María Jesús Berlana, a historian specialising in Prehistory, Ancient History and Archaeology, led the academic session “Things have not always been this way. How we have changed” on 5 May, an outreach lecture organised by the Royal European Academy of Doctors (READ) and the Pro Royal European Academy of Doctors Foundation at Foment del Treball, the Academy’s headquarters. The event was held with the collaboration of the Department of Justice and Democratic Quality of the Government of Catalonia and the Association of Manufacturers and Distributors AECOC, and was presented by Maria Àngels Calvo, Professor at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, President of the Academy of Veterinary Sciences of Catalonia, Numerary Member of the Royal Academy of Medicine of Catalonia and of the Royal Academy of Pharmacy of Catalonia, and Numerary Member and Vice-President of the READ.
The speaker presented Prehistory as a science capable of explaining how human beings have evolved up to the present day, both biologically and culturally. In this regard, she highlighted bipedalism as one of the key biological processes of hominisation, as it allowed human beings to walk upright, freeing their hands and thus enabling them to manipulate tools; the increase in cranial capacity and brain mass, facilitating mental development, symbolic thought and communication; the reduction of jaws and teeth, the loss of body hair and the acquisition of a more precise opposable thumb for fine motor skills. As regards cultural and social evolution, she highlighted the manufacture of stone tools and the control of fire, which enabled cooking to improve nutrition and provide protection, as well as the development of complex language and the capacity for symbolic thought.
Other key moments in this evolution of early human beings were the transition towards sedentary life and the adoption of agriculture in the Neolithic period, which led them to transform their social structure and their relationship with the environment, and the great journey that took them out of Africa, for reasons still debated among anthropologists. This enabled them to adapt to different climates and diversify their culture by adopting new ways of dressing and living, and by developing new ways of relating and speaking. As Berlana explained, human evolution is characterised more by rapid cultural and technological development than by physical changes, revealing an adaptation based on knowledge and technique.
“The constant interaction between biology and culture has given rise to what is known as biocultural evolution. It is a dynamic process that has shaped human beings up to their current stage. Understanding this process allows us to explain not only our past, but also the unique human capacity to adapt, transform the environment and generate culture. We are one more being in nature, not the chosen species nor the culmination of evolution, but a process of natural selection,” the expert concluded.
