Stage-by-stage development of a child. Stage-by-stage development of a child from birth to one year

The theory of the gradual formation of mental actions arose and developed in line with the theory of activity. Its creator P. Ya. Galperin was guided in his constructions by the principle of the unity of the psyche and activity, the idea of ​​​​the inextricable connection between external and internal activity. This theory outlines the patterns of formation of the human psyche in ontogenesis. But since human mental development consists mainly in the assimilation of sociocultural experience with the help of other people, theories of this kind inevitably become theories of learning. For special psychology, this theory is very important, since with atypical development, knowledge of the world and the acquisition of practical experience do not occur as spontaneously as normally; targeted help from relatives and specialists is required. Such directed influence should be built according to laws that ensure the effective acquisition of knowledge and its application. This theory is important for special psychology, especially its psychocorrectional section, precisely as a methodological basis, because in it the learning process is widely understood and analyzed in detail (step by step)

From the standpoint of the theory of the gradual formation of mental actions, if the activity leads the student to new knowledge and skills, then it represents learning. P. Ya. Galperin writes: “Let us agree to call any activity teaching, since as a result the performer develops new knowledge and skills, or previous knowledge or skills acquire new qualities.”

And in his theory, the formation of internal activity is actually considered in the process of transferring social experience. At the same time, it is essential that the transfer of experience is accomplished not only through communication between the teacher as the custodian of social experience and the student, but through the exteriorization of the required activity, modeling it in an external material (materialized) form and through gradual transformation into the internal activity of the student. This transformation follows a system of independent characteristics; the combination of their qualitative changes constitutes a series of stages, the natural change of which forms the process of transforming external, material activity into internal, mental activity. During this process, external objects of activity are replaced by their images - ideas, concepts, and practical operations are transformed into mental, theoretical operations.

The process of mental new formations thus receives clear characteristics that reveal the main changes in mental activity and determine all its other qualities and properties. In this process, the main transition stages were identified for the first time, showing the progressive nature of the formation of mental activity.

The theory of P. Ya. Galperin opened the way to a concrete psychological study of mental activity and showed a way to construct its given forms and types.

The main place in the theoretical constructions of P. Ya. Galperin is given to the concept "action". It stands out as a unit of cognitive activity and as the main factor in controlling its formation, thereby denoting the structure of the action and its functional parts. The image of action and the image of the environment of action are combined into a single part of the structure - indicative basis for action, which serves as a compass in controlling action. This is the system of conditions that a person actually takes into account when performing actions.

Approximate part action, or its indicative basis, implies taking into account the objective conditions for the execution of the action. There is also in action executive(working) Part, providing ideal or material transformations in the object of action. Control part action consists of monitoring its progress and comparing the results obtained with a given sample.

Any action can be characterized from the outside forms of implementation, generality, deployment and mastery.

With developed intelligence, the basis of thinking is formed by “collapsed”, rapidly flowing actions. However, they do not appear in the child immediately. According to the theory of P. Ya. Galperin, first the child takes over new mental actions in material or materialized form with deployment all the components involved. In this form, the indicative, executive, and control parts of the action are performed. Gradually, a change occurs in mental actions: their deployment, generalization and mastery.

Actually form of action characterizes the level of its mastery by the child and the degree of internalization of this action. At the initial stage, the child accompanies his external actions with speech (material mastery of action); then the action is formed in loud speech, gradually moving to the stage of external speech “to oneself”; finally, the stage of internal speech begins, i.e. the action becomes mental.

The ability to perform an action entirely on the mental plane means that it has gone through the entire path of internalization and turned into an internal action. Since the form of actions indicates the level of mental development, it is quite simply observed and recorded, it is advisable to use this particular characteristic when examining children with developmental atypia. Other parameters are less studied, but they may also be useful for describing the characteristics of mental thinking.

Generality mental action is characterized by the ability to highlight the essential properties of an object when performing this action.

Deployment action is characterized by the preservation of the initial operations when performing this action. According to the theory of P. Ya. Galperin, as the action is formed, the composition of the operations performed is reduced, as a result of which it becomes collapsed.

Development mental action is characterized by the degree of its automation and speed of execution.

The considered action characteristics are independent and primary. In addition, P. Ya. Galperin identified two secondary characteristics of action: reasonableness, determined by the effort the child expends to perform the action, and consciousness, which consists in the ability not only to carry out an action, but also to justify in speech the correctness of its implementation (what was done and why it was done that way).

The methods of carrying out mental actions (operations) are an important indicator of the level of development of thinking.

Knowledge of the structure, functions and basic characteristics of action allows us to model the most effective types of cognitive activity and outline requirements for them at the end of training.

According to the theory of the gradual formation of mental actions, in order for programmed types of cognitive activity to become the property of students, they must be led through a series of qualitatively unique states in all basic characteristics. These transition states constitute stages of mastering mental actions.

Each stage is characterized by a set of basic properties (parameters) of the action. The names of the stages often coincide with the names of the forms of action. However, the content of the concepts “form of action” and “stage of formation of action” in the theory of P. Ya. Galperin is different. The form of an action characterizes it by one property. The stages are distinguished taking into account all four properties.

In total, P. Ya. Galperin identifies five stages of assimilation of action. He designates the period of creating the necessary motivation for the student as the “overstage.”

First stage - creation of an indicative basis for action. At this stage, the purpose of the action and its object are explained to students. The teacher creates an indicative basis for students’ activities; he exteriorizes his mental actions, reveals them to students in material or materialized form. The learner follows the actions of the teacher, using his previously formed actions (mainly perception skills and mouse ­ leniya), and makes an outline of the future action in the internal plan.

In fact, the learning of an action (or activity) occurs only through the performance of this action by the student himself, and not by observing the actions of others. Therefore, it is important to distinguish between the process of understanding how to do it and the actual execution of the action.

Second phase - formation of an action in a material (action with objects) or materialized (action with diagrams, symbols) form. Students perform the action in external form with all operations deployed. At this stage, the student must master the content of the action, and the teacher must monitor the implementation of each operation included in the action. To generalize the activity at this stage, the training program includes tasks on the typical application of this activity. At the same time, tasks of the same type should not lead to reduction and automation of actions. Thus, at the second stage, the student completes the task in material form and assimilates the action on the material level. The action is assimilated as detailed, generalized and consciously performed in the full range of its operations.

To prepare for the transition to the next stage of action formation, at the second stage the material form of action is accompanied by speech. This means that students verbalize everything they do practically.

Third stage - formation of action as external speech (terminology by N. F. Talyzina). At this stage, all elements of the action are presented in the form of detailed loud speech. “Speech becomes an independent carrier of the entire process: both tasks and actions.” Expanded speech when accompanying actions is a prerequisite for the third stage. Almost all operations are verbalized, and it is in this process that they are assimilated. Here it is possible to slightly reduce the action due to the transition of some operations to a mental form, the action is brought to automatism.

Fourth stage - formation of action in speech “to oneself”. This stage differs from the previous one in that the action is performed silently, while pronouncing “to oneself.” At first, the expansion, consciousness, and generalization of the action are the same as at the previous stage, but gradually it decreases, acquiring a schematic character.

