human

lt;/ref> | image Akha cropped hires.JPG | image_caption Human male and female | fossil_range Pleistocene – Recent | status LC | trend increasing | status_system iucn3.1 | status_ref Global Mammal Assessment Team (2008). Homo sapiens In: IUCN 2009. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.2. . Downloaded on 03 March 2010. ] Weight can also vary greatly (e.g. obesity . Unlike most other primates, humans are capable of fully bipedal terrestrial locomotion in animals thus leaving their arms available for manipulating objects using their hand , aided especially by opposable thumbs. File:Uomo Vitruviano.jpg s image is often used as an implied symbol of the essential symmetry of the human body, and by extension, of the universe as a whole.]] Although humans appear hairless compared to other primates, with notable hair growth occurring chiefly on the top of the head, underarms and pubic area, the average human has more hair follicles on his or her body than the average chimpanzee. The main distinction is that human hairs are shorter, finer, and less heavily pigmented than the average chimpanzees, thus making them harder to see.Why Humans and Their Fur Parted Wayby Nicholas Wade, New York Times August 19, 2003. The hue of human skin and hair is determined by the presence of pigment called melanin . Human skin hues can range from very dark brown to very pale pink. Human hair ranges from white to brown hair to red hair to most commonly black hair lt;/ref> This depends on the amount of melanin (an effective sun blocking pigment) in the skin and hair, with hair melanin concentrations in hair fading with increased age, leading to grey hair or even white hair. Most researchers believe that skin darkening was an adaptation that evolved as a protection against ultraviolet solar radiation However, more recently it has been argued that particular skin colors are an adaptation to balance folate which is destroyed by ultraviolet radiation, and vitamin D, which requires sunlight to form.Jablonski, N.G. & Chaplin, G. (2000). [http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/chem/faculty/leontis/chem447/PDF_files/Jablonski_skin_color_2000.pdf The evolution of human skin coloration](pdf), Journal of Human Evolution 39: 57–106. The skin pigmentation of contemporary humans is geographically stratified, and in general correlates with the level of ultraviolet radiation. Human skin also has a capacity to darken (sun tanning in response to exposure to ultraviolet radiation.lt;/ref>Robin, Ashley (1991). Biological Perspectives on Human Pigmentation Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Humans tend to be physically weaker than other similarly sized primates, with young, conditioned male humans having been shown to be unable to match the strength of female orangutan which are at least three times stronger.lt;/ref> The construction of the human pelvis differs from other primates, as do the toes. As a result, humans are slower for short distances than most other animals, but are among the best long-distance runners in the animal kingdom.http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/27/health/27well.html Humans thinner body hair and more productive sweat glands also helps avoid heat exhaustion while running for long distances. For this reason persistence hunting was most likely a very successful strategy for early humans – in this method, prey is chased until it is literally exhausted. This may have also helped the early human Cro-Magnon population out-compete the Neanderthal population for food. The otherwise physically stronger Neanderthal would have much greater difficulty hunting in this way, and much more likely hunted larger game in close quarters. A trade-off for these advantages of the modern human pelvis is that childbirth is more difficult and dangerous. The construction of modern human shoulders enable throwing weapons, which also were much more difficult or even impossible for Neanderthal competitors to use effectively.http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16091-were-neanderthals-stoned-to-death-by-modern-humans.html | class"wikitable floatright" |+ Constituents of the human body in a person weighing 60 kghttp://books.google.com/books?idzvbV4M0-YdEC&printsecfrontcover&sourcegbs_navlinks_s Page 3] in Chemical storylines. Author: George Burton. Edition 2, illustrated. Publisher: Heinemann, 2000. ISBN 0-435-63119-5, 9780435631192. Length: 312 pages |- ! Constituent !! Weight !! Percentage of atoms |- style"text-align:right" | style"text-align:left" | Oxygen || 38.8 kg || 25.5 % |- style"text-align:right" | style"text-align:left" | Carbon || 10.9 kg || 9.5 % |- style"text-align:right" | style"text-align:left" | Hydrogen | 6.0 kg || 63.0 % |- style"text-align:right" | style"text-align:left" | Nitrogen || 1.9 kg || 1.4 % |- style"text-align:right" | style"text-align:left" | Other || 2.4 kg || 0.6 % |} Humans have proportionately shorter palates and much smaller teeth than other primates. They are the only primates to have short, relatively flush canine teeth Humans have characteristically crowded teeth, with gaps from lost teeth usually closing up quickly in young specimens. Humans are gradually losing their wisdom teeth with some individuals having them congenitally absent.lt;/ref>

Physiology

Human physiology is the science of the mechanical, physical, and biochemical functions of humans in good health, their organs, and the cells of which they are composed. The principal level of focus of physiology is at the level of organs and systems. Most aspects of human physiology are closely homologous to corresponding aspects of animal physiology, and animal experimentation has provided much of the foundation of physiological knowledge. Anatomy and physiology are closely related fields of study: anatomy, the study of form, and physiology, the study of function, are intrinsically tied and are studied in tandem as part of a medical curriculum.

