Human[1] Fossil range: Pleistocene - Recent
Humans depicted on the Pioneer plaque
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Primates Family: Hominidae Genus: Homo Species: H. sapiens Subspecies: H. The Pleistocene ('plaɪstəsin is the epoch from 18 million to 10000 years BP covering the world's recent period The Pioneer plaques are a pair of Gold anodized Aluminum plaques which were placed on board the 1972 Pioneer 10 and 1973 Animals Plants fungi, and Protists are eukaryotes (juːˈkærɪɒt or -oʊt Organisms whose cells are organized into complex Chordates ( Phylum Chordata) are a group of Animals that includes the Vertebrates together with several closely related Invertebrates Mammals ( class Mammalia) are a class of Vertebrate Animals characterized by the presence of Sweat glands, including sweat glands A primate is a member of the biological order Primates ( Latin: "prime first rank" the group that contains Lemurs the Aye-aye Homo is the Genus that includes modern humans and their close relatives Human beings, humans or man (Origin 1590–1600 L homō man OL hemō the earthly one (see Humus s. sapiens
Trinomial name
Homo sapiens sapiens Linnaeus, 1758

Humans, or human beings, are bipedal primates belonging to the mammalian species Homo sapiens (Latin: "wise human" or "knowing human"^[2]) in the family Hominidae (the great apes). In biology trinomial nomenclature refers to names for taxa below the rank of species Carl Linnaeus (Latinized as Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as, May 23 new style (13 May old style 1707 who laid the foundations for Bipedalism is a form of Terrestrial locomotion where an organism moves by means of its two rear limbs A primate is a member of the biological order Primates ( Latin: "prime first rank" the group that contains Lemurs the Aye-aye Mammals ( class Mammalia) are a class of Vertebrate Animals characterized by the presence of Sweat glands, including sweat glands Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. ^[3][4] DNA evidence indicates that modern humans originated in Africa about 200,000 years ago. Deoxyribonucleic acid ( DNA) is a Nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known ^[5] Humans have a highly developed brain, capable of abstract reasoning, language, introspection, and emotional suffering. Encephalization is defined as the amount of Brain mass exceeding that related to an animal's total body mass. --> Abstraction is the process or result of generalization by reducing the information A language is a dynamic set of visual auditory or tactile Symbols of Communication and the elements used to manipulate them Introspection is the self-observation and reporting of Conscious inner Thoughts desires and Sensations It is a conscious mental and usually This mental capability, combined with an erect body carriage that frees the forelimbs (arms) for manipulating objects, has allowed humans to make far greater use of tools than any other species. A forelimb is an Anterior (front-most limb (arm leg or similar appendage on an Animal 's body A broader definition of a tool is an entity used to interface between two or more domains that facilitates more effective action of one domain upon the other Humans now inhabit every continent on Earth, except Antarctica (although several governments maintain permanent research stations there, inhabited for short periods by scientists and other researchers). Humans also now have a continuous presence in low Earth orbit, occupying the International Space Station. The human population on Earth now amounts to over 6. 6 billion, as of May 2008. ^[6]

Like most primates, humans are social by nature. However, they are particularly adept at utilizing systems of communication for self-expression, exchanging of ideas, and organization. Humans create complex social structures composed of many cooperating and competing groups, from families to nations. Social structure is a term frequently used in Sociology and Social theory — yet rarely defined or clearly conceptualised (Abercrombie et al Family denotes a group of People affiliated by consanguinity affinity or co-residence A nation is a Human Cultural and Social Community. In as much as most members never meet each other yet feel a common bond it may be considered Social interactions between humans have established an extremely wide variety of traditions, rituals, ethics, values, social norms, and laws, which together form the basis of human society. Social interaction is a dynamic changing sequence of Social actions between individuals (or groups who modify their actions and reactions according to the actions by their Social norms have been defined as "the rules that a group uses for appropriate and inappropriate values beliefs attitudes and behaviors Law is a system of rules enforced through a set of Institutions used as an instrument to underpin civil obedience politics economics and society Humans have a marked appreciation for beauty and aesthetics, which, combined with the desire for self-expression, has led to cultural innovations such as art, literature and music. Art refers to a diverse range of Human activities creations and expressions that are appealing to the Senses or Emotions of a human individual Literature is the Art of written works Literally translated the word means "acquaintance with letters" (from Latin littera letter Music is an Art form in which the medium is Sound organized in Time.

Humans are notable for their desire to understand and influence the world around them, seeking to explain and manipulate natural phenomena through science, philosophy, mythology and religion. Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning " Knowledge " or "knowing" is the effort to discover, and increase human understanding Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language The word mythology (from the Greek grc μυθολογία mythología, meaning "a story-telling a legendary lore" A religion is a set of Tenets and practices often centered upon specific Supernatural and moral claims about Reality, the Cosmos This natural curiosity has led to the development of advanced tools and skills; humans are the only extant species known to build fires, cook their food, clothe themselves, and manipulate and develop numerous other technologies. Technology is a broad concept that deals with a Species ' usage and knowledge of Tools and Crafts and how it affects a species' ability to control and adapt Humans pass down their skills and knowledge to the next generations through education. Education encompasses both the Teaching and Learning of Knowledge, proper conduct, and technical competency

History

Origin

A reconstruction of Australopithecus afarensis, a human ancestor that had developed bipedalism, but which lacked the large brain of modern humans. Australopithecus afarensis is an extinct Hominid which lived between 3 Bipedalism is a form of Terrestrial locomotion where an organism moves by means of its two rear limbs

The scientific study of human evolution encompasses the development of the genus Homo, but usually involves studying other hominids and hominines as well, such as Australopithecus. Human evolution, or anthropogenesis, is the part of biological Evolution concerning the emergence of Homo sapiens as a distinct Species Homo is the Genus that includes modern humans and their close relatives Homininae is a subfamily of Hominidae, including Humans and some extinct relatives as well as the Gorillas and the Chimpanzees It comprises The Genus Australopithecus ( Latin australis "of the south" Greek πίθηκος pithekos "ape" "Modern humans" are defined as the Homo sapiens species, of which the only extant subspecies - our own - was formerly known as Homo sapiens sapiens (now simply known as Homo sapiens). In Biology, a species is one of the basic units of Biological classification and a Taxonomic rank. In Zoology, as in other branches of Biology, subspecies is the Taxonomic rank immediately subordinate to a Species. Homo sapiens idaltu (roughly translated as "elder wise human"), the other known subspecies, is now extinct. Homo sapiens idaltu is an extinct Subspecies of Homo sapiens that lived almost 160000 years ago in Pleistocene ^[7] Anatomically modern humans first appear in the fossil record in Africa about 130,000 years ago, although studies of molecular biology give evidence that the approximate time of divergence from the common ancestor of all modern human populations was 200,000 years ago. ^[8][9]

The closest living relatives of Homo sapiens are the two chimpanzee species: the Common Chimpanzee and the Bonobo. Chimpanzee (often shortened to chimp) is the common name for the two extant Species of Apes in the Genus Pan. The Common Chimpanzee ( Pan troglodytes) also known as the Robust Chimpanzee, is a great ape. The Bonobo (bə'noʊboʊ Pan paniscus) until recently usually called the Pygmy Chimpanzee (and less often the Dwarf or Gracile Chimpanzee Full genome sequencing has resulted in the conclusion that "after 6. In classical genetics the genome of a Diploid Organism including Eukarya refers to a full set of chromosomes or genes in a Gamete, thereby 5 [million] years of separate evolution, the differences between chimpanzee and human are just 10 times greater than those between two unrelated people and 10 times less than those between rats and mice". Suggested differences between human and chimpanzee DNA sequences range between 95% and 99%. ^{[10][11][12][13]} It has been estimated that the human lineage diverged from that of chimpanzees about five million years ago, and from that of gorillas about eight million years ago. An evolutionary lineage is a sequence of Species, that form a line of descent each new species the direct result of speciation from an immediate ancestral species Gorillas, the largest of the living Primates are ground-dwelling Herbivores that inhabit the Forests of Africa. However, a hominid skull discovered in Chad in 2001, classified as Sahelanthropus tchadensis, is approximately seven million years old, which may indicate an earlier divergence. Chad (Tchad تشاد Tshād) officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a Landlocked country in Central Africa. Sahelanthropus tchadensis is a Fossil Ape that lived approximately 7-6 Million years ago. ^[14]

The Recent African Origin (RAO), or "out-of-Africa", hypothesis proposes that modern humans evolved in Africa before later migrating outwards to replace hominids in other parts of the world. In Paleoanthropology, the recent African origin of modern humans is one of two hypotheses of the origin of anatomically modern humans Homo sapiens sapiens Human migration denotes any movement by Humans from one locality to another sometimes over long distances or Evidence from archaeogenetics accumulating since the 1990s has lent strong support to RAO, and has marginalized the competing multiregional hypothesis, which proposed that modern humans evolved, at least in part, from independent hominid populations. Archaeogenetics, a term coined by Colin Renfrew, refers to the application of the techniques of molecular Population genetics to the study of the Human In paleoanthropology, the multiregional hypothesis is one of two accounts of the origin of anatomically modern humans Homo sapiens. ^[15] Geneticists Lynn Jorde and Henry Harpending of the University of Utah propose that the variation in human DNA is minute compared to that of other species. Henry C Harpending (1944-) is an anthropologist and population geneticist at the University of Utah, where he is a The University of Utah (referred to locally as ' The U' or ' the U of U') is a publicly funded Research university in Salt Lake They also propose that during the Late Pleistocene, the human population was reduced to a small number of breeding pairs – no more than 10,000, and possibly as few as 1,000 – resulting in a very small residual gene pool. The Late Pleistocene (also known as Upper Pleistocene or the Tarantian) is a stage of the Pleistocene Epoch. Various reasons for this hypothetical bottleneck have been postulated, one being the Toba catastrophe theory. According to the Toba catastrophe theory, 70000 to 75000 years ago a supervolcanic event at Lake Toba, on Sumatra, reduced the world's human population

Human evolution is characterized by a number of important morphological, developmental, physiological and behavioural changes, which have taken place since the split between the last common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees. The first major morphological change was the evolution of a bipedal locomotor adaptation from an arboreal or semi-arboreal one,^[16] with all its attendant adaptations, such as a valgus knee, low intermembral index (long legs relative to the arms), and reduced upper-body strength.