Fifth stage - formation of action in inner speech and its complete transition to mental form. The action becomes automated and practically inaccessible to observation.

Thus, mental action is the product of a gradual transformation of external material action. “The gradual formation of ideal, in particular mental actions, connects mental activity with external material activity. It is the key not only to understanding psychic phenomena, but also to their practical mastery.” The greatest difficulty is the transition from one stage of activity to another.

It is obvious that at each stage the action has four properties and only one of them - the form of the action - is observable. That is why a change in this characteristic serves as a criterion for moving to the next stage.

In the theory of P. Ya. Galperin, a significant place is given to the evolution of action control. External control is gradually replaced by internal control, turning at the final stage into an act of attention. Research conducted under the leadership of N. F. Talyzina made it possible to formulate requirements for the organization of control.

At first, control should be operational.

At the beginning of the material (or materialized) and external speech stages, control should be systematic - over each task performed.

At the end of these stages, as well as at subsequent stages, control should be episodic - at the request of the student.

The method of control (who controls) is not of fundamental importance for the quality of assimilation. At the same time, the novelty of control, as well as the conditions of competition, contribute to the creation of positive learning motivation.

The theory of the stage-by-stage formation of mental actions also considers the question of the relative importance of each stage. An experimental study by N. F. Talyzina led to the conclusion that each stage is equally important in the formation of a full-fledged action. Thus, skipping the external speech stage of action formation significantly complicates its formation at other stages, even if assimilation is well organized: the process of abstraction is hampered, without which the action cannot be translated into a conceptual form. Insufficient assimilation of action on the material level has the same consequences.

IN When diagnosing developmental disorders, the stage of formation of the action and those stages that are inaccessible to the child at the time of examination are taken into account. IN In correctional work, programs for interaction with a child are built step by step, strictly observing the content of each of them.

For special psychology, the considered theory opens up new approaches to psychodiagnostics and allows us to build its program based on ideas about the gradual formation of mental actions. There is an opportunity to organize and manage the learning process in a fundamentally new way. There is reason to believe that teaching children with disabilities systematically using the theory of gradual formation of mental actions has a positive impact on both learning and development. According to this hypothesis, which has already been partly confirmed experimentally, such training, to a greater extent than traditional training, is a source of development: it expands its immediate zones, changes the very type of development, promoting normalization.

I. The project activity of a preschooler develops in stages. Up to 5 years

the child develops at the imitative-performing level. The lack of necessary life experience does not allow him to fully exercise independence in choosing a problem and ways to solve it. Therefore, the active role belongs to the adult. Attentive attention to the needs of children and their interests helps to easily identify the problem “ordered” by children. Thus, the middle-aged child acts as the customer of the project, and its implementation occurs at an imitative performing level.

II. By the end of the fifth year of life, children accumulate a certain

social experience, allowing them to move to a new, developing level of design. At this age, independence continues to develop. The child is able to restrain his impulsive impulses and patiently listen to the teacher and peers. Relationships with adults are being restructured: preschoolers are less likely to turn to them with requests, they are more actively organizing joint activities with peers, and they are developing self-control and self-esteem. They accept problems, set goals, and ways to choose the necessary means to achieve the intended result.

III. At the third creative stage of development of project activities,

children have a high level of interest due to cognitive and personal development. By the end of the 6th and 7th years of life, all aspects of the child’s personality are formed: moral, intellectual, emotional-volitional, effective-practical. The role of an adult at this stage is to develop and support the creative activity of children, create conditions that allow them to independently determine the goals and content of the upcoming activity, choose ways to work on the project and organize it.

For design, an appropriate organization of the subject-cognitive space of the group is necessary. In the space of the group room, the teacher concentrates documents on various media: books to read, videos, audio cassettes, allowing children to actively master different ways of understanding the world around them. (Smart book shelf. Oak of wisdom).

The preschool educational institution can also equip a children's library, including a subscription and a reading room for preschoolers, and audio-video centers. Here children, with the help of an adult, find the necessary reference books available for their understanding of the encyclopedia. Educators make sure that students can use a VCR and watch feature films, educational films and cartoons, gain computer skills, and master electronic and educational games. If the information field of a preschool educational institution is not enough, it is possible to go beyond the institution: joint search activities of adults and children in libraries, museums and other cultural centers.

The specific result of work for preschoolers can be drawings, crafts, applications, an album, a book, a written fairy tale, a prepared concert, or a performance. In the course of joint work on the project, the microclimate in the kindergarten improves and creativity increases.

The participation of parents in the creation and implementation of projects stimulates interest in learning about themselves and their children, and increases their cultural competence in the field of raising a preschooler.

A teacher who knows the project method as a technology and as an activity for self-organization of a professional space can teach a child to design. The main function of design is to outline a program and select means for further targeted actions.

The implementation of design in the practice of preschool educational institutions begins with an orientation towards the current problem of cultural self-development of a preschooler and familiarity with design cycles. Creative groups of preschool educational institutions participate in the development and design process.

The condition for mastering each stage is the collective thought of the educators’ activities, which allows:

Focus on the creative development of the child in the educational space of the kindergarten;

Master the algorithm for creating a project based on children’s requests;

Be able to connect to the goals and objectives of children without ambition;

Unite the efforts of all subjects of the pedagogical process, including parents.

You can collectively design: matinees, evenings of entertainment, creative days of various themes and educational orientations, creative weeks, vacations.

Design changes the role of educators in managing the pedagogical process of preschool educational institutions; they act as active participants, and not executors of the will of certain specialists. Activities in creative groups help to learn how to work in a team, and develop your own analytical view of the practice of raising and teaching children. Educators are free to choose methods and types of activities to achieve their goals; no one imposes their point of view on them.

Even an unsuccessful project contributes to the development of professionalism. Understanding mistakes creates motivation for repeated activities and encourages self-education. Such reflection allows you to form an adequate assessment (self-esteem) that develops the space and yourself in it.

The ability to use the project method is an indicator of the teacher’s high qualifications, his mastery of progressive methods of teaching and developing children.

Glossary of terms

1. Algorithm a system of operations performed according to certain rules and in a strictly specified order to solve a certain problem.

2. Child Game- a historically emerged type of activity consisting in reproducing the actions of adults and the relationships between them.

3. Didactic game- a game specially created or adapted for educational purposes.

4. Game projects– projects where participants take on certain roles determined by their nature and content. The leading activities in them are role-playing games.

5. A game- a form of activity in situations aimed at recreating and conditioning social experience, fixed in socially fixed ways of carrying out objective actions, in subjects of science and culture.

6. Play activity– the leading activity of a preschool child, realizing his needs for social competence and determining the specifics of the social situation of the child’s development: mastering the social position “I and society” through modeling the main types of relationships between people in an imaginary play situation.

7. Role-playing game activity– the level of development of play activity in preschool children, at which play becomes the leading activity of children, causing qualitative changes in the child’s psyche.

8. Project method– a way of organizing the pedagogical process, based on the interaction between teacher and student, a way of interaction with the environment, step-by-step practical activities to achieve the goal.

9. Design– this is a complex activity, the participants of which automatically master new concepts and ideas about various spheres of life: industrial, personal, socio-political.

