever created.
Violence
There is a current of thought among researchers that defends the idea that aggression and violence constitute the fundamental engine of our evolution . We live in a group, yes, but not all humans benefit equally. In fact, some succumb to others. Does this contradict the previous point of this article? Of course not and of course yes. Another essential characteristic of the human being: we are complex.
In other words, the Homo sapiens species has of course benefited from group life and the development of language, but individually, it is obvious that we do not all enjoy the same social positions. And this goes back as far as sticky the situation gets. In the Gran Dolina site, in Atapuerca, human fossils were found with obvious marks of violence and signs of cannibalism. The climate back then, about 800,000 years ago, was benign and resources were not scarce. Therefore, there were no famines that led to extreme situations of survival. The human being was able to kill and eat another human being . We are still unraveling the possible causes.
Banderas
Here we are going to join the two previous points to further complicate the matter. We live in a group and we can become very violent. Furthermore, we are the only species capable of thinking (and telling another what we have thought) about things that do not exist . Since various families came together to live in tribes, our communities have continued to grow until we organize ourselves into the complex societies of our time: political states.
With our symbolism we have provided colors, logos, music and fictitious lines to the countries. And with our education we have learned to identify our own, which differentiates us from others. Our violence is what returns us to the territorial primate that we were , but in a new dimension. Hence the world wars with neighbors to hoard resources.
Hierarchy
You have never seen a council of giraffes debating whether or not to attack the enemy. Not even a pack of rabbits voting for the member who will set up a trap for the evil hawk. At best, animals that live in groups have an alpha male (or female) and it will be rare to find a “vice-alpha” male. Hierarchy at different levels appeared very early among human beings . What about us? Once again we are in a change that benefits us. Our unparalleled population explosion in the animal kingdom made hierarchy possible. And not only does it help our survival as a species, in this case it also favors the individuals of a population as huge as ours. Imagine an army without hierarchy. Another thing is the good work or not of the one who gets the power.
face to face sex
All animals have some form of having sex. We know that some species have amply identified pleasure and go beyond copulation, carrying out rubbing and even oral sex. But the human being has taken it one step further.
We have designed eroticism . It differs from the sexuality and courtship of other species. Also, by morphology and, who knows what discovery, only some apes and humans have face-to-face sex. When the Castilians who traveled to America had sex with the indigenous women for the first time, they say that they surprised them by turning them and placing them face to face, in a new position for them. It is unknown if we are facing a real event or the intention to equate indigenous people with animals. In any case, the anecdote serves to illustrate this section.
state-of-the-art technology
Although apes are capable of using sticks and stones as tools, humans are the only animal capable of modifying raw materials . About 2,750,000 years ago we already kept stone tools. Walking on two legs left us free with precise and prehensile hands. With our intelligence we were able to grasp the handle of an axe, a sewing needle and the lever of a spaceship. With our delicate stomach and brittle fingernails, we would wake up in the middle of the jungle in little danger. With a rifle on our shoulders we are something else.
We keep evolving
This is not unique to humans either. What sets us apart is the speed at which we do it . Lions and sharks have needed several million years to become so lethal and hold their privileged position in the food chain. We have barely taken 8,000 generations to reach our current situation. A sigh on the geographical scale. Our technology pushes us by leaps and bounds and, as a species, we have no choice but to adapt.
References:
Bermúdez de Castro, JM 2021. Gods and beggars. The great odyssey of human evolution. Criticism.
Harari, YN 2018. Sapiens. From animals to gods. Brief history of mankind. Debate.