Later, ancestral humans developed a much larger brain – typically 1,400 cm³ in modern humans, over twice the size of that of a chimpanzee or gorilla. The pattern of human postnatal brain growth differs from that of other apes (heterochrony), and allows for extended periods of social learning and language acquisition in juvenile humans. In Biology, heterochrony is defined as a developmental change in the timing of events leading to changes in size and shape One hotly debated issue is whether the biological contribution includes capacities specific to language acquisition often referred to as Universal grammar. Physical anthropologists argue that the differences between the structure of human brains and those of other apes are even more significant than their differences in size. Biological anthropology, or physical anthropology is a branch of Anthropology that studies the mechanisms of biological Evolution, genetic inheritance The human brain controls the Central nervous system (CNS by way of the Cranial nerves and Spinal cord, the Peripheral nervous system (PNS

Other significant morphological changes included: the evolution of a power and precision grip;^[17] a reduced masticatory system; a reduction of the canine tooth; and the descent of the larynx and hyoid bone, making speech possible. "Cuspid" redirects here For the heart valves see Bicuspid valve and Tricuspid valve. The larynx (plural larynges) colloquially known as the voicebox, is an organ in the Neck of Mammals involved in protection of the The hyoid bone ( lingual bone) (Latin os hyoideum) is a Bone in the Neck, and is the only bone in the human skeleton not articulated to any An important physiological change in humans was the evolution of hidden oestrus, or concealed ovulation, which may have coincided with the evolution of important behavioural changes, such as pair bonding. Human females have concealed ovulation or hidden estrus. Most Female animals show distinctive signs when they are " in heat " Another significant behavioural change was the development of material culture, with human-made objects becoming increasingly common and diversified over time. In addition to its usual meaning in Social science, in Archaeology, the term culture is also used in reference to several related concepts unique to The relationship between all these changes is the subject of ongoing debate. ^[18][19]

Rise of civilization

The rise of agriculture led to the foundation of stable human settlements.

The most widely accepted view among current anthropologists is that Homo sapiens originated in the African savanna around 200,000 BP (Before Present), descending from Homo erectus, had inhabited Eurasia and Oceania by 40,000 BP, and finally inhabited the Americas approximately 14,500 years ago. A savanna or savannah is a Tropical or Subtropical Grassland or Woodland Ecosystem. Before Present (BP years are a time scale used in Archaeology, Geology, and other scientific disciplines to specify when events in the past occurred Homo erectus ( Latin: "upright man" is an extinct species of the genus Homo, believed to have been the first hominin For the superstate in George Orwell 's novel see Nations of Nineteen Eighty-Four. ^[20] They displaced Homo neanderthalensis and other species descended from Homo erectus (which had inhabited Eurasia as early as 2 million years ago) through more successful reproduction and competition for resources. The Neanderthal (neɪˈændərtɑːl also with /niː-/ and /-θɔːl/ or Neandertal, is an extinct member of the Homo genus that is known from

Until c.  10,000 years ago, most humans lived as hunter-gatherers. A hunter-gatherer society is one whose primary subsistence method involves the direct procurement of edible plants and animals from the wild Foraging and Hunting They generally lived in small nomadic groups known as band societies. A band society is the simplest form of human Society. A band generally consists of a small kin group no larger than an Extended family or Clan. The advent of agriculture prompted the Neolithic Revolution, when access to food surplus led to the formation of permanent human settlements, the domestication of animals and the use of metal tools. The Neolithic Revolution was the first Agricultural revolution &mdashthe transition from hunting and gathering communities and bands to Agriculture and Domestication (from Latin domesticus) refers to the process whereby a Population of Animals The Chalcolithic (Greek khalkos + lithos ' Copper stone' period or Copper Age period known as the '''Eneolithic''' ('''Æneolithic''' is a Agriculture encouraged trade and cooperation, and led to complex society. Because of the significance of this date for human society, it is the epoch of the Holocene calendar or Human Era.

About 6,000 years ago, the first proto-states developed in Mesopotamia, Egypt and the Indus Valley. Mesopotamia (from the Greek meaning "land between the rivers" is an area geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers largely corresponding The Indus Valley Civilization (Mature period 2600&ndash1900 BCE abbreviated IVC, was an ancient Civilization that flourished in the Indus River basin Military forces were formed for protection, and government bureaucracies for administration. States cooperated and competed for resources, in some cases waging wars. Around 2,000–3,000 years ago, some states, such as Persia, India, China and Rome, developed through conquest into the first expansive empires. Influential religions, such as Judaism, originating in the Middle East, and Hinduism, a religious tradition that originated in South Asia, also rose to prominence at this time. Judaism (from the Greek Ioudaïsmos, derived from the Hebrew יהודה Yehudah, " Judah " in Hebrew יַהֲדוּת Yahedut The Middle East is a Subcontinent with no clear boundaries often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East. Hinduism is a religious tradition that originated in the Indian subcontinent.

The late Middle Ages saw the rise of revolutionary ideas and technologies. In China, an advanced and urbanized economy promoted innovations such as printing and the compass, while the Islamic Golden Age saw major scientific advancements in Muslim empires. For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. In Europe, the rediscovery of classical learning and inventions such as the printing press led to the Renaissance in the 14th century. Classical antiquity (also the classical era or classical period) is a broad term for a long period of cultural History centered on the Mediterranean The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere Over the next 500 years, exploration and imperialistic conquest brought much of the Americas, Asia, and Africa under European control, leading to later struggles for independence. The Scientific Revolution in the 17th century and the Industrial Revolution in the 18th – 19th centuries promoted major innovations in transport, such as the railway and automobile; energy development, such as coal and electricity; and government, such as representative democracy and Communism. The period which many historians of science call the Scientific Revolution can be roughly dated as having begun in 1543 the year in which Nicolaus Copernicus published The Industrial Revolution was a period in the late 18th and early 19th centuries when major changes in agriculture manufacturing and transportation had a profound effect on the Energy development is the ongoing effort to provide sufficient Primary energy sources and secondary Energy forms to meet civilization's needs Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principles of the people's representatives

As a result of such changes, modern humans live in a world that has become increasingly globalized and interconnected. Globalization (or globalisation) in its literal sense is the process of transformation of local or regional phenomena into global ones Although this has encouraged the growth of science, art, and technology, it has also led to culture clashes, the development and use of weapons of mass destruction, and increased environmental destruction and pollution, affecting not only themselves but also most other life forms on the planet. Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning " Knowledge " or "knowing" is the effort to discover, and increase human understanding A weapon of mass destruction ( WMD) is a weapon which can kill large numbers of humans and/or cause great damage to man-made structures (e

Habitat and population

Humans have structured their environment in extensive ways in order to adapt to problems such as high population density, as shown in this image of Hong Kong. Hong Kong ( officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a territory located on China 's south coast on the Pearl River Delta, and borders

Early human settlements were dependent on proximity to water and, depending on the lifestyle, other natural resources, such as fertile land for growing crops and grazing livestock, or seasonally by hunting populations of prey. Water resources are sources of Water that are useful or potentially useful to Humans Uses of water include Agricultural, industrial, Household Livestock is the term used to refer (singularly or plurally to a Domesticated Animal intentionally reared in an agricultural setting to produce such as Food Hunting is the practice of pursuing Animals for Food, Recreation, or Trade. However, humans have a great capacity for altering their habitats by various methods, such as through irrigation, urban planning, construction, transport, manufacturing goods, deforestation and desertification. A habitat (which is Latin for "it inhabits" is an Ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular Species. Irrigation is an artificial application of water to the soil usually for assisting in growing crops In the fields of Architecture and Civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the Building or assembling of Infrastructure Transport or transportation is the movement of people and goods from one place to another Manufacturing (from Latin manu factura, "making by hand" is the use of tools and labor to make things for use or sale Deforestation is the conversion of Forested areas to non-forest land for use such as Arable land, Pasture, urban use logged area or wasteland Desertification is the degradation of land in arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting primarily from human activities and influenced by climatic variations With the advent of large-scale trade and transport infrastructure, proximity to these resources has become unnecessary, and in many places these factors are no longer a driving force behind the growth and decline of a population. Nonetheless, the manner in which a habitat is altered is often a major determinant in population change.