10.Project- idea, plan.

11.Outdoor game– a game with a predominance of physical activity is a means of comprehensive education, physical development and health improvement of children.

12.Construction game– children’s activities, the main content of which is a reflection of the surrounding life in various buildings and related actions.

13.Role-playing game- invented by the children themselves. It reflects knowledge, impressions, ideas about the world around us, a conditional transformation into them occurs and social differences between people are recreated.

14.Goal setting– the ability to generate new goals in human activity.

Literature

1. Alekseeva O., Kruglova N. “Who to be?” // Child in kindergarten. 2005 No. 3. P.34.

2. Bakina M. Modern children, //Preschool education. 2005. No. 4. P.58.

3. Dybina O. Game is the way to knowledge of the objective world // Preschool education. 2005 No. 4. P. 14.

4. Are we playing? Let's play!!! Pedagogical guidance of games for preschool children / O.A. Skorolupova, L.V. Loginova. – M. “Publishing house Scriptorium 2003”, 2005

5. Mishchenko O., Nikishkina O., Gomenyuk E., Osipova M. We remember the heroes // Child in kindergarten. 2007. No. 2. P.36.

6. Moleva I. Understanding the world around us through play // Preschool education. 2007. No. 7. P.24.

7. Organization of story-based games in kindergarten: A manual for educators / N.Ya. Mikhailenko, N.A. Korotkova. – 2nd ed. Ispre - M. Publishing house "Gnome and D", 2000 - 96 p.

8. Project method in the activities of a preschool institution: A manual for managers and practitioners of preschool educational institutions / Author. – comp. L.S. Kiseleva, T.A. Danilina, T.S. Lagoda, M.B. Zuikova. – 4th ed. Rev. And additional – M. ARK-TI, 2006 – 112 p.

9. Design of preschool development. Methodical manual / S.V. Kuznetsova. And count. Auto. – M. Shopping Center Sphere. 2006 – 112 p.

10. Patranova I. Project method // Preschool education. 2007 No. 3. p81.

11. Growing by playing: Avg. And Art. doshk. Age: A manual for educators and parents / V.A. Nedospadova. 2nd ed. – M: Enlightenment. 2003 – 93 p.

12. Role-playing games for children / T.N. Obraztsova – M: Etrol LLC, IKTC Lada LLC. 2005 – 192 p.

13. Multi-colored games: Based on materials from the Moscow City Week “Game and Toys” in public preschool institutions in Moscow / Auth. Comp. Belaya K.Yu., Sotnikova V.M. – M: Linka-Press, 2007 – 336 p.

14. Role-playing games for preschool children /N.V. Krasnoshchekova. Ed. 3rd – Rostov n/a: Phoenix, 2008 – 251 p.

15. Solntseva O. Playing story games // Preschool education. 2005 No. 4 p33.

16. Design technology in preschool educational institutions / E.S. Evdokimova – M.: Sfera shopping center. 2006 – 64 p.

17. Shitova T. Development of fantasy and creativity of preschoolers in role-playing games // Child in kindergarten. 2004 No. 6. p.33.

Planning the commissioning horizon of a conveyor complex.

The route of the conveyor lift is selected in such a way as to ensure:

Permissible angle of inclination of the conveyor;

Stationarity of the side in which the conveyor is located;

Minimum number of intersections with other transport communications;

Straightness with no or minimal number of transfer points;

Rational economic efficiency of transporting rock mass to the crushing point in the quarry and from the reloading point on the surface;

Possibility of extending the route (if necessary) when deepening the quarry;

Maximum independence of construction conditions from mining operations in the quarry.

When designing reconstruction associated with the introduction of conveyor lifts in a quarry with railway transport, the latter's communications inevitably intersect with the conveyor route, which makes the conditions more complicated and the cost of construction and installation work increases.

In the most difficult cases, it is possible to abandon the location of the conveyor in open mine workings due to the complexity of construction work and further operation and move to placing the conveyor along the entire length or partially in an inclined shaft.

In planning mining operations when introducing conveyor lifts in an active quarry, three periods can be distinguished (Fig. 1).

In the first period preceding construction and installation work, it is necessary to create a permanent border along the axis of the future route and carry out intensive (advanced) deepening of the quarry in the area where the crushing complex is installed. Mining operations in that part of the quarry space that is not associated with the construction of the lift (the working side on the horizons above the crusher installation level) should be provided without intensive deepening, but with maximum advance of the front.

During the second period - the time of installation of the lift and the construction of the necessary mine opening, mining operations are practically not planned in the construction zone, but are carried out only in the working side of the quarry.

In the third period, after putting the conveyor into operation, it is necessary to increase the intensity of deepening the quarry, including in the area where the crushing plant is located, so that the distance of ore transportation by dump trucks from the working faces to the transfer point is minimal for a long time.

Failure to comply with these principles leads to the fact that by the time the construction of the lift is completed, mining operations “come off” far down from the level of the receiving hopper of the crushing unit and the efficiency of using the conveyor is sharply reduced.

Due to the fact that the angle of inclination of the permanent quarry side usually exceeds the angle of inclination of the conveyor, when the route of the latter is lengthened, the distance of delivery of the rock mass by dump trucks to the lift changes. Therefore, the new direction of the extended route should, if possible, be combined with the direction of deepening mining operations. Otherwise, the length of the vehicle journey in the quarry may significantly exceed the economically feasible distance (1 - 1.5 km).

Rice. 1. Direction of mining work in a quarry during the construction of a conveyor lift:

B - the side of the quarry before the start of construction of the lift; TO - the designed position of the lift route; D - crushing unit installation horizon; 1.2iZ - volumes of mining work carried out respectively in the first, second and third periods of construction of the lift

If necessary, to organize the construction of a conveyor lift, the mining plan is adjusted.

With regard to conveyor transport, the reliability of transport schemes is of particular importance.

A large number of conveyor transport schemes based on the principle of connection and interaction of equipment can be reduced to four main structural diagrams: serial connection of equipment, parallel connection of equipment, with the integration of cargo flows, with the division of cargo flows.

A general indicator of reliability is the availability factor, determined by the operating time between failures T and recovery time T V,

The transporting capacity of the conveyor system is determined taking into account the probable operational performance Q, which determines the reliability of the equipment:

D = k G T R Q

where T r is the planned operating time of the conveyor line (minus regulated technological and organizational downtime).

The availability factor of the conveyor system is determined by the reliability indicators of its individual components and assemblies.

For the most common system, consisting of P series-connected conveyors, availability factor:

It is believed that in relation to conveyor transport, equipment redundancy is not economically justified.