Genetics

Humans are a eukaryote species. Each ploidy cell (biology) has two sets of 23 chromosome , each set received from one parent. There are 22 pairs of autosome and one pair of sex-determination system By present estimates, humans have approximately 20,000–25,000 genes. Like other mammals, humans have an XY sex-determination system so that female have the sex chromosomes XX and male have XY. The X chromosome carries many genes not on the Y chromosome, which means that recessive gene diseases associated with X-linked genes, such as haemophilia affect men more often than women.

Life cycle

Image:Tubal Pregnancy with embryo.jpg The human biological life cycle is similar to that of other placenta mammals. The zygote divides inside the females uterus to become an embryo, which over a period of thirty-eight weeks (9 months) of gestation becomes a fetus. After this span of time, the fully grown fetus is birthed from the womans body and breathes independently as an infant for the first time. At this point, most modern cultures recognize the baby as a person entitled to the full protection of the law, though some jurisdictions extend various levels of personhood earlier to human fetuses while they remain in the uterus. Compared with other species, human childbirth is dangerous. Painful labors lasting twenty-four hours or more are not uncommon and sometimes leads to the death of the mother, or the child.According to the July 2, 2007 [[Newsweek]]magazine, a woman dies in childbirth every minute, most often due to uncontrolled bleeding and infection, with the worlds poorest women most vulnerable. The lifetime risk is 1 in 16 in sub-Saharan Africa compared to 1 in 2,800 in developed countries. This is because of both the relatively large fetal head circumference (for housing the brain) and the mothers relatively narrow pelvis (a trait required for successful bipedalism, by way of natural selection).lt;/ref>lt;/ref> The chances of a successful labor increased significantly during the 20th century in wealthier countries with the advent of new medical technologies. In contrast, pregnancy and natural childbirth remain hazardous ordeals in developing regions of the world, with maternal death rates approximately 100 times more common than in developed countries.lt;/ref> In developed countries, infants are typically 3–4 kg (6–9 pounds) in weight and 50–60 cm (20–24 inches) in height at birth.lt;/ref> However, low birth weight is common in developing countries, and contributes to the high levels of infant mortality in these regions.lt;/ref> Helpless at birth, humans continue to grow for some years, typically reaching sexual maturity at 12 to 15 years of age. Females continue to develop physically until around the age of 18, whereas male development continues until around age 21. The human life span can be split into a number of stages: infancy, childhood adolescence young adulthood adult ood and old age The lengths of these stages, however, have varied across cultures and time periods. Compared to other primates, humans experience an unusually rapid growth spurt during adolescence, where the body grows 25% in size. Chimpanzees, for example, grow only 14%, with no pronounced spurt.Leakey, Richard; Lewin, Roger. Origins Reconsidered – In Search of What Makes Us Human. Sherma B.V., 1992. The presence of the growth spurt is probably necessary to keep children physically small until they are psychologically mature. Humans are one of the few species in which females undergo menopause It has been proposed that menopause increases a womans overall reproductive success by allowing her to invest more time and resources in her existing offspring and/or their children (the grandmother hypothesis , rather than by continuing to bear children into old age.lt;/ref>lt;/ref> There are significant differences in life expectancy around the world. The developed world is generally aging, with the median age around 40 years. In the third world the median age is between 15 and 20 years. Life expectancy at birth in Hong Kong is 84.8 years for a female and 78.9 for a male, while in Swaziland primarily because of AIDS it is 31.3 years for both sexes.http://hdr.undp.org/hdr2006/ "Human Development Report 2006,"] United Nations Development Programme pp. 363–366, November 9, 2006 While one in five Europeans is 60 years of age or older, only one in twenty Africans is 60 years of age or older.https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/ The World Factbook, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, retrieved April 2, 2005. The number of centenarian (humans of age 100 years or older) in the world was estimated by the United Nations at 210,000 in 2002.http://www.un.org/ageing/note5713.doc.htm U.N. Statistics on Population Ageing], United Nations press release, February 28, 2002, retrieved April 2, 2005 At least one person, Jeanne Calment is known to have reached the age of 122 years; higher ages have been claimed but they are not well substantiated. Worldwide, there are 81 men aged 60 or older for every 100 women of that age group, and among the oldest, there are 53 men for every 100 women. File:Burkina Faso girl.jpg|Girl (before puberty) File:Punjabi woman smile.jpg|Woman of reproductive age Image:HappyPensioneer.jpg|Older woman (after menopause) File:Kirgisischer Junge.JPG|Boy (before puberty) File:Pataxo001.jpg|Adult man File:Old man from Tajikistan.jpg|Elderly man