Technology has allowed humans to colonize all of the continents and adapt to all climates. Within the last few decades, humans have explored Antarctica, the ocean depths, and space, although long-term habitation of these environments is not yet possible. With a population of over six billion, humans are among the most numerous of the large mammals. Most humans (61%) live in Asia. The vast majority of the remainder live in the Americas (14%), Africa (14%) and Europe (11%), with 0. 5% in Oceania.

Human habitation within closed ecological systems in hostile environments, such as Antarctica and outer space, is expensive, typically limited in duration, and restricted to scientific, military, or industrial expeditions. Closed ecological systems (CES are Ecosystems that do not rely on matter exchange with any part outside the system Life in space has been very sporadic, with no more than thirteen humans in space at any given time. Between 1969 and 1972, two humans at a time spent brief intervals on the Moon. The physical exploration of the Moon began when Luna 2, a Space probe launched by the Soviet Union, impacted the surface of the Moon on As of early 2008, no other celestial body has been visited by human beings, although there has been a continuous human presence in space since the launch of the initial crew to inhabit the International Space Station on October 31, 2000. Events 445 BC – Ezra reads the Book of the Law to the Israelites in Jerusalem (see Nehemiah 91 NLTse 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. Other celestial bodies have, however, been visited by human-made objects.

Since 1800, the human population increased from one billion to over six billion. ^[21] In 2004, some 2. 5 billion out of 6. 3 billion people (39. 7%) lived in urban areas, and this percentage is expected to rise throughout the 21st century. Problems for humans living in cities include various forms of pollution and crime,^[22] especially in inner city and suburban slums. A city is an Urban area with a large Population and a particular Administrative, Legal, or Historical status Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability disorder harm or discomfort to the physical systems or living organisms they are in In the sociological field, crime is the breach of a rule or Law for which some governing authority or force may ultimately prescribe a Punishment Benefits of urban living include increased literacy, access to the global canon of human knowledge and decreased susceptibility to rural famines. A famine is a widespread shortage of food that may apply to any Faunal species which phenomenon is usually accompanied by regional Malnutrition, Starvation

Humans have had a dramatic effect on the environment. See also Nature The natural environment, commonly referred to simply as the environment, is a terminology that is comprised of all living and It has been hypothesized that human predation has contributed to the extinction of numerous species. As humans stand at the top of the food chain and are not generally preyed upon, they have been described as superpredators. ^[23] Currently, through land development and pollution, humans are thought to be the main contributor to global climate change. Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability disorder harm or discomfort to the physical systems or living organisms they are in Climate change is any long-term significant change in the “average weather” that a given region experiences ^[24] This is believed to be a major contributor to the ongoing Holocene extinction event, a mass extinction which, if it continues at its current rate, is predicted to wipe out half of all species over the next century. The Holocene extinction event is the widespread ongoing Mass extinction of Species during the modern Holocene epoch. An extinction event (also known as mass extinction; extinction-level event, ELE is a sharp decrease in the number of Species in a relatively short period ^[25][26]

Biology

Physiology and genetics

An old diagram of a male human skeleton. The human skeleton consists of both fused and individual Bones supported and supplemented by Ligaments Tendons Muscles and Cartilage

Human body types vary substantially. Although body size is largely determined by genes, it is also significantly influenced by environmental factors such as diet and exercise. History See also History of genetics The existence of genes was first suggested by Gregor Mendel (1822-1884 who in the 1860s studied inheritance This article is primarily about the human diet For a discussion of animal diets see List of feeding behaviours. The average height of an adult human is about 1. Human height varies according to both "nature" and "nurture". 5 to 1. 8 m (5 to 6 feet) tall, although this varies significantly from place to place. A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit ^[27][28] Unlike most other primates, humans are capable of fully bipedal locomotion, thus leaving their arms available for manipulating objects using their hands, aided especially by opposable thumbs. Terrestrial locomotion has Evolved as Animals adapted from aquatic to terrestrial environments The hands ( med / lat: manus pl manūs are the two intricate prehensile multi- Fingered body parts normally located at the end of each arm of a

Although humans appear relatively 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. Hair is a keratinised protein filament that grows through the epidermis from follicles deep within the Dermis. A hair follicle is part of the Skin that grows Hair by packing old cells together The main distinction is that human hairs are shorter, finer, and less heavily pigmented than the average chimpanzee's, thus making them harder to see. ^[29]

The hue of human hair and skin is determined by the presence of pigments called melanins. For the drug referred to as "pigment" see Black tar heroin. Melanin is a class of compounds found in the Plant, Animal and Protista kingdoms, where it serves predominantly as a Pigment. Human skin hues can range from very dark brown to very pale pink, while human hair ranges from blond to brown to red to, most commonly, black,^[30] depending on the amount of melanin (an effective sun blocking pigment) in the skin. Blond (also spelled blonde, see below) or fair-haired is a Hair color characterized by low levels of the dark Pigment eumelanin Brown hair is the second most common Hair color, with black being the most common This article is about people with red hair also sometimes called redheads Black hair is the darkest and most common color of human hair Most researchers believe that skin darkening was an adaptation that evolved as a protection against ultraviolet solar radiation. Ultraviolet ( UV) light is Electromagnetic radiation with a Wavelength shorter than that of Visible light, but longer than X-rays More recently, however, 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. ^[31] 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. Sun tanning describes a darkening of the skin (especially of fair-skinned individuals in a natural physiological response stimulated by exposure to ultraviolet (UV radiation ^[32][33] 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 orangutans which are at least three times stronger. The orangutans are two Species of great apes known for their intelligence long arms and reddish-brown hair ^[34]

Humans have proportionately shorter palates and much smaller teeth than other primates. They are the only primates to have short 'flush' canine teeth. "Cuspid" redirects here For the heart valves see Bicuspid valve and Tricuspid valve. 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. ^[35]

The average sleep requirement is between seven and eight hours a day for an adult and nine to ten hours for a child; elderly people usually sleep for six to seven hours. Sleep is a Natural state of bodily rest observed throughout the animal kingdom Experiencing less sleep than this is common in modern societies; this sleep deprivation can lead to negative effects. Sleep deprivation is a general lack of the necessary amount of Sleep. 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.

Humans are an eukaryotic species. Animals Plants fungi, and Protists are eukaryotes (juːˈkærɪɒt or -oʊt Organisms whose cells are organized into complex Each diploid cell has two sets of 23 chromosomes, each set received from one parent. "Haplo" redirects here For the fictional character see The Death Gate Cycle. The cell is the structural and functional unit of all known living Organisms It is the smallest unit of an organism that is classified as living and is often called A chromosome is an organized structure of DNA and Protein that is found in cells. There are 22 pairs of autosomes and one pair of sex chromosomes. An autosome is a non-sex Chromosome. It is an ordinarily paired type of chromosome that is the same in both Sexes of a species. A sex-determination system is a biological system that determines the development of sexual characteristics in an Organism. By present estimates, humans have approximately 20,000 – 25,000 genes. Like other mammals, humans have an XY sex-determination system, so that females have the sex chromosomes XX and males have XY. The XY sex-determination system is the Sex-determination system found in Humans most other Mammals some insects ( Drosophila) and some Female (♀ is the Sex of an Organism, or a part of an organism which produces ova (egg cells Male (♂ refers to the sex of an organism or part of an organism which produces small mobile Gametes called spermatozoa. The X chromosome is larger and carries many genes not on the Y chromosome, which means that recessive diseases associated with X-linked genes, such as hemophilia, affect men more often than women. Haemophilia (also spelled as hemophilia

Life cycle

A human embryo at 5 weeks

The human life cycle is similar to that of other placental mammals. A life cycle is a period involving 1 Generation of an Organism through means of Reproduction, whether through Asexual reproduction or Sexual The placenta is an Ephemeral organ present in placental Vertebrates, such as Eutherial Mammals and Sharks during Gestation The fertilized egg divides inside the female's uterus to become an embryo, which over a period of thirty-eight weeks (9 months) of gestation becomes a human fetus. The uterus (from the Latin word for womb) is the major Female reproductive organ of most Mammals including Humans One end the Gestation is the carrying of an Embryo or Fetus inside a Female Viviparous Animal. After this span of time, the fully-grown fetus is birthed from the woman's 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 personhood earlier to human fetuses while they remain in the uterus.