It seems that for powerful high-capacity conveyor lifts, characterized by high capital intensity, it is not advisable to provide a reserve line, since additional costs can sharply worsen the economic indicators of using conveyors in general. However, if the dimensions of the transported piece allow, then in some cases the possibility of using two conveyors with a narrow belt instead of one with a wide one should be considered. In this case, it is necessary to take into account the different availability coefficients of the systems according to the options (different reliability), possible changes in the productivity of the conveyor path, reconstruction conditions when extending lifts and organizing new transfer points, as well as differences in the conditions for transporting rock mass by dump trucks to the transfer point. Thus, if there is a fundamental possibility of independently extending narrow conveyors, then this will improve the operating conditions of vehicles in the quarry (fluctuations in transportation distances will decrease) and will have a favorable effect on the technical and economic indicators of the option. In addition, the presence of a second conveyor line makes it possible to smooth out the negative impact that the difference in operating modes of conveyors and road transport has on the productivity of the automobile-conveyor complex. The latter is operated in quarry mode (340-350 days a year around the clock) with an annual working time of 7300-7500 hours, and the estimated operating time of the conveyor line per year is 5900-6000 hours. In other words, with one conveyor line to ensure its hourly productivity a fleet of vehicles is required that is 1.2-1.25 times larger than the average calculated one established under the conditions for ensuring a given volume of transportation. Usually in projects this coefficient is not taken into account, since almost part of the dump trucks used, for example, for transporting overburden to a dump, can be sent to deliver ore to the lift. However, if we take into account the limitations on the productivity of excavators and the receiving capacity of crushing units, or if the project provides for the conveyorization of lifting the entire volume of rock mass from the quarry, then this coefficient must be taken into account when drawing up projects.

The effectiveness of using a particular type of quarry transport is ultimately determined by economic indicators - capital costs for the acquisition and installation of equipment, construction of facilities and communications, mining operations, etc., as well as operating costs. The greatest discrepancies in determining operating costs are observed in relation to conveyor transport. The basis for the discrepancies lies in the use of different methods for calculating depreciation charges for renovation (restoration of the original cost) and repair of the belt. For design calculations, you can use the following data. The service life of rubber rope belts on conveyors with a length of up to 1000 m is 5 years, with a length of 1000-3000 m - 6 years. At the same time, the belts of mobile (face and dump) conveyors have a service life of about a year less than on stationary conveyors and located in galleries.

Stage-by-stage development of dumps.

External dumps and other surface structures are placed beyond the final contours of the quarry. With stage-by-stage development, with the duration of each stage being 10-15 years or more, temporary storage of rocks within promising contours is possible. For example, part of the rocks of the first stage is located in the area of ​​future work of the second stage (Fig. 2)

Rice. 2. Scheme of phased placement of dumps

/, // - the first and second stages of the quarry, respectively; 1,2- temporary and permanent dumps, respectively

When reactivating the sides of the first stage, temporary dumps are moved to a permanent location. This makes it possible to reduce the transportation distance in the first years and free up significant funds that can be used effectively and for a long time in the national economy. If the conditional increase in funds is higher than the costs of additional movement of rocks, then the phased placement of dumps is economical. Savings from reducing rock transportation distances

Rice. 3. Scheme of the phased development of permanent dumps

It is advisable to design permanent dumps in plan in several stages (3-5 or more) (Fig. 3). At the first stage, rocks are stored in several tiers with rocks being dumped to the maximum design height in a limited area. At the second and subsequent stages, the dumps are mainly expanded in plan. This scheme of phased dumping, widely used in automobile and conveyor transport, has the following advantages in comparison with the scheme of tiered development of dumps over the entire area at once:

1. land for dumps is gradually withdrawn from agricultural use, which reduces the economic damage caused to the national economy from the involvement of subsoil in development;

2. reclamation of dumps and return of land for agricultural use are carried out earlier;

3. the distance of movement of rocks in the first years is reduced, which reduces transportation costs;

4. The timing of the transfer of structures located in the mining allotment zone is postponed, which makes it possible to increase the efficiency of using previously made capital investments for their construction.

5. The economic effect from the stage-by-stage development of dumps is proportional to the volume of stored rocks and the higher the height of the dumps and the number of stages, the higher.

Related information.

A smart, inquisitive, comprehensively developed baby is the true pride of every mother. However, each person has his own level of intelligence, which is established in childhood, and the degree of its development depends not so much on genes, but on the hard work and efforts of parents who develop their child’s intelligence almost from the first days of his life.

Child's intelligence- this is a set of knowledge and skills, the ability to apply them in everyday life, the ability to assimilate new knowledge and, thanks to it, solve any problems, even the most non-standard ones.

Do not think that immediately after birth the baby does not understand anything in this world - he simply perceives it differently, and his first contacts with our little world are emotional. A child is calm only when he feels his mother’s warmth next to his body, when he drinks his mother’s milk and feels her love and care. He begins to smell, and many unfamiliar sounds appear to his ears. At these moments, the child needs to ensure the safety of his little world, be always there, smile at the baby, warm him with your warmth, talk to him. If a child cries during this period, this does not mean that he is capricious - this is the first sign that the child’s protective “dome” is collapsing, that he does not feel his mother nearby. The normal development of intelligence in children begins precisely from such an early period, when the child is confident in his safety and grows up as an emotionally healthy baby.

When the baby has learned to move his arms and legs more or less consciously, and he already has a grasping reflex, the mouth becomes the organ of knowledge of the world, so everything that comes into the child’s eyes or hands will immediately be put into the mouth to taste. , get new sensations. The more a little man feels in his life, the more curiosity he has, the better his intellect will develop. At this time, there should be objects around the child that he can safely try, and even if he wants to pull a corner of a blanket, his own finger, a rubber toy or a rattle into his mouth, then you must initially ensure the safety of these objects, that is, buy ones that do not pose a threat to the baby’s life: objects are large enough (so that the child cannot swallow them), made of non-toxic materials.

The child develops comprehensively, learns to listen, smell, looks at everything, touches and feels, so do not forbid him to touch certain things, get acquainted with tactile sensations, listen together to music that will calm him down or, on the contrary, amuse him.

Development of intelligence in children from 4 to 6 months

Even before the baby is six months old, he can be called the most sincere and inquisitive scientist, because everything new that comes into his hands, be it a rattle, clothes or any other objects, they will immediately be examined by everyone known to the baby at that moment ways: he will taste them, squeeze them very, very tightly in his hands (note that at this time it is simply impossible to take anything away from the child), hit them against the walls, against the railings of the crib, perhaps even against himself, examine them from everyone parties - in general, the subject will be examined comprehensively with genuine interest. In addition, he is already beginning to recognize people close to him by sight, he smiles at them, makes greeting sounds, coos, joyfully moves his arms and legs when he sees his mother.

Satisfy the child's cognitive zeal, provide him with interesting material, buy various toys, always in different colors, and when you give them to the baby, name what kind of toy it is and what color it is. You can give your baby a toy that sounds or has moving parts, such as a car with moving wheels or a toy with buttons. Already at six months, the development of intelligence in children begins to take on tangible forms - the child can guess that the wheels of a car can be turned or that you need to press a button to make the toy play. Most likely, this will happen during the experiment, but the main thing is that the baby remembers the result and next time carries out the same operations to obtain the desired result. Be sure to praise your child for any progressive step, even for simply pressing a button, because for him your support and knowledge of this world are now the main components in life.

Development of intelligence in children from 6 to 9 months

Developing the intellect of such a child is much more interesting, because even at such an early age his inclination towards music, drawing, and design is already visible, which is the basis of this or that type of intelligence. When a baby knows how to sit independently, it is easier for him to reach a piece of the construction set or sit exactly where he can better see his mother in order to talk to her in the only language he knows.