Diet

Humans are omnivorous capable of consuming plant, animal, and inorganic material.lt;/ref> Varying with available food sources in regions of habitation, and also varying with cultural and religious norms, human groups have adopted a range of diets, from purely vegetarian to primarily carnivorous In some cases, dietary restrictions in humans can lead to deficiency diseases however, stable human groups have adapted to many dietary patterns through both genetic specialization and cultural conventions to use nutritionally balanced food sources.http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/advocacy_933_ENU_HTML.htm online copy available] The human diet is prominently reflected in human culture, and has led to the development of food science Until the development of agriculture approximately 10,000 years ago, Homo sapiensemployed a hunter-gatherer method as their sole means of food collection. This involved combining stationary food sources (such as fruits, grains, tubers, and mushrooms, insect larvae and aquatic molluscs) with Game (food) which must be hunted and killed in order to be consumed.lt;/ref> It has been proposed that members of H. sapienshave used fire to prepare and cooking food since the time of their divergence from [[Homo rhodesiensis]](which itself had previously speciated from [[Homo erectus]].lt;/ref> Around ten thousand years ago, History of agriculture http://www.archaeology.org/9707/newsbriefs/squash.html Earliest agriculture in the Americas] http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2007/213/2 Earliest cultivation of barley] http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5038116.stm Earliest cultivation of figs] – URLs retrieved February 19, 2007 which substantially altered their diet. This change in diet may also have altered human biology; with the spread of dairy farming providing a new and rich source of food, leading to the evolution of the ability to digest lactose in some adults.lt;/ref>lt;/ref> Agriculture led to increased populations, the development of cities, and because of increased population density, the wider spread of infectious disease . The types of food consumed, and the way in which they are prepared, has varied widely by time, location, and culture. In general, humans can survive for two to eight weeks without food, depending on stored body fat. Survival without water is usually limited to three or four days. Lack of food remains a serious problem, with about 36 million humans starving to death every year.United Nations Information Service. http://www.fao.org/righttofood/kc/downloads/vl/docs/Rtf%20hearing%2031%2003%202004.doc “Independent Expert On Effects Of Structural Adjustment, Special Rapporteur On Right To Food Present Reports: Commission Continues General Debate On Economic, Social And Cultural Rights”]. United Nations March 29, 2004, p. 6. “Around 36 million people died from hunger directly or indirectly every year.”. Childhood malnutrition is also common and contributes to the global burden of disease.lt;/ref> However global food distribution is not even, and obesity among some human populations has increased rapidly, leading to health complications and increased mortality in some developed country and a few developing countries Worldwide over one billion people are obese,lt;/ref> while in the United States 35% of people are obese, leading to this being described as an "Epidemiology of obesity .lt;/ref> Obesity is caused by consuming more calorie than are expended, so excessive weight gain is usually caused by a combination of an energy-dense high fat diet and insufficient exercise

Sleep

Humans are generally Diurnality The average sleep requirement is between seven and nine continuous hours a day for an adult and nine to ten hours for a child; elderly people usually sleep for six to seven hours. Experiencing less sleep than this is common in modern societies; this sleep deprivation can have negative effects. A sustained restriction of adult sleep to four hours per day has been shown to correlate with changes in physiology and mental state, including fatigue, aggression, and bodily discomfort.

Psychology

Image:Davidbrain.JPG s David (Michelangelo) ]] The human brain the focal point of the central nervous system in humans, controls the peripheral nervous system In addition to controlling "lower", involuntary, or primarily autonomic nervous system activities such as respiration (physiology) and digestion it is also the locus of "higher" order functioning such as thought reason ng, and abstraction http://www.pbs.org/wnet/brain/3d/index.html 3-D Brain Anatomy], The Secret Life of the Brain Public Broadcasting Service, retrieved April 3, 2005. These mental function constitute the mind and, along with their behavior l consequences, are studied in the field of psychology Generally regarded as more capable of these higher order activities, the human brain is believed to be more "intelligent" in general than that of any other known species. Some are capable of creating structures and using simple tools—mostly through instinct and mimicry—human technology is vastly more complex, and is constantly evolving and improving through time. Although being vastly more advanced than many species in cognitive abilities, most of these abilities are known in primitive form among other species. Modern anthropology has tended to bear out Charles Darwin proposition that "the difference in mind between man and the higher animals, great as it is, certainly is one of degree and not of kind".Jonathan Benthall [http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-8322.2007.00494.x Animal liberation and rights]Anthropology Today 23/2 (April 2007):1

