Hominization, also called anthropogenesis, refers to the process of becoming human, and is used in somewhat different contexts in the fields of

paleontology Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

and

paleoanthropology Paleoanthropology or paleo-anthropology is a branch of paleontology and anthropology which seeks to understand the early development of anatomically modern humans, a process known as hominization, through the reconstruction of evolutionary kinship ...

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

, and

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

Paleontology

, paleoanthropologists tend to regard the search for a precise point of hominization as somewhat irrelevant, seeing the process as gradual.

Anatomically modern humans Early modern human (EMH) or anatomically modern human (AMH) are terms used to distinguish ''Homo sapiens'' (the only extant Hominina species) that are anatomically consistent with the range of phenotypes seen in contemporary humans from extin ...

(AMH, or AMHS) developed within the species ''

Homo sapiens Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

'' about 200,000 years ago. Many thinkers have attempted to explain hominization – from Classical times through

Hobbes Thomas Hobbes ( ; 5/15 April 1588 – 4/14 December 1679) was an English philosopher, considered to be one of the founders of modern political philosophy. Hobbes is best known for his 1651 book ''Leviathan'', in which he expounds an influent ...

Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...

Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends a ...

, and

Engels Friedrich Engels ( ,"Engels"
''

The Part Played by Labour in the Transition from Ape to Man "The Part Played by Labour in the Transition from Ape to Man" (German: "Anteil der Arbeit an der Menschwerdung des Affen") is an unfinished essay written by Friedrich Engels in the spring of 1876. The essay forms the ninth chapter of ''Dialectics o ...

''. The contemporary study of hominization in archeology often looks for signs that mark out human habitations from pre-human forms: for example, the use of

grave goods Grave goods, in archaeology and anthropology, are the items buried along with the body. They are usually personal possessions, supplies to smooth the deceased's journey into the afterlife or offerings to the gods. Grave goods may be classed as a ...

Philosophy and theology

In ancient philosophy, "hominization" referred to the

ensoulment In religion and philosophy, ensoulment is the moment at which a human or other being gains a soul. Some belief systems maintain that a soul is newly created within a developing child and others, especially in religions that believe in reincarnation ...

of the human

fetus A fetus or foetus (; plural fetuses, feti, foetuses, or foeti) is the unborn offspring that develops from an animal embryo. Following embryonic development the fetal stage of development takes place. In human prenatal development, fetal deve ...

. When the soul is said to enter the fetus at some time later than conception, this is sometimes called "delayed hominization", as in the Aristotelian belief in ensoulment 40 days after conception. In the context of modern

theistic evolution Theistic evolution (also known as theistic evolutionism or God-guided evolution) is a theological view that God creates through laws of nature. Its religious teachings are fully compatible with the findings of modern science, including biological ...

, "hominization" refers to the theory that there was a point at which a population of

hominid The Hominidae (), whose members are known as the great apes or hominids (), are a taxonomic family of primates that includes eight extant species in four genera: '' Pongo'' (the Bornean, Sumatran and Tapanuli orangutan); ''Gorilla'' (the east ...

s who had (or may have) evolved by a process of

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

acquired souls and thus (with their descendants) became fully human in theological terms. This group might be restricted to

Adam and Eve Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...

, or indeed to

Mitochondrial Eve In human genetics, the Mitochondrial Eve (also ''mt-Eve, mt-MRCA'') is the matrilineal most recent common ancestor (MRCA) of all living humans. In other words, she is defined as the most recent woman from whom all living humans descend in an un ...

, although versions of the theory allow for larger populations. The point at which this occurred should essentially be the same as in paleoanthropology and archeology, but theological discussion of the matter tends to concentrate on the theoretical. The term "

special transformism In creationism, special creation is a belief that the universe and all life in it originated in its present form by fiat or divine decree. Catholicism uses the phrase "special creation" in two different senses: * in the context of theistic evolu ...

" refers to theories of a

divine intervention Divine intervention is an event that occurs when a deity (i.e. God or a god) becomes actively involved in changing some situation in human affairs. In contrast to other kinds of divine action, the expression "divine ''intervention''" implies that ...

of some sort, achieving hominization. The process and means by which hominization occurs is a key problem in theistic evolutionary thought, at least for the

Abrahamic religions The Abrahamic religions are a group of religions centered around worship of the God of Abraham. Abraham, a Hebrew patriarch, is extensively mentioned throughout Abrahamic religious scriptures such as the Bible and the Quran. Jewish tradition ...

, for which the belief that animals do not have souls but humans do is a core teaching. Scientific accounts of the

origin of the universe Cosmogony is any model concerning the origin of the cosmos or the universe. Overview Scientific theories In astronomy, cosmogony refers to the study of the origin of particular astrophysical objects or systems, and is most commonly used i ...

origin of life In biology, abiogenesis (from a- 'not' + Greek bios 'life' + genesis 'origin') or the origin of life is the natural process by which life has arisen from non-living matter, such as simple organic compounds. The prevailing scientific hypothes ...

and subsequent evolution of pre-human life forms may not cause any difficulty (helped by the reluctance of science itself to say anything about what preceded the

Big Bang The Big Bang event is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of high density and temperature. Various cosmological models of the Big Bang explain the evolution of the observable universe from the ...

) but the need to reconcile religious and scientific views of hominization and account for the addition of a soul to humans remains a problem. Several 19th-century theologians attempted specific solutions, including the Catholics

John Augustine Zahm The Rev. John Augustine Zahm (pseudonym H. J. Mozans), CSC (June 14, 1851 – November 10, 1921) was a Holy Cross priest, author, scientist, and explorer of South America. He was born at New Lexington, Ohio, and died in Munich, Germany. Education ...

and

St. George Jackson Mivart St. George Jackson Mivart (30 November 1827 – 1 April 1900) was an English biologist. He is famous for starting as an ardent believer in natural selection who later became one of its fiercest critics. Mivart attempted to reconcile D ...

, but tended to come under attack from both the theological and biological camps. 20th-century thinking has tended to avoid proposing precise mechanisms.Kung, 94–95

Literature

This term is used to describe the tendency to attribute ''human'' characteristics to entities that are other than human. Example; "My dog's separation anxiety", etc.

Notes

References

* Artigas, Mariano; Glick, Thomas F., Martínez, Rafael A.; ''Negotiating Darwin: the Vatican confronts evolution, 1877–1902'', JHU Press, 2006, , 9780801883897
Google books
*Brundell, Barry, "Catholic Church Politics and Evolution Theory, 1894-1902", ''The British Journal for the History of Science'', Vol. 34, No. 1 (Mar., 2001), pp. 81–95, Cambridge University Press on behalf of The British Society for the History of Science
JSTOR
* Kung, Hans, ''The beginning of all things: science and religion'', trans. John Bowden, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2007, ,
Google books

Human Timeline (Interactive)
– Smithsonian,

National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with 7 ...

(August 2016). {{Authority control Archaeological theory Evolution and religion Paleoanthropology

Paleontology

Philosophy and theology

Literature

See also

Notes

References