Depending on what your child is inclined towards, your actions should be aimed at developing one or another skill. So, for example, if you notice that a child simply loves to disassemble the TV remote control and reaches for his dad’s toolbox, it’s time to buy him large-sized Legos. Be sure to start building with cubes, with pyramids, with nesting dolls, show him various combinations, and don’t scold him for the fact that a toy bought today will be disassembled tomorrow - perhaps a future designer is growing up in your family.

Tell your child fairy tales, buy him some finger paints, listen to music with him and carefully note to yourself the activities that your child likes the most. Make his favorite activity the main one, but don’t forget about the others so that your baby is fully developed. If you see that your baby likes music, listen to different songs and works with him more often, read bedtime stories so that your voice flows like music to him. Moreover, you can read not only fairy tales, but also more adult literature, so that already from the cradle a child’s aesthetic taste and literacy are born.

If you see that the child does not let go of pencils and markers, provide him with a field of activity - hang a large blank sheet of paper of the largest format on the wall and draw there with him. Buy him finger paints, because he will not yet be able to control a brush correctly, but he will be happy to dirty everything around him with his arms and legs.

If you see that the child is no longer interested in aesthetic pursuits, but in active games, crawling everywhere and actively moving, then put obstacles in his way so that it is both interesting and useful for his mind: put an inflatable mattress on the floor, throw pillows and make mountains out of them, build a hut from blankets - these will be real attractions for a child, where he will learn to overcome difficulties, find the right solutions, the shortest way to you.

Development of intelligence in children from 9 to 12 months

Closer to one year old, the child is already able to distinguish objects by their qualities or properties. Of course, all this is just the beginning of abstract thinking, but the child is already able to distinguish animals (and even if for him all those with a tail are called by the single word “kisya,” but this is a significant process in perception), relatives and friends, he knows up to about 10 -ty words and uses them skillfully and correctly.

At this stage of life, allow him to use even those things that you may think are difficult for him. If a child cries at the sight of cartoons, but freezes during the movie, it means that he likes it, and this is precisely his development; you should not slow him down just because the child is not yet mature enough.

• Give your child a massage and touch him more often, so that in addition to your warmth, he also gets to know his little body through your touch.
• From the first days of life, the baby distinguishes between red, white and black, so give him the opportunity to see and distinguish between them - hang toys above the crib different geometric shapes and colors so that the child notices some difference between them.
• Since birth talk to the baby, read to him, make faces at him, show your body parts and identify them with his arms, legs, fingers. Even if the baby has just learned to focus his gaze, all the information you said still fits in his little head, and the more often you repeat it, the faster he will remember it.
• If the child is fed and calm, leave him alone for at least a minute so that he can look around without you and choose the toy or object that he likes, and you watch what he will do with it.
• Dance with your baby and sing lullabies, even if a bear stepped on your ear. The main thing for you is the development of a sense of rhythm in children, an understanding of melody, and not a thorough study of musical notation.
• If you are interested in the early development of intelligence in children, then try not to limit their movements and cognition, refuse swaddling in favor of free things, create conditions for children to work their motor skills, for touching various objects with arms and legs.
• Give a pacifier to your child in extreme cases, so that he can taste everything and get to know the object in more detail. However Make sure that there are no small, dirty or sharp objects around the baby so that everything he puts into his mouth is educational and not dangerous.
• Even if you think that at the moment the baby will not be able to understand what you are saying, it’s still communicate with him, explain to the baby everything about the surrounding things, name everything out loud, describe objects, and the more often you do this, the more the child remembers.
• Be sure to buy it for your baby educational toys, however, do not get carried away with them so that the children's room is not full of them. If there are too many of these toys, the child will treat them only as bright objects, and the process of intellectual development may not go as quickly as you would like. Each toy should develop different abilities.

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The position of man in the system of the organic world

KINGDOM Animals

SUBKINGDOM Multicellular

SECTION Bilaterally symmetrical

TYPE Chordata

SUBTYPE Vertebrates

GROUP Gastrostomes

CLASS Mammals

ORDER Primates

SUBORDER Monkeys

SECTION Narrownose

SUPERFAMILY Higher narrow-nosed or Hominoids

FAMILY Hominids

ROD Man

SPECIES Homo sapiens.

Over the past time, outstanding discoveries have been made, as a result of which numerous bone remains of fossil creatures were discovered - intermediate between the ape ancestor and modern man, which suggest that the formation of Homo sapiens as a biological species occurred in four stages:

1.Human predecessors (Parapithecus, Dryopithecus, Ramapithecus,

Australopithecus)

2. The most ancient man (skillful man, erect man -

Pithecanthropus, Sinanthropus, Heidelbergensis

person, etc.)

3. Ancient people (Neanderthals)

4. Man of the modern type (Cro-Magnon)

Stage-by-stage development of Homo sapiens

The diagram (No. 1) of the phased development of Homo sapiens is given below. On the right are the stages of development (I, II, III, IV). On the left are eras and periods of development of life on earth. At each stage, time is given (in thousands and millions of years). Arrows indicate transitions from one stage to another. The author provides detailed descriptions of each stage.

Homo sapiens sapiens-

H Homo sapiens sapiens 40-50 thousand years

E Modern man

P First modern humans around 100 thousand years ago IV

T. Homo (Cro-Magnon)

r Ancient people 300 thousand years

I (Neanderthals) III

II Homo erectus

The earliest people 1.5-1.9 million years

P (pithecanthropus, synanthropus, Heidelberg man, etc.)

t Homo habilis- 3 million years II

R Skillful man

P Australopithecus 10-12 million years

Gorilla, chimpanzee Ramapithecus 12-14 million years

I

L. 25 million years old Dryopithecus Gibbons Orangutans

T Propliopithecus

n 30 million years old Parapithecus

E 150 million years Insectivores

Diagram 1. “Pedigree” of Homo sapiens

Predecessors of man.

About 150 million years ago, giant, scaled reptiles called dinosaurs reigned on Earth. And at the foot of the trees, small, furry animals, which were the most ancient ancestors of man, hunted for insects and hid from formidable lizards. They were warm-blooded.

About 30 million years ago, a group of small animals emerged that lived in trees and ate plants and insects - parapithecus.

About 25 million years ago, Dryopithecus, arboreal monkeys, appeared. The territory in which they lived was South Asia, Europe, Africa. Almost no fossil remains have been preserved, but from fragments of the jaw (which was found in 1856 in France and was 15-18 million years old) it is clear that the molars are like those of humans, the fangs are like those of monkeys.

In northern India, fossil remains of apes called Ramapithecus (named after the Indian god Rama) were discovered. Ramapithecus lived in the second half of the Tertiary period - 12-14 million years ago. From them, only teeth and fragments of jaws have been preserved, but judging by the structure of the teeth, they are more similar to humans than to apes. Ramapithecus lived in trees, perhaps sometimes descending and “jogging” on the ground.