Consciousness and thought

Humans are one of only nine species to pass the mirror test which tests whether an animal recognizes its reflection as an image of itself—along with all the great apes (gorillas chimpanzees orangutans bonobo ), Bottlenose dolphins Asian elephants European Magpie and Orcas Robert W. Allan explores a few of these experiments on his webpage: http://ww2.lafayette.edu/~allanr/mirror.html Most human children will pass the mirror test at 18 months old.http://www.ulm.edu/~palmer/ConsciousnessandtheSymbolicUniverse.htm Consciousness and the Symbolic Universe], by Dr. Jack Palmer, retrieved March 17, 2006. However, the usefulness of this test as a true test of consciousness has been disputed, and this may be a matter of degree rather than a sharp divide. Monkeys have been trained to apply abstract rules in tasks.http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2001/abstract-0718.html Researchers home in on how brain handles abstract thought] – retrieved July 29, 2006 The human brain perceives the external world through the sense , and each individual human is influenced greatly by his or her experiences, leading to subjectivity views of existence and the passage of time. Humans are variously said to possess consciousness self-awareness and a mind, which correspond roughly to the mental processes of thought These are said to possess qualities such as self-awareness, sentience sapience and the ability to perceive the relationship between Personal identity (philosophy) and ones natural environment The extent to which the mind constructs or experiences the outer world is a matter of debate, as are the definitions and validity of many of the terms used above. The philosopher of cognitive science Daniel Dennett for example, argues that there is no such thing as a narrative centre called the "mind", but that instead there is simply a collection of sensory inputs and outputs: different kinds of "software" running in parallel.Dennett, Daniel (1991). Consciousness Explained Little Brown & Co, 1991, ISBN 0-316-18065-3. Psychologist B.F. Skinner argued that the mind is an explanatory fiction that diverts attention from environmental causes of behavior,Skinner, B.F. About Behaviorism 1974, page 74–75 and that what are commonly seen as mental processes may be better conceived of as forms of covert verbal behavior.Skinner, B.F. About Behaviorism Chapter 7: ThinkingA thesis against which Noam_Chomsky#Contributions_to_psychology advanced a considerable polemic. Humans study the more physical aspects of the mind and brain, and by extension of the nervous system, in the field of neurology the more behavioral in the field of psychology, and a sometimes loosely defined area between in the field of psychiatry, which treats mental illness and behavioral disorders. Psychology does not necessarily refer to the brain or nervous system, and can be framed purely in terms of Phenomenology (psychology) or information processing theories of the mind. Increasingly, however, an understanding of brain functions is being included in psychological theory and practice, particularly in areas such as artificial intelligence neuropsychology and cognitive neuroscience The nature of thought is central to psychology and related fields. Cognitive psychology studies cognition the mental function underlying behavior. It uses information processing as a framework for understanding the mind. Perception, learning, problem solving, memory, attention, language and emotion are all well researched areas as well. Cognitive psychology is associated with a school of thought known as cognitivism (psychology) whose adherents argue for an information processing model of mental function, informed by positivism and experimental psychology Techniques and models from cognitive psychology are widely applied and form the mainstay of psychological theories in many areas of both research and applied psychology. Largely focusing on the development of the human mind through the life span, developmental psychology seeks to understand how people come to perceive, understand, and act within the world and how these processes change as they age. This may focus on intellectual, cognitive, neural, social, or moral development Some philosophers divide consciousness into phenomenal consciousness, which is experience itself, and access consciousness, which is the processing of the things in experience.Ned Block: On a Confusion about a Function of Consciousness" in: he Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 1995. Phenomenal consciousness is the state of being conscious, such as when they say "I am conscious." Access consciousness is being conscious f something in relation to abstract concepts, such as when one says "I am conscious of these words." Various forms of access consciousness include awareness, self-awareness, conscience, [[Stream of consciousness (psychology)|stream of consciousness]], [[Phenomenology (philosophy)|Husserls phenomenology]], and [[intentionality]]. The concept of phenomenal consciousness, in modern history, according to some, is closely related to the concept of [[qualia]]. [[Social psychology]] links sociology with psychology in their shared study of the nature and causes of human social interaction, with an emphasis on how people think towards each other and how they relate to each other. The behavior and mental processes, both human and non-human, can be described through [[animal cognition]], [[ethology]], [[evolutionary psychology]], and [[comparative psychology]] as well. [[Human ecology]] is an [[List of academic disciplines|academic discipline]] that investigates how humans and human [[society|societies]] interact with both their natural environment and the human [[social environment]]. ===Motivation and emotion=== {{Main|Motivation|Emotion}} [[Motivation]] is the driving force of desire behind all deliberate [[Action (philosophy)|actions]] of humans. Motivation is based on emotion—specifically, on the search for [[Contentment|satisfaction]] (positive emotional experiences), and the avoidance of conflict. Positive and negative is defined by the individual brain state, which may be influenced by [[social norm]]s: a person may be driven to [[self-injury]] or [[violence]] because their [[brain]] is conditioned to create a positive response to these actions. Motivation is important because it is involved in the performance of all learned responses. Within [[psychology]], [[conflict avoidance]] and the [[libido]] are seen to be primary motivators. Within [[economics]], motivation is often seen to be based on [[incentive]]s; these may be [[financial]], [[moral]], or [[coercive]]. [[Religion]]s generally posit divine or [[demon]]ic influences. [[Happiness]], or the state of being happy, is a human emotional condition. The definition of happiness is a common [[philosophy|philosophical]] topic. Some people might define it as the best condition that a human can have—a condition of [[mental health|mental]] and physical [[health]]. Others define it as [[wikt:freedom|freedom]] from want and distress; consciousness of the [[goodness and value theory|good]] order of things; assurance of one place in the universe or society Emotion has a significant influence on, or can even be said to control, human behavior, though historically many culture and philosopher have for various reasons discouraged allowing this influence to go unchecked. Emotional experiences perceived as pleasant, such as love admiration, or joy, contrast with those perceived as unpleasant, like hate envy or sorrow (emotion) There is often a distinction made between refined emotions that are socially learned and wiktionary:survival oriented emotions, which are thought to be innate. Human exploration of emotions as separate from other neurological phenomena is worthy of note, particularly in cultures where emotion is considered separate from physiological state. In some cultural medical theories emotion is considered so synonymous with certain forms of physical health that no difference is thought to exist. The Stoicism believed excessive emotion was harmful, while some Sufi teachers felt certain extreme emotions could yield a conceptual perfection, what is often translated as ecstasy (emotion) In modern scientific thought, certain refined emotions are considered a complex neural trait innate in a variety of domesticated animal and non-domesticated mammal . These were commonly developed in reaction to superior survival mechanisms and intelligent interaction with each other and the environment; as such, refined emotion is not in all cases as discrete and separate from natural neural function as was once assumed. However, when humans function in civilized tandem, it has been noted that uninhibited acting on extreme emotion can lead to social disorder and crime