Compared with other species, human childbirth is dangerous. Childbirth (also called labour, birth, partus or parturition) is the culmination of a Human Pregnancy or Painful labors lasting twenty-four hours or more are not uncommon and often leads to the death of the mother, or the child. ^[36] This is because of both the relatively large fetal head circumference (for housing the brain) and the mother's relatively narrow pelvis (a trait required for successful bipedalism, by way of natural selection). The pelvis (pl pelvises or pelves) or pelvic girdle is the irregular bony structure located at the base of the spine (properly known ^[37][38] 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 relatively hazardous ordeals in developing regions of the world, with maternal death rates approximately 100 times more common than in developed countries. Natural Childbirth is a philosophy of Childbirth that is based on the notion that women who are adequately prepared are innately able to give birth to their chlld without ^[39]

Two young human females photographed at an Inter-racial Christmas Seals Camp in August 1943^[40]

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. ^[41] However, low birth weight is common in developing countries, and contributes to the high levels of infant mortality in these regions. Birth weight is the weight of a baby at its birth. It has direct links with the Gestational age at which the child was born and can be estimated Infant mortality is defined as the number of deaths of Infants (one year of age or younger per 1000 live births ^[42] Helpless at birth, humans continue to grow for some years, typically reaching sexual maturity at 12 to 15 years of age. Sexual maturity is the age or stage when an Organism can reproduce. 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, adulthood and old age. Child article read through the various talk pages for the debate -- it's been put on and removed twice For other uses see Young adult. According to Erik Erikson 's stages of human development first enumerated in Childhood and Society (1950 For the 2008 British film by Noel Clarke see Adulthood (film. Old age consists of ages nearing or surpassing the Average life span of Human beings and thus the end of the human life cycle. 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%. ^[43]

There are significant differences in life expectancy around the world. The developed world generally aging, with the median age around 40 years (highest in Monaco at 45. 1 years). In the developing world the median age is between 15 and 20 years. Third World is a name given to nations that are generally considered to be underdeveloped economically Life expectancy at birth in Hong Kong, China is 84. Hong Kong ( officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a territory located on China 's south coast on the Pearl River Delta, and borders 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. ^[44] While one in five Europeans is 60 years of age or older, only one in twenty Africans is 60 years of age or older. ^[45] The number of centenarians (humans of age 100 years or older) in the world was estimated by the United Nations at 210,000 in 2002. A centenarian is a person who has attained the age of 100 Years or more The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security ^[46] 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. Jeanne Louise Calment (ʒan lwiz kalˈmɑ̃ February 21, 1875  – August 4, 1997) She lived in Arles, France 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.

Humans are unique in the widespread onset of female menopause during the latter stage of life. Menopause is the permanent shutting down of the female Reproductive system, a considerable length of time before the end of the lifespan Menopause is believed to have arisen due to the Grandmother hypothesis, in which it is in the mother's reproductive interest to forgo the risks of death from childbirth at older ages in exchange for investing in the viability of her already living offspring. The grandmother hypothesis is meant to explain why Menopause, rare in mammal species arose in Human evolution, and how late life infertility could actually confer ^[47]

The philosophical questions of when human personhood begins and whether it persists after death are the subject of considerable debate. The prospect of death causes unease or fear for most humans, distinct from the immediate awareness of a threat. Burial ceremonies are characteristic of human societies, often accompanied by beliefs in an afterlife or immortality. Burial, also called interment and inhumation, is the act of placing a person or object into the ground AfterLife is a film drama set in Scotland directed by Alison Peebles made in 2003 about an ambitious Scottish journalist forced to choose between

Diet

Early Homo sapiens employed a hunter-gatherer method as their primary means of food collection, involving combining stationary plant and fungal food sources (such as fruits, grains, tubers, and mushrooms) with wild game, which must be hunted and killed in order to be consumed. Game is any Animal hunted for Food or not normally domesticated (such as Venison) It is believed that humans have used fire to prepare and cook food prior to eating since the time of their divergence from Homo erectus. Cooking is the process of preparing Food by applying Heat, selecting measuring and combining of ingredients in an ordered procedure for producing safe and edible Homo erectus ( Latin: "upright man" is an extinct species of the genus Homo, believed to have been the first hominin

Humans are omnivorous, capable of consuming both plant and animal products. Omnivores (from Latin omne all everything vorare to devour are species that eat both Plants and Animals as their primary A view of humans as omnivores is supported by the evidence that both a pure animal and a pure vegetable diet can lead to deficiency diseases in humans. Many Diseases in humans are directly or indirectly caused by improper eating habits and Malnutrition. A pure animal diet can, for instance, lead to scurvy, a vitamin C deficiency, while a pure plant diet may lead to vitamin B12 deficiency. Scurvy (NLat scorbutus is a disease resulting from a deficiency of Vitamin C, which is required for the synthesis of Collagen in humans ^[48] The biggest problem posed by a vitamin B12 deficiency is that it severely limits the body's ability to synthesize folic acid, a main source of B group carriage. Folic acid (also known as Vitamin M and Folacin) and Folate (the Anionic form are forms of the water-soluble Vitamin B9 In order to counter the constant folic acid deficiency, one must regularly consume large amounts of folic acid, as may be found in green, leafy vegetables. Properly planned vegetarian and vegan diets, however, have been found to completely satisfy nutritional needs in every stage of life. Vegetarianism is the practice of a diet that excludes Meat (including game and slaughter by-products Fish (including Shellfish and other sea ^[49]

The human diet is prominently reflected in human culture, and has led to the development of food science. Food science is a discipline concerned with all technical aspects of Food, beginning with Harvesting or slaughtering, and ending with its Cooking 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 300,000 people starving to death every year. ^[50] Childhood malnutrition is also common and contributes to the global burden of disease. ^[51] However global food distribution is not even, and obesity among some human populations has increased to almost epidemic proportions, leading to health complications and increased mortality in some developed, and a few developing countries. Obesity is a condition in which excess Body fat has accumulated to such an extent that health may be negatively affected In Epidemiology, an epidemic (from Greek epi- upon + demos people is a classification of a disease that appears as new cases in a The term developed country, or advanced country, is used to categorize countries with developed Economies in which the tertiary and quaternary sectors Developing countries are countries that haven't reached Western-style standards of democratic government free market economy industrialization social programs and human rights guaranties The United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) state that 32% of American adults over the age of 20 are obese, while 66. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (or CDC) is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services based in unincorporated 5% are obese or overweight. Obesity is caused by consuming more calories than are expended, with many attributing excessive weight gain to a combination of overeating and insufficient exercise. This article is about the unit of energy For its use in Nutrition and Food labelling regulations, see the article on Food energy.

At least ten thousand years ago, humans developed agriculture,^[52] which has substantially altered the kind of food people eat. Agriculture was developed at least 10000 years ago and it has undergone significant developments since the time of the earliest cultivation This has led to increased populations, the development of cities, and because of increased population density, the wider spread of infectious diseases. An infectious disease is a clinically evident Disease resulting from the presence of Pathogenic microbial agents including Pathogenic viruses Pathogenic The types of food consumed, and the way in which they are prepared, has varied widely by time, location, and culture.

Psychology

A sketch of the human brain imposed upon the profile of Michelangelo's David. Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni Two biographies were published of him during his lifetime One of them by Giorgio Vasari, proposed that he was the pinnacle of all David is a Masterpiece of Renaissance Sculpture sculpted by Michelangelo from 1501 to 1504 Sketch by Priyan Weerappuli.

The human brain is the center of the central nervous system in humans, and acts as the primary control center for the peripheral nervous system. The human brain controls the Central nervous system (CNS by way of the Cranial nerves and Spinal cord, the Peripheral nervous system (PNS In Vertebrates the central nervous system ( CNS) is the part of the Nervous system which is enclosed in the Meninges. The peripheral nervous system ( PNS) resides or extends outside the Central nervous system (CNS which consists of the Brain and Spinal cord. The brain controls "lower", or involuntary, autonomic activities such as the respiration, and digestion. &trade The autonomic nervous system ( ANS) (or visceral nervous system) is the part of the Peripheral nervous system that acts as a Control In Animal physiology, respiration is the transport of Oxygen from the outside air to the cells within tissues and the transport of Carbon dioxide Digestion is the breaking down of chemicals in the body into a form that can be absorbed The brain also controls "higher" order, conscious activities, such as thought, reasoning, and abstraction. Thought and thinking are mental forms and Processes respectively ("thought" is both Reason involves the ability to think understand and draw Conclusions in an Abstract way as in Human thinking --> Abstraction is the process or result of generalization by reducing the information ^[53] These cognitive processes constitute the mind, and, along with their behavioral consequences, are studied in the field of psychology. Mental functions and cognitive Processes are terms often used interchangeably (although not always correctly so the term cognitive tends to have specific MIND ( Moving In New Directions) (est 1975 is an alternative education high school in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Behavior or behaviour (see spelling differences) refers to the actions or Reactions of an object or Organism, usually Psychology (from Greek grc ψῡχή psȳkhē, "breath life soul" and grc -λογία -logia) is an Academic and

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. While many animals 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. Even the most ancient human tools and structures are far more advanced than any structure or tool created by any other animal. ^[54] Modern anthropology has tended to bear out Darwin's 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". Charles Robert Darwin (February 12 1809 &ndash April 19 1882 was an English naturalist, who realised and demonstrated that all Species of life ^[55]