The origin of man from monkeys, who led an arboreal lifestyle, predetermined the structure of Homo sapiens, which in turn was the anatomical basis of his ability to work and, consequently, for further social evolution. Grasping movements of the limbs formed the corresponding structure of the hand (the thumb is opposed to the rest and is at an angle of 90 degrees), as well as the development of the shoulder girdle, which was formed when animals made movements with a span of 180 degrees (from branch to branch). The chest becomes wide and flattens in the dorsal-abdominal direction (in terrestrial animals it is flattened laterally!), the clavicle is preserved (in running terrestrial animals it is not developed). To move quite quickly along the branches of a tree, a fairly high degree of orientation in space is required, which depends on the development of the brain (after all, it has to quickly and a lot process various information). In turn, when moving through trees, it is necessary to accurately determine the distance to the nearest support point, which leads to the appearance of binocular vision. Life in the trees helped limit fertility, therefore, careful care was taken for the cub (less often two). And lastly, life in a herd guaranteed protection from enemies. Such is the evidence that Homo sapiens descended from arboreal forms of ape-like ancestors.

I would like to return to the great apes. 30 million years ago, the ancestors (propliopithecus) of gibbons and orangutans separated from the parapithecus group. They have a lot in common with each other, although if you compare them with humans, there are more differences than between humans and chimpanzees. This suggests that they separated from the “human” branch much earlier. In turn, gorillas and chimpanzees separated from the Dryopithecus group about 25 million years ago, and these are two independent groups. They are much more similar to Homo sapiens than other apes.

If it is proven that the ancestors of man were the arboreal forms of apes, then the question arises: “Why did they descend to earth? What made them leave a relatively safe world that also provides enough food?” Let's “remember” what climatic conditions were on Earth in those days. The Cenozoic is divided into two unequal periods: Tertiary and Quaternary. In the first half of the Tertiary period, tropical and subtropical forests were widespread - the habitat of arboreal monkeys. In the second half of the Tertiary period, the great process of steppeification of the land begins. Tropical and savannah forests, which once grew in the temperate zone from Hungary to Mongolia, were replaced by open landscapes due to the increasingly arid climate. Thanks to the process of steppeification of the land and reduction of forest areas, some forms of great apes retreated into the depths of the forests, others descended from the trees to the ground and began to conquer open spaces. The descendants of the latter are people. Defenseless from the cold and predators, unable to run fast, they were able to survive only thanks to the herd lifestyle, as well as the use of the forelimbs freed from movement (it was easier to move on two limbs than on four). Consequently, the decisive factor in the transition from ape to man (according to Engels) was upright walking.

In 1921, in the Kalahari Desert in South Africa, skull bones of an unknown creature were discovered in one of the quarries. Anatomist R. Dart established that they belonged to a baby fossil ape, later named Australopithecus (from the Latin australis - southern and Greek pithekos - monkey).

Over the next few decades, a large number of skeletal remains (skulls, jaws, pelvises and limbs) of australopithecines were discovered in South Africa.

Australopithecines did not live in the forest, but in open areas such as the savannah. They were small, slow and defenseless creatures against predators. That is why it was important for them to see the approaching enemy in advance. The ability to stand up straight and look around turned out to be vital for them. Upright walking was also of great importance for hunting. For the ape-people, eyes were of great importance: raising your head high and peering into the distance, you could learn much more than sniffing a patch of dusty grass.

The mass of Australopithecines was from 20 to 50 kg, height 120-150 cm, the skull is relatively large, with a shorter facial section, the fangs did not protrude beyond the level of adjacent teeth and were not large, the weight of the brain was 550 g. They walked on two legs (as evidenced by the similarity of the structure of their pelvic bones with human ones), and their hands were free. Having straightened up, the ape-people could defend themselves from predators by throwing stones and waving sticks, and also use natural objects as tools for obtaining food. The bones of ungulates, especially antelopes, found in Australopithecine caves indicate that they actively hunted and ate meat. The transition to meat food played a huge role in the further evolution of primates. F. Engels noted that “... a person could not become a person without meat food, and if at one time or another the consumption of meat food among all known peoples even entailed cannibalism... then today this does not concern us.” It is now known that meat food supplies the body with the necessary amino acids (for example, lysine, the amount of which is negligible in most types of cereals, with the exception of rice). To ensure the required minimum of amino acids, the animal would be forced to continuously eat plant foods. Such a life cannot contribute to the improvement of the body and the development of the mind.

In recent years, discoveries in South Africa have dispelled doubts about the place of australopithecines in the human ancestry. In Ethiopia, in the Omo River valley, an expedition with the participation of L. Leakey and his son R. Leakey (1967-1971) discovered remains of australopithecines in a horizon up to 4 million years old. In 1970, in Kenya, an American expedition discovered a fragment of the lower jaw of an ancient Australopithecus - 5.5 million years old! This is so far the oldest find of australopithecines on the globe. One of the most interesting finds was made in Ethiopia (600 km from Addis Ababa) in 1973-1976. This is the famous Lucy - an almost complete skeleton of a female Australopithecine, 3.1 million years old.

Austalopithecines: humans or monkeys? The criterion for the “humanity” of a fossil primate is traces of its activity in the form of tools. Man differs from animals by the creation and use of tools (F. Engels “The Role of Labor in the Process of Transformation of Ape into Man”)

The main material for making tools was flint. There is no other material in nature that is as widespread and has the same qualities valuable for primitive technology: hardness and the ability to split. Where flint was absent or difficult to access, people made tools from quartzite, volcanic glass and other materials. So, no tools made by Australopithecines have been found! Therefore, the conclusion suggests itself: Australopithecines did not make tools and therefore were not yet human. True, the famous paleontologist G. Osborne, at the beginning of our century, suggested that the production of stone tools by our ancestors was preceded by a period of production of tools from wood and bones of large animals. However, these tools, unlike stone ones, have practically not survived to this day. Therefore, we cannot insist that Australopithecines made tools and, accordingly, we cannot consider them people either.

The most ancient stone tools made from pebbles that have reached us were discovered along with the remains of Homo habilis bones in a horizon up to 3 million years old (1959-1960 expedition of R. Leakey in the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania). This gives grounds to consider a skilled person as the creator of a very early culture of the Stone Age - Pebble, or Olduvai. Skillful man has crossed the threshold of using natural objects as tools to their artificial production. Based on this, most researchers consider him to be the oldest currently known ape-like people who evolved from an animal state.

The fact that the remains of Homo habilis are found together with the Australopithecus ape suggests that the Australopithecines were the prey of Homo habilis, like other animals, the broken bones of which lie in the same layer as the remains of Homo habilis.

Judging by the fossil remains, Homo habilis differed little from the Australopithecines. The brain volume was 650-680 cm, which was only 150 cm higher than the average brain volume of australopithecines. A skilled man was a little taller, his height reached 135-150 cm, his posture was perhaps a little straighter. Distinct morphological differences caused by labor activity appeared only after a very long period of time, accumulating over many generations.

Thus, we can assume that the first man on Earth was a skilled man who made the first artificial tools.

The most ancient people.

More than a million years after the appearance of the first people of the Homo habilis type, the most ancient people, Homo erectus, or erectus man, appeared on Earth. These are Pithecanthropus, Sinanthropus, Heidelberg man and other forms.