Sexuality and love

Human sexuality besides ensuring biological reproduction has important social functions: it creates physical intimacy, bonds, and hierarchies among individuals; may be directed to spiritual transcendence (according to some traditions); and in a hedonism sense to the enjoyment of activity involving sexual gratification. Sexual desire, or libido is experienced as a bodily urge, often accompanied by strong emotions such as love, ecstasy (emotion) and jealousy. The extreme importance of sexuality in the human species can be seen in a number of physical features, among them hidden ovulation, the evolution of external scrotum and penis suggesting sperm competition, the absence of an Baculum permanent secondary sexual characteristics the forming of pair bonds based on sexual attraction as a common social structure and sexual ability in females outside of ovulation. These adaptations indicate that the importance of sexuality in humans is on a par with that found in the Bonobo and that the complex human sexual behaviour has a long evolution ry history. Human choices in acting on sexuality are commonly influenced by cultural norms, which vary widely. Restrictions are often determined by religious beliefs or social customs. The pioneering researcher Sigmund Freud believed that humans are born Psychosexual development which means that any number of objects could be a source of pleasure. According to Freud, humans then pass through five stages of psychosexual development (and can fixate on any stage because of various traumas during the process). For Alfred Kinsey another influential sex researcher, people can fall anywhere along a continuous scale of sexual orientation (with only small minorities fully heterosexual or homosexual . Recent studies of neurology and genetics suggest people may be born predisposed to various sexual tendencies.Buss, David M. (2004) "The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating". Revised Edition. New York: Basic Books"Thornhill, R., & Palmer, C. T. (2000). A Natural History of Rape. Biological Bases of Sexual Coercion. Cambridge: MIT Press.

Culture

Culture is defined here as a set of distinctive material, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual features of a social group, including art, literature, sport lifestyles, value systems, traditions, rituals, and beliefs. The link between human biology and human behavior and culture is often very close, making it difficult to clearly divide topics into one area or the other; as such, the placement of some subjects may be based primarily on convention. Culture consists of values, social norms, and artifact (archaeology) A cultures value (personal and cultural) define what it holds to be important or ethical. Closely linked are norm (sociology) expectations of how people ought to behave, bound by tradition. Artifacts, or archaeological culture are objects derived from the cultures values, norms, and understanding of the world.

Language

The capacity humans have to transfer concepts, ideas and notions through speech and writing is unrivaled in known species. Unlike the call systems of other primates that are closed, human language is far more open, and gains variety in different situations. The human language has the quality of displacement, using words to represent things and happenings that are not presently or locally occurring, but elsewhere or at a different time. In this way data networks are important to the continuing development of language. The faculty of speech is a defining feature of humanity, possibly predating phylogenetic separation of the modern population. Language is central to the communication between humans, as well as being central to the sense of identity that unites nations, cultures and ethnic groups. The invention of writing systems at least 5,000 years ago allowed the preservation of language on material objects, and was a major step in cultural evolution. The science of linguistics describes the structure of language and the relationship between languages. There are approximately 6,000 different languages currently in use, including sign languages, and many thousands more that are considered extinct language