Consciousness and thought

The human ability to think abstractly may be unparalleled in the animal kingdom. Humans are one of only six species to pass the mirror test — which tests whether an animal recognizes its reflection as an image of itself — along with chimpanzees, orangutans, dolphins, and pigeons. The mirror test is a measure of Self-awareness developed by Gordon Gallup Jr ^[56] In October 2006, three elephants at the Bronx Zoo also passed this test. Elephants ( family: Elephantidae) are large land Mammals of the order Proboscidea. ^[57] Most human children will pass the mirror test at 18 months old. ^[58] However, the usefulness of this test as a true test of consciousness has been disputed (see mirror test), and this may be a matter of degree rather than a sharp divide. The mirror test is a measure of Self-awareness developed by Gordon Gallup Jr Monkeys have been trained to apply abstract rules in tasks. ^[59] The human brain perceives the external world through the senses, and each individual human is influenced greatly by his or her experiences, leading to subjective views of existence and the passage of time. Senses are the physiological methods of Perception. The senses and their operation classification and theory are overlapping topics studied by a variety of fields Subjectivity refers to a subject's perspective particularly feelings beliefs and desires In common usage existence is the world of which we are aware through our senses but in Philosophy the word has a more specialized meaning and is often contrasted with Humans are variously said to possess consciousness, self-awareness, and a mind, which correspond roughly to the mental processes of thought. Consciousness has been defined loosely as a constellation of attributes of Mind such as Subjectivity, Self-awareness, Sentience, and the Self-awareness is the concept that one exists as an individual separate from other people with private Thoughts. These are said to possess qualities such as self-awareness, sentience, sapience, and the ability to perceive the relationship between oneself and one's environment. Sentience is the ability to feel or perceive subjectively. It is an important concept in the philosophy of Animal rights, in buddhist philosophy and in Sapience is often defined as Wisdom, or the ability of an organism or entity to act with appropriate judgment. In Philosophy, personal identity refers to the essence of a self-conscious person that which makes him or her unique See also Nature The natural environment, commonly referred to simply as the environment, is a terminology that is comprised of all living and 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. Cognitive science may be broadly defined as the multidisciplinary study of mind and behavior Daniel Clement Dennett (born March 28 1942 in Boston, Massachusetts) is a prominent American philosopher whose research ^[60] Psychologist B.F. Skinner has argued that the mind is an explanatory fiction that diverts attention from environmental causes of behavior,^[61] and that what are commonly seen as mental processes may be better conceived of as forms of covert verbal behavior. Burrhus Frederic Skinner ( March 20, 1904 &ndash August 18 1990) was an influential American Psychologist, author ^[62]

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 phenomenological or information processing theories of the mind. Information processing is the change (processing of Information in any manner detectable by an observer. 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. Neuropsychology is the applied scientific discipline that studies the structure and function of the Brain related to specific psychological processes and overt behaviors Cognitive neuroscience is an academic field concerned with the scientific study of biological substrate underlying Cognition, with a specific focus on the neural substrates

The nature of thought is central to psychology and related fields. Cognitive psychology studies cognition, the mental processes underlying behavior. Cognitive psychology is a branch of Psychology that investigates internal mental processes such as problem solving memory and language Cognition is a concept used in different ways by different disciplines but is generally accepted to mean the process of awareness or thought Mental functions and cognitive Processes are terms often used interchangeably (although not always correctly so the term cognitive tends to have specific It uses information processing as a framework for understanding the mind. Information processing is the change (processing of Information in any manner detectable by an observer. 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, whose adherents argue for an information processing model of mental function, informed by positivism and experimental psychology. In Psychology, cognitivism is a theoretical approach in understanding the mind which argues that mental function can be understood by quantitative, positivist Information processing is the change (processing of Information in any manner detectable by an observer. Positivism is the Philosophy that the only authentic knowledge is knowledge that is based on actual sense experience Experimental psychology approaches Psychology as one of the natural sciences investigates it using the experimental method. 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. ^[63] Phenomenal consciousness is the state of being conscious, such as when they say "I am conscious. " Access consciousness is being conscious of 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, Husserl's phenomenology, and intentionality. Stream of consciousness refers to the flow of Thoughts in the conscious Mind. The term intentionality is often simplistically summarised as "aboutness" The concept of phenomenal consciousness, in modern history, according to some, is closely related to the concept of qualia. " Qualia " (ˈkwɑːliə is "an unfamiliar term for something that could not be more familiar to each of us the ways things seem to us" 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. Social psychology is the study of how people and groups interact The behavior and mental processes, both human and non-human, can be described through animal cognition, ethology, evolutionary psychology, and comparative psychology as well. Animal cognition is the title given to a modern approach to the mental capacities of (non-human Animals. Ethology ( from Greek ἦθος ethos, "character" and λόγος logos, "knowledge") is the scientific study of Animal Evolutionary psychology ( EP) attempts to explain mental and psychological traits ��such as Memory, Perception, Psychologists and scientists do not always agree on what should be considered Comparative Psychology. Human ecology is an academic discipline that investigates how humans and human societies interact with both their natural environment and the human social environment. Human ecology is an academic discipline that deals with the relationship between Humans and their natural social and created environments An academic discipline or field of study is a branch of Knowledge which is taught or Researched at the college or university level A society is a Population of Humans characterized by patterns of relationships between individuals that share a distinctive Culture and Institutions The social environment (context, also known as the Milieu, is the identical or similar Social positions and Social roles as a whole that influence the individuals

Motivation and emotion

Goya's Tío Paquete (1820) displays an adult male smiling.

Motivation is the driving force of desire behind all deliberate actions of human beings. Motivation is the reason or reasons for engaging in a particular behavior especially Human behavior as studied in Philosophy, Conflict, Economics In Philosophy, action has developed into a sub-field called Philosophy of action. Motivation is based on emotion — specifically, on the search for satisfaction (positive emotional experiences), and the avoidance of conflict. Contentment refers to the neuro-physiological experience of satisfaction and being at ease in one's situation Bodymind (cf Positive and negative is defined by the individual brain state, which may be influenced by social norms: a person may be driven to self-injury or violence because their brain is conditioned to create a positive response to these actions. The brain is the center of the Nervous system in animals All Vertebrates and the majority of Invertebrates have a brain 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 financial incentives, moral incentives, or coercive incentives. A moral is a message conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event Coercion (co-er-shion is the practice of compelling a person or manipulating them to behave in an involuntary way (whether through action or inaction by use of threats Religions generally posit divine or demonic influences.

Happiness, or the state of being happy, is a human emotional condition. The definition of happiness is a common philosophical topic. Some people might define it as the best condition which a human can have — a condition of mental and physical health. Others define it as freedom from want and distress; consciousness of the good order of things; assurance of one's place in the universe or society. Freedom, or the idea of being free is a broad concept that Value theory encompasses a range of approaches to understanding how why and to what degree humans should or do value things whether the thing is a person idea object or anything else

Emotion has a significant influence on, or can even be said to control, human behavior, though historically many cultures and philosophers 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. There is often a distinction made between refined emotions which are socially learned and 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 Stoics believed excessive emotion was harmful, while some Sufi teachers (in particular, the poet and astronomer Omar Khayyám) felt certain extreme emotions could yield a conceptual perfection, what is often translated as ecstasy. Stoicism, a school of Hellenistic philosophy, was founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium in the early third century BC Sufism ( تصوّف - taṣawwuf, Persian: صوفی‌گری sufigari, Turkish: tasavvuf, Urdu: تصوف For the Thoroughbred racehorse see Omar Khayyam (horse Ghiyās od-Dīn Abol-Fath Omār ibn Ebrāhīm Khayyām Neyshābūri (غیاث الدین Ecstasy is subjective experience of total involvement of the subject with an object of his or her awareness

In modern scientific thought, certain refined emotions are considered to be a complex neural trait innate in a variety of domesticated and on-domesticated mammals. 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 hedonistic sense to the enjoyment of activity involving sexual gratification. Generally speaking human sexuality is how people experience and express themselves as sexual beings Hedonism is the Philosophy that Pleasure is of ultimate importance, the most important pursuit Sexual desire, or libido, is experienced as a bodily urge, often accompanied by strong emotions such as love, ecstasy and jealousy. Libido in its common usage means Sexual desire however more technical definitions such as those found in the work of Carl Jung, are more general referring to libido Ecstasy is subjective experience of total involvement of the subject with an object of his or her awareness The extreme importance of sexuality in the human species can be seen in a number of physical features, among them hidden ovulation, strong sexual dimorphism when compared to the chimpanzees, 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. Sexual dimorphism is the systematic difference in form between individuals of different Sex in the same Species. Secondary sex characteristics are traits that distinguish the two Sexes of a species but that are not directly part of the Reproductive system. These adaptations indicate that the importance of sexuality in humans is on par with that found in the Bonobo, and that the complex human sexual behaviour has a long evolutionary history. The Bonobo (bə'noʊboʊ Pan paniscus) until recently usually called the Pygmy Chimpanzee (and less often the Dwarf or Gracile Chimpanzee eVolution is the third Album by eLDee, it was due to be released in 2008

As with other human self-descriptions, humans propose that it is high intelligence and complex societies of humans that have produced the most complex sexual behaviors of any animal, including a great many behaviors that are not directly connected with reproduction.