The discovery of Pithecanthropus - the "missing" link in the human family tree - by E. Dubois on the island of Java in the 1960s was a triumph of materialist science. The age of Javan Pithecanthropus is 1.5-1.9 million years.

One of the most famous and expressive representatives of Pithecanthropus is Sinanthropus, or Chinese Pithecanthropus. The remains of Sinanthropus were discovered in northern China near the village of Zhou-Goi-Dian, 50 km from Beijing. Sinanthropus lived in a small cave, which they occupied probably for hundreds of thousands of years (only during such a time could sediments up to 50 meters thick accumulate here). Many crude stone tools were found in the sediments. Interestingly, the tools found at the base of the sequence do not differ from other tools found in its uppermost layers. This indicates a very slow development of technology at the beginning of human history. Sinanthropus kept the fire burning in the cave.

Sinanthropus was one of the latest and most developed ancient people; it existed 300-500 thousand years ago

In Europe, reliable and thoroughly studied bone remains of ancient people close in time to Sinanthropus were found in four places. The most famous find is the massive jaw of Heidelberg Man, discovered near Heidelberg (Germany).

Pithecanthropus, Sinanthropus, and Heidelberg man had many common features and were geographical variants of the same species. Therefore, the famous anthropologist Le Gros Clark united them under the common name Homo erectus (upright man).

Homo erectus differed from his predecessors in height, straight posture, and human gait. The average height of synanthropes was about 150 cm in women and 160 cm in men. Pithecanthropus of Java reached 175 cm. The arm of the ancient man was more developed, and the foot acquired a small arch. The bones of the legs changed, the hip joint moved to the center of the pelvis, the spine received some bending, which balanced the vertical position of the body. Based on these progressive changes in the physique and growth of ancient man, he got his name - Homo erectus.

Homo erectus still differed from modern humans in some significant features: a low sloping forehead with supraorbital ridges, a massive body with a sloping chin and a protruding jaw, and a flat, small nose. However, as one anthropologist noted, they were the first primates of which, if you saw them, you would say: “These are not apes, these are undoubtedly people.”

Homo erectus differed most from its other predecessors in size and significant complexity of the brain structure and, as a consequence, more complex behavior. The volume of the brain was 800-1400 cm3, the most developed were the lobes of the brain that control higher nervous activity. The left hemisphere was larger than the right, which was probably due to the stronger development of the right hand. This typically human trait, due to the production of tools, is especially strongly developed in Sinanthropus.

Hunting is the basis of the Homo erectus lifestyle. Animal bones and hunting tools discovered at the sites of ancient people indicate that they were patient and prudent hunters who knew how to stubbornly wait in ambush along the animal trail and jointly organize raids on gazelles, antelopes and even the giant of the savannah - elephants. Such raids required not only great skill, but also the use of hunting techniques based on knowledge of the habits of animals. Homo erectus made hunting tools much more skillfully than his predecessors (Acheulean culture). Some of the stones he chipped were carefully shaped into the desired shape: a pointed end, cutting edges on both sides, the size of the stone was selected exactly according to the hand.

But it is especially important that Homo erectus was able to notice the seasonal migrations of animals and hunted where he could count on abundant prey. He learned to remember landmarks and, having gone far from the parking lot, find his way back. Hunting gradually ceased to be a matter of chance, but was planned in advance by ancient hunters. The need to follow wandering game had a profound impact on the lifestyle of Homo erectus. Willy-nilly, he found himself in new habitats, gained new impressions and expanded his experience.

Based on the structural features of the skull and cervical spine of ancient people, it has been established that their vocal apparatus was not as large and flexible as that of modern humans, but it allowed them to produce much more complex sounds than the muttering and squeals of modern monkeys. It can be assumed that Homo erectus “spoke” very slowly and with difficulty. The main thing is that he learned to communicate using symbols and to designate objects using combinations of sounds. Facial expressions and gestures probably played a significant role as a means of communication between ancient people. (The human face is very mobile, we even now understand the emotional state of another person without words: delight, joy, disgust, anger, etc. - and are also able to express specific thoughts: agree or deny, greet, call, etc.)

Collective hunting required not only verbal communication, but also contributed to the development of a social organization that was clearly human in nature, as it was based on the division of labor between male hunters and female food gatherers.

The use of fire is a huge achievement of ancient man. In the Zhou-Gou-Dian cave, where the remains of synanthropes and their numerous stone tools were found, traces of fire were also found: coals, ashes, charred stones. Obviously, the first fires burned more than 500 thousand years ago. The ability to use fire made food more digestible. In addition, fried food is easier to chew, and this could not but affect the appearance of people: the teeth began to shrink, the lower jaw no longer protruded forward, and the massive bone structure required to attach powerful chewing muscles was no longer necessary. The man's face gradually acquired modern features.

Fire not only expanded food sources many times over, but also gave humanity constant and reliable protection from the cold and from wild animals. With the advent of fire and the hearth, a completely new phenomenon arose - a space strictly intended for people. Gathering around a fire that brought warmth and safety, people could make tools, eat, sleep, and communicate with each other. Gradually, a sense of “home” grew stronger, a place where women could care for children and where men returned from hunting.

Fire made humans independent of climate, allowed them to settle on the surface of the Earth, and played an important role in improving tools.

Despite the widespread use of fire, Homo erectus could not learn how to make it for a very long time, and perhaps he never fully comprehended this secret until the end of his existence. “Fire stones,” such as flint and iron pyrite, were not found among the remains of Homo erectus.

At this stage of human evolution, many physical features of ancient people continue to be under the control of natural selection, primarily associated with the development of the brain and the improvement of upright walking. However, along with the biological factors of evolution, new social patterns begin to emerge, which over time will become the most important in the existence of human society.

The use of fire, hunting travels, and the development of the ability to communicate to some extent prepared the spread of Homo erectus beyond the tropics. From Southeast Africa he moved to the Nile Valley, and from there to the north along the East Coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Its remains were found even further east - on the island of Java and in China. What are the boundaries of the ancestral home of Humanity, the territory where the separation of man from the animal state took place?

The ancestral home of humanity.

Numerous finds in the south and especially in the east of Africa of very ancient (up to 5.5 million years old) remains of australopithecines, Homo habilis and the most ancient stone tools testify in favor of the African ancestral home of humanity. Of significant importance is the fact that Africa is home to the apes closest to humans - chimpanzees and gorilla. Neither in Asia nor in Europe has such a complete evolutionary series of primates been discovered as in East Africa.

The findings of Dryopithecus and Ramapithecus in India and Pakistan, the remains of fossil apes close to Australopithecus discovered in Southern China and northern India, as well as the remains of the most ancient people, Pithecanthropus and Sinanthropus, speak in favor of the South Asian ancestral home.

At the same time, discoveries of fossil remains of ancient people made in Germany, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia testify in favor of including southern Europe within the boundaries of settlement of ancient people. This is also evidenced by the discovery in the Vallon Grotto in southeastern France of the remains of a hunting camp dating back up to 700 thousand years. Of great interest is the discovery in the north-east of Hungary of the remains of Ramapithecus monkeys, which were on the path of hominization.