Spirituality and religion

Religion is generally defined as a belief system concerning the supernatural, sacred or divine, and moral code , practices, values, institutions and rituals associated with such belief. The Evolutionary psychology of religion and the history of the Evolutionary origin of religions have recently become areas of active scientific investigation.lt;/ref>lt;/ref>lt;/ref> However, in the course of its development of religion religion has taken on many forms that vary by culture and individual perspective. Some of the chief questions and issues religions are concerned with include life after death (commonly involving belief in an afterlife , the origin of life the nature of the universe (religious cosmology and its ultimate fate of the universe (eschatology , and what is morality or immoral. A common source in religions for answers to these questions are beliefs in transcendence (religion) divinity beings such as deity or a singular God although not all religions are theism many are nontheism or ambiguous on the topic, particularly among the Eastern religion . Spirituality, belief or involvement in matters of the soul or spirit is one of the many different approaches humans take in trying to answer fundamental questions about humankinds place in the universe, the meaning of life and the ideal way to live ones life. Though these topics have also been addressed by philosophy, and to some extent by science, spirituality is unique in that it focuses on mystical or supernatural concepts such as karma and God. Although the exact level of religiosity can be hard to measure,lt;/ref> a majority of humans professes some variety of religious or spiritual belief, although some are irreligion that is lacking or rejecting belief in the supernatural or spiritual. Other humans have no religious beliefs and are atheism scientific skeptics agnostics or simply non-religious Humanism is a philosophy which seeks to include all of humanity and all issues common to humans; it is usually non-religious. Additionally, although most religions and spiritual beliefs are clearly distinct from science on both a philosophical and methodological level, the two are not generally considered mutually exclusive; a majority of humans holds a mix of both scientific and religious views. The distinction between philosophy and religion, on the other hand, is at times less clear, and the two are linked in such fields as the philosophy of religion and theology Image:Confuciusstatue.jpg on Chongming Island in Shanghai ]

Philosophy and self-reflection

Philosophy is a discipline or field of study involving the investigation, analysis, and development of ideas at a general, abstract, or fundamental level. It is the discipline searching for a general understanding of reality, reasoning and values. Major fields of philosophy include logic metaphysics epistemology philosophy of mind and axiology (which includes ethics and aesthetics . Philosophy covers a very wide range of approaches, and is used to refer to a worldview to a perspective on an issue, or to the positions argued for by a particular philosopher or school of philosophy.

Art, music, and literature

Image:Lorenzo Lippi 001.jpg of a woman writing sheet music by Lorenzo Lippi ]] Artistic works have existed for almost as long as humankind, from early Prehistory art to contemporary art. Art is one of the most unusual aspects of human behaviour and a key distinguishing feature of humans from other species. As a form of culture expression by humans, art may be defined by the pursuit of Multiculturalism and the usage of narrative of liberation and exploration (i.e. art history art criticism and art theory to mediate its boundaries. This distinction may be applied to objects or performances, current or historical, and its prestige extends to those who made, found, exhibit, or own them. In the modern use of the word, art is commonly understood to be the process or result of making material works that, from concept to creation, adhere to the "creative impulse" of human beings. Art is distinguished from other works by being in large part unprompted by necessity, by biological drive, or by any undisciplined pursuit of recreation. Music is a natural Intuition (knowledge) phenomenon based on the three distinct and interrelated organization structures of rhythm, harmony, and melody. Listening to music is perhaps the most common and universal form of entertainment for humans, while learning and understanding it are popular discipline . There are a wide variety of music genre and ethnic music . Literature the body of written—and possibly oral—works, especially creative ones, includes prose, poetry and drama, both fiction and non-fiction Literature includes such genres as epic poetry legend, myth, ballad, and folklore.

Tool use and technology

Image:Bifaz abbevillense.png stone tool]] Stone tools were used by proto-humans at least 2.5 million years ago.lt;/ref> The Control of fire by early humans began around 1.5 million years ago. Since then, humans have made major advances, developing complex technology to create tools to aid their lives and allowing for other advancements in culture. Major leaps in technology include the discovery of agriculture – what is known as the Neolithic Revolution and the invention of automated machines in the Industrial Revolution Archaeology attempts to tell the story of past or lost cultures in part by close examination of the Artifact (archaeology) they produced. Early humans left stone tools pottery and jewelry that are particular to various regions and times.

Gender roles

The sexual division of humans into male and female has been marked culturally by a corresponding division of roles, norms, practices, dress, behavior, rights, duties, privileges, status, and power. Cultural differences by gender have often been believed to have arisen naturally out of a division of reproductive labor; the biological fact that women give birth led to their further cultural responsibility for nurturing and caring for children and households. Gender role have varied historically, and challenges to predominant gender norms have recurred in many societies. As a whole, patriarchy societies (i.e., in which men hold the greater degree of economic and political power) have been predominant, and matriarchy or egalitarian societies less common.