Human sexual choices are usually made in reference to cultural norms, which vary widely. Restrictions are sometimes determined by religious beliefs or social customs. The pioneering researcher Sigmund Freud believed that humans are born polymorphously perverse, which means that any number of objects could be a source of pleasure. Sigmund Freud (ˈziːkmʊnt ˈfʁɔʏt born Sigismund Shlomo Freud (May 6 1856 &ndash September 23 1939 was an Austrian Psychiatrist who founded The concept of psychosexual development, as envisioned by Sigmund Freud at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century is a central element in his sexual 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). The concept of psychosexual development, as envisioned by Sigmund Freud at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century is a central element in his sexual 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). Alfred Charles Kinsey (June 23 1894 &ndash August 25 1956 was an American Biologist and professor of Entomology and Zoology, who in 1947 Recent studies of neurology and genetics suggest people may be born with one sexual orientation or another, so there is not currently a clear consensus among sex researchers. ^[64][65]

Culture

Culture is defined here as a set of distinctive material, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual features of a social group, including art, literature, lifestyles, value systems, traditions, rituals, and beliefs. Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate" generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic 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 artifacts. In Archaeology, an artifact or artefact is any object made or modified by a human culture, and often one later recovered by some archaeological A culture's values define what it holds to be important or ethical. A personal and cultural value is a Relative ethic value, an assumption upon which implementation can be extrapolated Closely linked are norms, expectations of how people ought to behave, bound by tradition. Social norms have been defined as "the rules that a group uses for appropriate and inappropriate values beliefs attitudes and behaviors Artifacts, or material culture, are objects derived from the culture's values, norms, and understanding of the world. In addition to its usual meaning in Social science, in Archaeology, the term culture is also used in reference to several related concepts unique to The mainstream anthropological view of culture implies that most experience a strong resistance when reminded that there is an animal as well as a spiritual aspect to human nature. ^[55]

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 which 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. ^[35] Technology has even advanced so as to allow the communication of mass data upon request and over great distance through data-nets and programs such as Wikipedia. In this way data networks are important to the continuing development of language; changing it as just as Gutenberg did with the printing press. 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. Language is closely tied to ritual and religion (cf. mantra, sacred text). A mantra ( Devanāgarī मन्त्र (or mantram is a religious or mystical syllable or poem typically from the Sanskrit language 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. According to some definitions an extinct language is a Language which no longer has any speakers, whereas a dead language is a language which is no longer spoken

Spirituality and religion

Religion—sometimes used interchangeably with "faith"—is generally defined as a belief system concerning the supernatural, sacred or divine, and moral codes, practices, values, institutions and rituals associated with such belief. A religion is a set of Tenets and practices often centered upon specific Supernatural and moral claims about Reality, the Cosmos Belief is the psychological state in which an individual holds a Proposition or Premise to be true Morality (from the Latin la moralitas "manner character proper behavior" has three principal meanings In the course of its development, 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 source of a variety of creation myths), the nature of the universe (religious cosmology) and its ultimate fate (eschatology), and what is moral or immoral. AfterLife is a film drama set in Scotland directed by Alison Peebles made in 2003 about an ambitious Scottish journalist forced to choose between In the Natural sciences, Abiogenesis, or origin of life, is the study of how Life on Earth emerged from Inanimate Organic A creation myth is a supernatural mytho-[[religion religious]] story or explanation that describes the beginnings of humanity, Earth, life, and The Universe is defined as everything that Physically Exists: the entirety of Space and Time, all forms of Matter, Energy See Cosmology (disambiguation. Religious cosmologies are ways of explaining the history and evolution of the Universe based The ultimate fate of the universe is a topic in Physical cosmology. Eschatology (from the Greek, Eschatos meaning "last" and -logy meaning "the study of" is a part of Theology Morality (from the Latin la moralitas "manner character proper behavior" has three principal meanings A common source in religions for answers to these questions are transcendent divine beings such as deities or a singular God, although not all religions are theistic — many are nontheistic or ambiguous on the topic, particularly among the Eastern religions. In Religion, transcendence is a condition or state of being that surpasses physical existence and in one form is also independent of it Divinity and divine (sometimes 'the Divinity' or 'the Divine' are broadly applied but loosely defined terms used variously within different faiths and belief systems — See also List of deities A deity is a Postulated Preternatural or Supernatural Being, who is always Theism, in its most inclusive usage is the belief in at least one Deity. Nontheism is a term that covers a range of both religious and nonreligious attitudes characterized by the absence of&mdashor the rejection of&mdash Theism or any belief in a Eastern religion is a group of Religions originating in India, China, Japan and Southeast Asia. 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 humankind's place in the universe, the meaning of life, and the ideal way to live one's life. The soul, according to many religious and philosophical beliefs is the self-awareness, or Consciousness, unique to a particular living The English word " spirit " comes from the Latin " spiritus " (breath See also Western philosophy, Eastern religions, Eastern philosophy The 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. Mysticism (from the Greek grc μυστικός mystikos, an initiate of a Mystery religion) is the pursuit of communion with identity Karma ( Sanskrit: कर्म, kárman - "act action performance" Pali: kamma) is the concept of "action"

Although a majority of humans profess some variety of religious or spiritual belief, some are irreligious, that is lacking or rejecting belief in the supernatural or spiritual. Irreligion is a lack of religion indifference to religion or hostility to religion 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 to be mutually exclusive; a majority of humans hold 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. Philosophy of religion is a branch of Philosophy that is concerned with the philosophical study of religion including arguments over the nature and existence of God religious Theology is the study of a god or the gods from a religious perspective Other humans have no religious beliefs and are atheists, scientific skeptics, agnostics or simply non-religious. Atheism Scientific skepticism or rational skepticism ( also spelled scepticism) sometimes referred to as skeptical inquiry, is a scientific or practical Agnosticism ( Greek: α- a-, without + γνώσις gnōsis, knowledge after Gnosticism) is the philosophical view that the Irreligion is a lack of religion indifference to religion or hostility to religion

The Thinker, Artist's rendering of the sculpture by Auguste Rodin. The Thinker (Le Penseur is a bronze and marble sculpture by Auguste Rodin held in the Musée Rodin in Paris. Auguste Rodin (born François-Auguste-René Rodin; November 12 1840–November 17 1917 was a French artist most famous as a sculptor.

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. Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language It is the discipline searching for a general understanding of values and reality by chiefly speculative means. The core philosophical disciplines are logic, ontology or metaphysics, epistemology, and axiology, which includes the branches of ethics and aesthetics. Logic is the study of the principles of valid demonstration and Inference. In Philosophy, ontology (from the Greek, genitive: of being (part Metaphysics is the branch of Philosophy investigating principles of reality transcending those of any particular science Epistemology (from Greek επιστήμη - episteme, "knowledge" + λόγος, " Logos " or theory of knowledge Axiology (from Greek grc ἀξιᾱ axiā, "value worth" and grc -λογία -logia) is the study of quality or value Ethics is a major branch of Philosophy, encompassing right conduct and good life Aesthetics or esthetics ( also spelled æsthetics) is commonly known as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values sometimes called Philosophy covers a very wide range of approaches, and is also 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. A comprehensive world view (or worldview) is a term Calqued from the German word Weltanschauung ( Welt is the German

Plato and Aristotle in a detail from The School of Athens by Raphael. Biography Early life Birth and family Plato was born in Athens Greece Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. The School of Athens, or it Scuola di Atene in Italian, is one of the most famous Paintings by the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael Sanzio, usually known by his first name alone (in Italian Raffaello) (April 6 or March 28 1483 – April 6 1520 was an Italian painter and

Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with the study of first principles, being and existence (ontology). Metaphysics is the branch of Philosophy investigating principles of reality transcending those of any particular science First Principles is also the title of a work by Herbert Spencer. Disambiguation For the Wigwam album see Being (album, for spiritual or religious beingness, see Ego (spirituality In common usage existence is the world of which we are aware through our senses but in Philosophy the word has a more specialized meaning and is often contrasted with In Philosophy, ontology (from the Greek, genitive: of being (part In between the doctrines of religion and science, stands the philosophical perspective of metaphysical cosmology. Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language See Cosmology (disambiguation. Cosmology is the branch of Philosophy and Metaphysics that deals with the World This ancient field of study seeks to draw logical conclusions about the nature of the universe, humanity, god, and/or their connections based on the extension of some set of presumed facts borrowed from religion and/or observation. Humans often consider themselves to be the dominant species on Earth, and the most advanced in intelligence and ability to manage their environment. This belief is especially strong in modern Western culture. Western culture (sometimes equated with Western Civilization) are terms which are used to refer to Cultures of European origin Alongside such claims of dominance is often found radical pessimism because of the frailty and brevity of human life. Life is a state that distinguishes Organisms from non-living objects such as non-life and dead organisms being manifested by growth through Metabolism