So, many researchers do not give preference to any of the three named continents, believing that the transformation of apes into people occurred in the process of their active adaptation to the most diverse and changing environmental conditions. Probably, the ancestral home of humanity was quite extensive, including a significant territory of Africa, Southern Europe, South and Southeast Asia. New discoveries of the skeletal remains of our ancestors constantly force us to expand the boundaries of the supposed ancestral home of humanity. It should be noted that America and Australia were inhabited by people of a modern physical type who came from Asia no earlier than 30-35 thousand years ago.

Ancient people.

About 300 thousand years ago, ancient people appeared on the territory of the Old World. They are called Neanderthals, since for the first time the remains of people of this type were found in Germany in the Neanderthal Valley near Düsseldorf.

The first discoveries of Neanderthals date back to the mid-19th century and did not attract the attention of scientists for a long time. They were remembered only after the publication of Charles Darwin’s book “The Origin of Species”. Opponents of the natural origin of man refused to see in these finds the remains of fossil people more primitive than modern man. Thus, the famous scientist R. Virchow believed that the bone remains from the Neanderthal Valley belonged to modern man who suffered from rickets and arthritis. Supporters of Charles Darwin argued that these are fossil people of great antiquity. Further development of science confirmed their correctness.

Currently, over 100 finds of ancient people are known in Europe, Africa, South and East Asia. On the territory of the USSR, bone remains of Neanderthals were discovered in the Crimea, in the Kiik-Koba cave and in Southern Uzbekistan, in the Teshik-Tash cave.

The physical type of the Neanderthal was not homogeneous. Currently, several groups of ancient people are distinguished. Until the 30s of the 20th century, late Western European, or classical Neanderthals, were well studied. They are characterized by a low sloping forehead, a powerful supraorbital ridge, a strongly protruding face, the absence of a chin protuberance, and large teeth. Their height reached 156-165 cm, their muscles were unusually developed, as indicated by the massiveness of the skeletal bones; the large head seems to be pulled into the shoulders. Classic Neanderthals lived 60-50 thousand years ago. There is a hypothesis that the classical Neanderthals as a whole were a side branch of evolution that was not directly related to the emergence of modern humans.

By now, a wealth of information has accumulated about other groups of ancient people. It became known that there was another form of Neanderthals (early Western European Neanderthals) that had more progressive morphological characteristics compared to classical Neanderthals: a relatively high cranial vault, a less sloping forehead, a less protruding face, etc. the so-called progressive Neanderthals probably originated from them , whose age is about 50 thousand years. Judging by the fossilized bone remains found in Palestine and Iran, ancient people of this type were morphologically close to modern humans. Progressive Neanderthals had a high cranial vault, a high forehead, and a chin protrusion on the lower jaw. Their brain volume was almost as large as that of modern humans. Casts of the internal cavity of the skull indicate that they had further growth of some human-specific areas of the cerebral cortex, namely those associated with articulate speech and subtle movements. This allows us to make an assumption about the complexity of this type of speech and thinking in people.

All of the above facts give reason to consider Neanderthals as a transitional form between the most ancient people of the Homo erectus type and people of the modern physical type. Other groups apparently were lateral, extinct branches of evolution. It is likely that advanced Neanderthals were the direct ancestors of Homo sapiens.

Even more than bone remains, the genetic connection of Neanderthals with modern people is evidenced by traces of their activity.

As the number of Neanderthals increased, they spread beyond the areas where their predecessor, Homo erectus, lived, into regions often colder and harsher. The ability to withstand the Great Glaciation indicates the significant progress of Neanderthals compared to ancient people.

The stone tools of the Neanderthals were more diverse in purpose (Mousterian culture): pointed points, scrapers, choppers. However, with the help of such tools, the Neanderthal could not provide himself with sufficient quantities of meat food, and deep snows and long winters deprived him of edible plants and berries.

Therefore, the main source of existence of ancient people was collective hunting. Neanderthals hunted more systematically and purposefully, and in larger groups, than their immediate predecessors. Fossilized bones found in the remains of Neanderthal campfires include those of reindeer, horses, elephants, bears, bison and mammoths.

Ancient people knew how to not only maintain, but also make fire. In warm climates they settled along river banks, under rock overhangs, in cold climates they settled in caves, which they often had to conquer from cave bears, lions, and hyenas.

Neanderthals also laid the foundation for other activities that are generally considered exclusively human. They developed an abstract concept of the afterlife. They took care of the old and crippled and buried their dead. With great hope for life after death, they originated a tradition that continues to this day of seeing off their loved ones on their last journey with flowers and branches of coniferous trees. It is possible that they took the first timid steps in the field of art and symbolic designations.

However, the fact that Neanderthals found a place in their society for the elderly and crippled does not mean that they represented the ideal of kindness and selflessly loved their neighbors. Excavations of their sites bring a lot of data indicating that they not only killed, but also ate each other (charred human bones and skulls crushed at the base were found). But whatever evidence of savagery may now appear to be cannibalism, it probably did not pursue a purely utilitarian goal. Famine very rarely led to cannibalism. The reasons for it were rather magical, ritual in nature. Perhaps there was a belief that, having tasted the flesh of the enemy, a person acquires special strength and courage. Or maybe the skulls were kept as trophies or as revered relics left over from the dead.

So, Neanderthals developed a variety of labor and hunting techniques that allowed man to survive the Great Glaciation. The Neanderthal lacks quite a bit to reach the full status of modern man. Taxonomists attribute it to the species Homo sapiens, i.e. to the same species as modern man, but adding the definition of a subspecies - neanderthalensis - Neanderthal man. The name of the subspecies indicates some differences from fully modern humans, now called Homo sapiens sapiens - homo sapiens sapiens.

The struggle for existence and natural selection played a prominent role in the evolution of Neanderthals. This is evidenced by the low average life expectancy of ancient people. According to the French anthropologist A. Valois and the Soviet anthropologist V.P. Alekseev, of the 39 Neanderthals whose skulls have reached us and were studied, 38.5% died before the age of 11 years, 10.3% - at the age of 12-20 years, 15.4% - at the age of 21-30 years, 25.6% - at the age of 31-40 years, 7.7% - at the age of 41-50 years, and only one person - 2.5% - died at the age of 51-60 years. These figures reflect the enormous mortality rate of ancient Stone Age people. The average generation duration only slightly exceeded 20 years, i.e. ancient people died, barely having time to leave offspring. The mortality rate for women was especially high, which was probably due to pregnancy and childbirth, as well as a much longer stay in unsanitary housing (crowded conditions, drafts, rotting garbage).

It is characteristic that Neanderthals suffered from traumatic injuries, rickets and rheumatism. But those of the ancient people who managed to survive in an extremely severe struggle were distinguished by a strong physique, progressive development of the brain, hands and many other morphological characteristics.

Although, as a result of high mortality and short life expectancy, the period of transfer of accumulated experience from one generation to another was very short, the influence of social factors on the development of Neanderthals is becoming increasingly stronger. Collective actions already played a decisive role in the primitive herd of ancient people. In the struggle for existence, those groups that successfully hunted and provided themselves with food better, took care of each other, had lower mortality among children and adults, and were better able to overcome difficult living conditions won the struggle for existence.