Race and ethnicity

File:RaceMugshots.jpg showing multiple races.|thumb|350px]] Humans often categorize themselves in terms of Race (classification of human beings) or ethnic group sometimes on the basis of differences in appearance. Human racial categories have been based on both ancestry and visible trait (biological) especially facial features, human skin color and hair texture. Most current Genetic anthropology and archaeological evidence supports a recent single origin hypothesis of modern humans in East Africa – http://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar?hlen&lr&qintitle%3AA+Geographically+Explicit+Genetic+Model+of+Worldwide+Human-Settlement+History&as_publicationThe+American+Journal+of+Human+Genetics&as_ylo2006&as_yhi2006&btnGSearch Scholar search]}} Current genetic studies have demonstrated that humans on the African continent are most genetically diverse.lt;/ref> However, compared to the other great ape , Population_bottleneck#Humans are Human genetic variation#History and geographic distribution lt;/ref>lt;/ref>lt;/ref>lt;/ref> The predominance of genetic variation occurs withinracial groups, with only 5 to 15% of total variation occurring betweengroups.lt;/ref> Thus the scientific concept of variation in the human genome is largely incongruent with the cultural concept of ethnicity or race.  Ethnic groups are defined by linguistic, cultural, ancestral, national or regional ties. Self-identification with an ethnic group is usually based on kinship and descent Race and ethnicity are among major factors in social identity giving rise to various forms of identity politics e.g.: racism There is no scientific consensus of a list of the human races, and few anthropologists endorse the notion of human "race"."Human Races: A Genetic and Evolutionary Perspective", Alan R. Templeton, American Anthropologist, New Series, Vol. 100, No. 3 (Sep., 1998), pp. 632–650 For example, a color terminology for race includes the following in a classification of human races: Black (e.g. Sub-Saharan Africa), Red (e.g. Native Americans), Yellow (e.g. East Asians) and White (e.g. Europeans). Referring to natural species, in general, the term "race" is obsolete, particularly if a species is uniformly distributed on a territory. In its modern scientific connotation, the term is not applicable to a species as genetically homogeneous as the human one, as stated in the declaration on race (UNESCO 1950).http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001282/128291eo.pdf Unseco Publication 791] Genetic studies have substantiated the absence of clear biological borders, thus the term "race" is rarely used in scientific terminology, both in biological anthropology and in human genetics. What in the past had been defined as "races"—e.g., whites, blacks, or Asians—are now defined as "ethnic groups" or "populations", in correlation with the field (sociology, anthropology, genetics) in which they are considered.

Society, government, and politics

Image:United Nations HQ - New York City.jpg complex in New York City which houses one of the largest political organizations in the world.]] Society is the system of organizations and institutions arising from interaction between humans. A Sovereign state is an organized politics community occupying a definite territory, having an organized government and possessing internal and external sovereignty Recognition of the states claim to independence by other states, enabling it to enter into international agreements, is often important to the establishment of its statehood. The "state" can also be defined in terms of domestic conditions, specifically, as conceptualized by Max Weber "a state is a human community that (successfully) claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory."http://www.mdx.ac.uk/www/study/xweb.htm Max Webers definition of the modern state 1918], by Max Weber 1918, retrieved March 17, 2006. Government can be defined as the politics means of creating and enforcing law ; typically via a bureaucracy hierarchy Politics is the process by which decisions are made within groups. Although the term is generally applied to behavior within government , politics is also observed in all human group interactions, including corporate, academic, and religious institutions. Many different political systems exist, as do many different ways of understanding them, and many definitions overlap. Examples of governments include monarchy Communist state military dictatorship theocracy and liberal democracy the last of which is considered dominant today. All of these issues have a direct relationship with economics.

War

Image:Nagasakibomb.jpg immediately killed over 120,000 humans.]] War is a state of widespread conflict between states or other large groups of humans, which is characterized by the use of lethal violence between combatants and/or upon civilians It is estimated that during the 20th century between 167 and 188 million humans died as a result of war.Ferguson, Niall. "The Next War of the World." Foreign Affairs, Sep/Oct 2006 A common perception of war is a series of military campaign between at least two opposing sides involving a dispute over sovereignty territory, natural resource religion or other issues. A war between internal elements of a state is a civil war There have been a wide variety of Revolution in Military Affairs military tactics throughout the history of war, ranging from conventional war to asymmetric warfare to total war and unconventional warfare Techniques include hand to hand combat the use of ranged weapons Naval warfare and, more recently, air support Military intelligence has often played a key role in determining victory and defeat. Propaganda, which often includes information, slanted opinion and disinformation, plays a key role in maintaining unity within a warring group, and/or sowing discord among opponents. In modern warfare, soldiers and armoured fighting vehicle are used to control the land, warships the sea, and aircraft the sky. These fields have also overlapped in the forms of marines, paratroopers, naval aircraft carriers, and surface-to-air missiles, among others. Satellites in low Earth orbit have made outer space a factor in warfare as well as it is used for detailed intelligence gathering, however no known aggressive actions have been taken from space warfare