Humanism is a philosophy which defines a socio-political doctrine the bounds of which are not constrained by those of locally developed cultures, but which seeks to include all of humanity and all issues common to human beings. Humanism is a broad category of ethical philosophies that affirm the dignity and worth of all people based on the ability to determine right and wrong by appealing to universal Because spiritual beliefs of a community often manifests as religious doctrine, the history of which is as factious as it is unitive, secular humanism grew as an answer to the need for a common philosophy that transcended the cultural boundaries of local moral codes and religions. Secular humanism is a humanist philosophy that upholds Reason, Ethics and Justice, and specifically rejects the Supernatural Many humanists are religious, however, and see humanism as simply a mature expression of a common truth present in most religions. Humanists affirm the possibility of an objective truth and accept that human perception of that truth is imperfect. The most basic tenets of humanism are that humans matter and can solve human problems, and that science, freedom of speech, rational thought, democracy, and freedom in the arts are worthy pursuits or goals for all peoples. Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without Censorship or Limitation. Reason involves the ability to think understand and draw Conclusions in an Abstract way as in Human thinking Humanism depends chiefly on reason and logic without consideration for the supernatural. The term supernatural or supranatural ( Latin: super, supra "above" + natura "nature" pertains to entities events

Art, music, and literature

Allegory of Music (ca. 1594), a painting of a woman writing sheet music by Lorenzo Lippi. Painting (pān'tīng in Art, is the practice of applying Color to a Surface (support base such as e Sheet music is a hand-written or printed form of Musical notation; like its analogs -- books pamphlets etc Lorenzo Lippi (1606 - 1664 was an Italian painter and Poet. Born in Florence, he studied painting under Matteo Rosselli.

Artistic works have existed for almost as long as humankind, from early pre-historic art to contemporary art. Stone Age Paleolithic See also Paleolithic, Recent African Origin, Early Homo sapiens, Early human migrations "Paleolithic" Art is one of the most unusual aspects of human behavior and a key distinguishing feature of humans from other species, In fact the only species to do so. Art has only been around for the last 35,000 years which could suggest that this was the time when humans started to 'think'. Thought and thinking are mental forms and Processes respectively ("thought" is both

Sculpture by Malvina Hoffman of an Asian human male meditating. Malvina Hoffman ( June 15, 1887 &ndash July 10, 1966) was an American sculptor, made famous by her life-size sculptures Meditation is a mental discipline by which one attempts to get beyond the conditioned "thinking" mind into a deeper state of relaxation or awareness

As a form of cultural expression by humans, art may be defined by the pursuit of diversity and the usage of narratives of liberation and exploration (i. Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate" generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic The term multiculturalism generally refers to a state of racial, cultural and ethnic diversity within the Demographics of a specified A narrative or story is a construct created in a suitable format (written spoken poetry prose images song Theater, or Dance) that describes a sequence of e. art history, art criticism, and art theory) to mediate its boundaries. Art history is the Academic study of objects of Art in their Historical development and stylistic contexts i Art criticism is the discussion or evaluation of visual Art. Art critics usually criticize art in the context of Aesthetics or the theory of Aesthetics or esthetics ( also spelled æsthetics) is commonly known as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values sometimes called 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 which, 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 intuitive phenomenon based on the three distinct and interrelated organization structures of rhythm, harmony, and melody. Intuition is apparent ability to acquire knowledge without a clear inference or the use of reason Listening to music is perhaps the most common and universal form of entertainment for humans, while learning and understanding it are popular disciplines. In its most general sense discipline refers to systematic instruction given to a Disciple. There are a wide variety of music genres and ethnic musics. A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Traditional music is the term now used in the terminology of Grammy Awards for what used to be called " folk music " Literature, the body of written — and possibly oral — works, especially creative ones, includes prose, poetry and drama, both fiction and non-fiction. Literature is the Art of written works Literally translated the word means "acquaintance with letters" (from Latin littera letter Non-fiction is an account or representation of a subject which is presented as Fact. Literature includes such genres as epic, legend, myth, ballad, and folklore. An epic is a lengthy Narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation

Science and technology

In the mid- to late 20th century, humans achieved a level of technological mastery sufficient to leave the atmosphere of Earth for the first time, explore space and walk on the moon. EARTH was a short-lived Japanese vocal trio which released 6 singles and 1 album between 2000 and 2001 History First orbital flights The first successful orbital launch was of the Soviet unmanned Sputnik

Science is the discovery of knowledge about the world by verifiable means. Technology is the objects humans make to serve their purposes. Human cultures are both characterized and differentiated by the objects that they make and use. Archaeology attempts to tell the story of past or lost cultures in part by close examination of the artifacts they produced. Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from Greek grc ἀρχαιολογία archaiologia – grc ἀρχαῖος archaīos In Archaeology, an artifact or artefact is any object made or modified by a human culture, and often one later recovered by some archaeological Early humans left stone tools, pottery and jewelry that are particular to various regions and times. A stone tool is in the most general sense any Tool made of stone. Pottery is the Ceramic ware made by potters It also refers to a group of materials that includes Earthenware, Stoneware Jewellery (also spelled jewelry, see spelling differences) is a personal Ornament, such as a necklace ring or bracelet made from Gemstones Improvements in technology are passed from one culture to another. For instance, the cultivation of crops arose in several different locations, but quickly spread to be an almost ubiquitous feature of human life. Similarly, advances in weapons, architecture and metallurgy are quickly disseminated. Metallurgy is a domain of Materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their

Space science provides a new perspective on human significance

Although such techniques can be passed on by oral tradition, the development of writing, itself a kind of technology, made it possible to pass information from generation to generation and from region to region with greater accuracy. Oral tradition, oral culture and oral lore is a way for a society to transmit history, literature, law and other Knowledges Together, these developments made possible the commencement of civilization and urbanization, with their inherently complex social arrangements. A Civilization is a society in which large numbers of people share a variety of common elements Urbanizationn (also spelled urbanisation) is the physical growth of Urban areas into rural or natural land as a result of population in-migration to an existing Eventually this led to the institutionalization of the development of new technology, and the associated understanding of the way the world functions. This science now forms a central part of human culture. Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning " Knowledge " or "knowing" is the effort to discover, and increase human understanding In recent times, physics and astrophysics have come to play a central role in shaping what is now known as physical cosmology, that is, the understanding of the universe through scientific observation and experiment. Physics (Greek Physis - φύσις in everyday terms is the Science of Matter and its motion. Astrophysics is the branch of Astronomy that deals with the Physics of the Universe, including the physical properties ( Luminosity, Physical cosmology, as a branch of Astronomy, is the study of the large-scale structure of the Universe and is concerned with fundamental questions about its This discipline, which focuses on the universe as it exists on the largest scales and at the earliest times, begins by arguing for the big bang, a sort of cosmic expansion from which the universe itself is said to have erupted ~13. The Big Bang is the cosmological model of the Universe that is best supported by all lines of scientific evidence and Observation. 7 ± 0. 2 billion (10⁹) years ago. After its violent beginnings and until its very end, scientists then propose that the entire history of the universe has been an orderly progression governed by physical laws. The ultimate fate of the universe is a topic in Physical cosmology. A physical law or scientific law is a Scientific generalization based on empirical Observations of physical behavior (i

Race and ethnicity

Humans often categorize themselves in terms of race or ethnicity, although the validity of human races as true biological categories is questionable. The term race or racial group usually refers to the concept of categorizing Humans into Populations or groups on the basis of various sets ^[67] Human racial categories are based on both ancestry and visible traits, especially skin color and facial features. An ancestor is a Parent or ( recursively) the parent of an ancestor (i A trait is a distinct phenotypic character of an organism that may be inherited environmentally determined or somewhere in between Human skin color can range from almost black (due to very high concentrations of the dark brown pigment melanin to nearly colorless (appearing reddish white due to the Blood These categories may also carry some information on non-visible biological traits, such as the risk of developing particular diseases such as sickle-cell disease. Sickle-cell disease or sickle-cell anaemia (or anemia) is a Blood disorder characterized by Red blood cells that assume an abnormal rigid ^[68] Currently available genetic and archaeological evidence is generally interpreted as supportive of a recent single origin of modern humans in East Africa. Genetic anthropology is a new branch of scientific study which deals with combining DNA data with available physical evidence and past histories of civilizations In Paleoanthropology, the recent African origin of modern humans is one of two hypotheses of the origin of anatomically modern humans Homo sapiens sapiens East Africa is the Easternmost Region of the African Continent. ^[69] Current genetic studies have demonstrated that humans on the African continent are most genetically diverse. ^[70] However, compared to many other animals, human gene sequences are remarkably homogeneous. ^{[71][72][73][74]} It has been repeatedly demonstrated that the great majority of genetic variation occurs within "racial groups", with only 5 to 15% of total variation occurring between racial groups. ^[75] However, this remains an area of active debate. ^[76][77] Ethnic groups, on the other hand, are more often linked by linguistic, cultural, ancestral, and national or regional ties. Self-identification with an ethnic group is based on kinship and descent. Kinship is a relationship between any entities that share a genealogical origin through either biological cultural or historical descent Race and ethnicity can lead to variant treatment and impact social identity, giving rise to racism and the theory of identity politics. Social identity is a theory formed by Henri Tajfel and John Turner to understand the psychological basis of intergroup Discrimination. List of racism-related topics|Racism by country Racism, by its simplest definition is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that Identity politics is Political action to advance the interests of members of a group whose members are oppressed by virtue of a shared and marginalized Identity (such

Society, government, and politics

The United Nations complex in New York City, which houses one of the largest human political organizations in the world. The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security The City of New York

Society is the system of organizations and institutions arising from interaction between humans. A society is a Population of Humans characterized by patterns of relationships between individuals that share a distinctive Culture and Institutions A state is an organized political community occupying a definite territory, having an organized government, and possessing internal and external sovereignty. A state is a political association with effective Sovereignty over a geographic Area and representing a Population. Politics Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. Sovereignty is the exclusive Right to control a Government, a country, a people or oneself Recognition of the state's 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. Maximilian Carl Emil Weber (maks 'veːbɐ (21 April 1864 &ndash 14 June 1920 was a German political economist and sociologist who was considered "^[78]

Government can be defined as the political means of creating and enforcing laws; typically via a bureaucratic hierarchy. For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. Politics Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions Law is a system of rules enforced through a set of Institutions used as an instrument to underpin civil obedience politics economics and society Bureaucracy is the structure and set of regulations in place to control activity usually in large organizations and government @@@ main@@@ - title Hierarchy@@@ keywords structure; sociology; information@@@ review@@@ - Politics is the process by which decisions are made within groups. Politics Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions Although the term is generally applied to behavior within governments, politics is also observed in all human group interactions, including corporate, academic, and religious institutions. For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. Many different political systems exist, as do many different ways of understanding them, and many definitions overlap. The most common form of government worldwide is a republic, however other examples include monarchy, social democracy, military dictatorship and theocracy. A republic is a State or Country that is not led by a hereditary Monarch, but in which the people (or at least a part of its people have impact on its Social democracy is a Political ideology of the left and centre-left A military dictatorship is a Form of government wherein the political power resides with the Military; it is similar but not identical to a Stratocracy, Theocracy is a form of government in which a god or deity is recognized as the supreme civil ruler All of these issues have a direct relationship with economics.

The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki immediately killed over 120,000 humans. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were nuclear attacks near the end of World War II against the Empire of Japan by the United States at

War

War is a state of widespread conflict between states, organizations, or relatively large groups of people, which is characterized by the use of lethal violence between combatants or upon civilians. An organization (or organisation &mdash see spelling differences) is a social arrangement which pursues collective goals which controls its own performance and Violence is the exertion of force so as to injure or abuse The word is used broadly to describe the destructive action of natural phenomena like Storms and Earthquakes It is estimated that during the 20th century between 167 and 188 million humans died as a result of war. ^[79] A common perception of war is a series of military campaigns between at least two opposing sides involving a dispute over sovereignty, territory, resources, religion or other issues. In the Military sciences a military campaign is a term applied to large scale, long duration significant Military strategy plan incorporating Sovereignty is the exclusive Right to control a Government, a country, a people or oneself Natural resources are naturally occurring substances that are considered valuable in their relatively unmodified ( natural) form A religion is a set of Tenets and practices often centered upon specific Supernatural and moral claims about Reality, the Cosmos A war said to liberate an occupied country is sometimes characterized as a "war of liberation", while a war between internal elements of a state is a civil war. Belligerent military occupation occurs when the control and authority over a territory passes to a hostile army. A War of liberation is a conflict which is primarily intended to bring freedom or independence to a Nation or group A civil war is a War between a State and domestic political actors that are in control of some part of the territory claimed by the state Full scale pitched-battle wars between adversaries of comparable strength appear to have nearly disappeared from human activity, with the last major one in the Congo region winding down in the late 1990s. Nearly all war now is asymmetric warfare, in which campaigns of sabotage, guerrilla warfare and sometimes acts of terrorism disrupt control and supply of better-equipped occupying forces, resulting in long low-intensity wars of attrition.

War is one of the main catalysts for human advances in technology. Throughout human history there has been a constant struggle between defense and offence, including the technologies behind armour and weapons designed to penetrate it. Defence Armour (or armor) is protective covering most commonly manufactured from metals to prevent damage from being inflicted to an individual or a vehicle through use of direct contact Modern examples include the bunker buster bomb and the bunkers which they are designed to destroy. A bunker buster is a Bomb designed to penetrate hardened targets or targets buried deep underground A military bunker is a hardened shelter often buried partly or fully underground designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks Important inventions such as medicine, navigation, metallurgy, mass production, nuclear power, rocketry and computers have been completely or partially driven by war. Mass production (also called flow production, repetitive flow production, series production, or serial production) is the production of A rocket or rocket vehicle is a Missile, Aircraft or other Vehicle which obtains Thrust by the reaction of the A computer is a Machine that manipulates data according to a list of instructions.

There have been a wide variety of rapidly advancing tactics throughout the history of war, ranging from conventional war to asymmetric warfare to total war and unconventional warfare. The Military concept of Revolution in Military Affairs ( RMA) is a theory about the future of Warfare, often connected to technological and Military tactics ( Greek: Taktikē, the art of organizing an army are the techniques for using weapons or military units in combination for engaging and defeating Conventional warfare is a form of Warfare conducted by using conventional military weapons and battlefield tactics between two or more states in open confrontation Asymmetric warfare originally referred to War between two or more belligerents whose relative military power differs significantly Total war is a conflict of unlimited scope in which a Belligerent engages in a total mobilization of all available resources at his disposal Unconventional warfare (abbreviated UW) is the opposite of Conventional warfare. Techniques include hand to hand combat, the use of ranged weapons, and ethnic cleansing. Hand-to-hand combat (sometimes abbreviated as HTH or H2H is a generic term for Close quarters fighting, particularly when the outcome is potentially fatal as in Melee A ranged weapon or missile weapon is any Weapon that launches a Projectile or that is a projectile itself Ethnic cleansing is a Euphemism referring to the persecution through imprisonment expulsion or killing of members of an ethnic minority by a majority to achieve ethnic homogeneity Military intelligence has often played a key role in determining victory and defeat. Propaganda, which often includes factual 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 vehicles are used to control the land, warships the sea, and air power the sky. An armoured fighting vehicle ( AFV) is a military Vehicle, protected by armour and armed with Weapons Most AFVs are equipped for driving in rugged 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, although no actual warfare is currently carried out in space.

Trade and economics

Buyers and sellers bargain in Chichicastenango Market, Guatemala. Chichicastenango, also known as Santo Tomás Chichicastenango, is a Town in the El Quiché department of Guatemala, known for its traditional Guatemala (República de Guatemala) is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west the Pacific Ocean to the southwest

Trade is the voluntary exchange of goods, services and a form of economics. Economics is the social science that studies the production distribution, and consumption of goods and services. A mechanism that allows trade is called a market. Sao Paulo Stock Exchangejpg|thumb| Virtual market arena where buyer and seller are not present and trade via intemediates and electronical information The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and services. Barter is a type of Trade in which goods or services are directly exchanged Modern traders instead generally negotiate through a medium of exchange, such as money. As a result, buying can be separated from selling, or earning. The invention of money (and later credit, paper money and non-physical money) greatly simplified and promoted trade. Credit is the provision of resources (such as granting a Loan) by one party to another party where that second party does not reimburse the first party immediately thereby generating Because of specialization and division of labor, most people concentrate on a small aspect of manufacturing or service, trading their labour for products. Division of labour or specialization is the specialization of cooperative labour in specific circumscribed tasks and roles intended to increase the Productivity Trade exists between regions because different regions have an absolute or comparative advantage in the production of some tradeable commodity, or because different regions' size allows for the benefits of mass production. In international trade the principle of comparative advantage refers to the fact that although one country may have an absolute disadvantage with another value can be created for both Mass production (also called flow production, repetitive flow production, series production, or serial production) is the production of

Economics is a social science which studies the production, distribution, trade and consumption of goods and services. The social sciences comprise academic disciplines concerned with the study of the social life of human groups and individuals including Anthropology, Communication studies 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 demand for money, capital and commodities. Microeconomics is a branch of Economics that studies how individuals households and firms and some states make decisions to allocate limited resources typically in markets In Economics, aggregate supply is the total supply of goods and services produced by a national economy during a specific time period In Economics, aggregate demand is the total demand for final goods and services in the economy ( Y) at a given time and Price level. In Economics, capital or capital Goods or real capital refers to items of extensive value A commodity is anything for which there is demand but which is supplied without qualitative differentiation across a market Aspects receiving particular attention in economics are resource allocation, production, distribution, trade, and competition. Resource allocation is used to assign the available Resources in an economic way Competition is a rivalry between individuals groups nations or animals for territory or resources Economic logic is increasingly applied to any problem that involves choice under scarcity or determining economic value. The economic value of a good or service has puzzled economists since the beginning of the discipline Mainstream economics focuses on how prices reflect supply and demand, and uses equations to predict consequences of decisions. Supply and demand is an Economic model describing effects on price and quantity in a Market.

References

External links

• MNSU
• Archaeology Info
• Chororapithecus abyssinicus Possible human-orangutan split 20 million years ago. (Aug 26 2007)