Trade and economics

File:Tengeru market.jpg Trade is the voluntary exchange of goods and services, and is a form of economics A mechanism that allows trade is called a market The original form of trade was barter (economics) the direct exchange of goods and services. Modern traders instead generally negotiate through a medium of exchange, such as money. As a result, buying can be separated from selling, or earnings The invention of money (and later Credit (finance) paper money and non-physical money) greatly simplified and promoted trade. Because of specialization and division of labor most people concentrate on a small aspect of manufacturing or service, trading their labour for products. Trade exists between regions because different regions have an Absolute advantage or comparative advantage in the production of some tradable commodity, or because different regions size allows for the benefits of mass production Economics is a social science which studies the production, distribution, trade, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on measurable variables, and is broadly divided into two main branches: microeconomics which deals with individual agents, such as households and businesses, and macroeconomics, which considers the economy as a whole, in which case it considers aggregate supply and aggregate demand for money, capital (economics) and commodity Aspects receiving particular attention in economics are resource allocation production, distribution, trade, and competition Economic logic is increasingly applied to any problem that involves choice under scarcity or determining economic Value (economics) Mainstream economics focuses on how prices reflect supply and demand and uses equations to predict consequences of decisions.

References

* Freeman, Scott; Jon C. Herron, Evolutionary Analysis(4th ed.) Pearson Education, Inc., 2007. ISBN 0-13-227584-8 pages 757–761.

External links

* http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/biology/humanevolution/sapiens.html MNSU] * http://www.archaeologyinfo.com/homosapiens.htm Archaeology Info] * http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id070824121653.65mgd37f Chororapithecus abyssinicus] Possible human-orangutan split 20 million years ago. (Aug 26 2007) *http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/homo-sapiens Homo sapiens] - The Smithsonian Institutions Human Origins Program * Category:Humans Category:Invasive animal species Category:Megafauna Category:Megafauna of Australia Category:Megafauna of South America Category:Megafauna of Africa Category:Megafauna of Eurasia Category:Megafauna of North America Category:Tool-using species Category:Cosmopolitan species Category:Animals described in 1758 af:Mens ar:إنسان an:Homo sapiens frp:Homan ast:Homo sapiens sapiens gn:Yvypóra ay:Jaqi az:İnsan bn:মানুষ zh-min-nan:Lâng be:Чалавек be-x-old:Чалавек bar:Mensch bs:Čovjek br:Den bg:Човек (вид) ca:Humà cv:Тăнлă çын cs:Člověk moudrý cy:Bod dynol da:Menneske de:Mensch et:Inimene el:Άνθρωπος es:Homo sapiens eo:Homo eu:Gizaki fa:انسان fr:Homo sapiens fy:Minske ga:Duine gl:Ser humano gan:人 glk:آدم gu:મનુષ્ય hak:Ngìn-lui ko:사람 ha:Yan-adam hy:Մարդ hi:मनुष्य hr:Čovjek io:Homo ig:Mádu id:Manusia ia:Esser human iu:ᐃᓄᒃ/inuk os:Адæймаг is:Maður it:Homo sapiens sapiens he:האדם הנבון jv:Menungsa kn:ಮಾನವ ka:ადამიანი kk:Адам kw:Tus sw:Binadamu kv:Морт kg:Muntu ht:Lòm ku:Mirov la:Homo sapiens lv:Cilvēks lt:Žmogus lij:Ëse uman li:Mins ln:Moto jbo:remna hu:Ember mk:Човек mg:Olombelona ml:മനുഷ്യൻ mt:Bniedem mr:मानव ms:Manusia my:လူ nah:Tlācatl nl:Mens nds-nl:Mense ne:मानिस ja:人間 no:Menneske nn:Menneske nov:Homo sapiens sapiens oc:Homo sapiens mhr:Айдеме uz:Odam pnb:انسان ps:انسان pms:Òm nds:Homo sapiens pl:Człowiek rozumny pt:Homo sapiens ksh:Minsh ro:Om qu:Runa ru:Человек разумный sah:Киhи sco:Body sq:Njeriu scn:Umanu simple:Human sk:Človek rozumný sl:Človek sr:Човек sh:Čovjek su:Manusa fi:Ihminen sv:Människa tl:Tao ta:மனிதர் te:మానవుడు th:มนุษย์ tg:Одам tr:İnsan uk:Людина розумна ur:انسان vi:Loài người fiu-vro:Inemine wa:Djin (biyolodjeye) vls:Mens war:Tawo yi:מענטש yo:Ènìyàn zh-yue:人 bat-smg:Žmuogos zh:人

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