Baguio City National High School – Senior High School

First Semester, SY 2023-2024

Understanding Culture, Society and Politics (UCSP)
Quarter 1: Module 4: Significance of Cultural, Social, Political
and Economic Symbols and Practices

MELC: * Analyze the significance of cultural, social, political, and economic symbols and practices.

What’s In

Analyze the scenarios and pictures below. Tell if it shows ethnocentrism or

cultural relativism. Write your answers on your paper.

1. You have a classmate from the north who does not

spend as much. Other students think it is stingy,
because in the place where your classmate came from is
known for its culture to be prudent with money

2. Your
family used
to live
abroad and
has a
habit of welcoming relatives and visitors
in your home. Prepares food or even offer
lodging. Your foreign friends understood
this behavior because they know that it is
part of your culture and should never be
judge according to their standards.

3. In your community there are only a few rich

families, and due to the busy schedule, they rarely
socialize and talk to neighbors. But for most in your
community they assume that it reflects a proud
attitude.

Philippines is k n o w n f o r h a v i n g v a r i e t y o f
delicacies
which used different cooking techniques and all native food are tasty
and delicious. It also encourages tourist and other people from different
countries to visit the Philippines, to try and taste these delicacies that
are rare in their places.

5. In Baguio, it is common for them to eat dog meat and

it is part of their culture, but elsewhere in the
Philippines it is not acceptable and considered illegal
because for others dogs are treated as a house pet.
 What’s New

Activity 1: The ICEMAN and the ALPS

(this activity is adapted from slideshare.net accessed May 25, 2020)

In 1991, hikers in the Alps found a dead body and notified the authorities.
They thought that person might have died on a recent hike, but extensive scientific
testing revealed the body to be around 5,000 years old! Since the “Iceman” was frozen
for all this time, his body clothing, and tools were all preserved intact, giving us a
rare glimpse of what it must have been like to live in the Neolithic Era.
The discovery of the Iceman has also given us a mystery to solve. The autopsy’
revealed many signs of violent death. When archaeologists inquire about the past,
they examined evidence and put it together to tell their story. What story does it
tell?

Artifacts
Copper Axe
Flint knife
Unfinished longbows
Flints (stones used for tools
and fire)
Mushrooms
14 bone-tipped arrows
Two finished
Twelve unfinished
Autopsy
Cerebral Trauma to the head
Cuts and bruises on hands Your assignment:
Arrow wound in shoulder By yourself, use at least 6 pieces
(arrow probably removed) of evidence to tell a story about the
Blood from 4 people (DNA) events leading to the Iceman’s death.
57 Carbon Tattoos (dots and Remember that the only wrong
lines on lower spine. Back of answer in history is an answer that
knees and right ankle) lack evidence. Be creative and have fun
About 5000years old with this.

1. Based from the activity, what is the significance of human material remains and
artefactual evidence in interpreting culture, social and political processes?
2. As compared to our lives today what differences do we have from these men who
lived 5,000 years ago in terms of biological and cultural features? Use the
reconstructed picture of the iceman below.

Present day Human Beings

Biological difference:

Cultural Difference:

3. As you can see, there is a big difference between the biological and socio-
cultural features between that Iceman and you. Why do you think changes
happen in all aspects of your life from time to time?

HUMAN CULTURAL EVOLUTION

It is a saying that “human has no contentment”. As the environment changes, we
continuously grow and find ways to make maximize our effort as we live. It is very
evident in the different stages of human cultural evolution: Palaeolithic Period,
Neolithic Period, and Age of Metal.

The term “Palaeolithic” was coined by archaeologist John Lubbock in 865. It is derived
the from Greek word, palaios, which means “old"; and, lithos, "stone", In short, the
Palaeolithic Period, which happened 2.5 million years ago, is also known as "Old
Stone Age".

In the Palaeolithic period, the Earth was extremely cold and ocean levels were much
lower than they are now. Due to the cold climate, much of the Stone Age is also called
the Ice Age.

During these years, people

were nomads and able to
use simple tools and
weapons made of
unpolished stone. The caves
served as their shelter.

Similarly, this was the time

when people discovered to
use the fire, through the use of stone, for their protection against cold temperature
and to cook their own food.

Human beings in this time were grouped together in small societies such as bands,
and subsisted by gathering plants and fishing, hunting or scavenging wild animals.
Also in this era, according to study of Dr. Jesus T. Peralta of NCCA, respect is given
to age, and individual prowess and ability are recognized. There are no leaders that
could be said to be above everybody else and whose commands are obeyed without
question. In some cases, one who is known for good decisions is consulted when a
problem arises; or well-known hunter will be asked to lead a hunting group.

Likewise, the term “Neolithic” also comes from the same archaeologist and from the
Greek word “neo” which means new and “lithos” meaning stone or in short, the “New
Stone Age” which was happened for about 10,000 B.C.In this period, the Cro Magnon
disappeared and the new people who are considered the modern man appeared.

The Neolithic Revolution is also called as

the First Agricultural Revolution. During this
period, there was a wide-scale transition of
many human cultures from a lifestyle of hunting
and gathering to of agriculture and settlement
kind of society which eventually led to population
increase. People depend on domesticated plants
and animals. They learned to create such crafts
as pottery and weaving. They likewise developed
boat as means of transportation and for fishing
as well.
From being nomads during the early stage, human began to
develop a sedentary type of society of which they built-up
villages and towns.

Furthermore, they were never contented of their

accomplishments. They kept on discovering things for
their own convenience. So, they discovered metals, and
they gradually abandoned stone as the basic element for
their instrument and tools

This period was known as Age of Metals (4000 B.C – 1500 B.C). The used of metal
such as bronze, copper, and iron produced a new historical development from the
cradle civilization of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia including the India, and China
which later spread throughout Asia.

There were three stages distinguished within this Age due to the different types of
metals that were used: The Copper Age, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age; copper was
the first known metal, it is of a low hardness and it was used to make ornaments;
bronze is an alloy of copper and tin and it is harder and stronger than copper. Several
eastern Mediterranean peoples discovered this metallurgy and progressed rapidly.

During this age, agricultural tools were developed with bronze, such as plows and
sickles, military weapons like swords, spears and shields, as well as household
utensils like jars, bowls and cups. Likewise, a more developed social, cultural,
political, and economic system were improved. Tribes, empires, and state were
recognized at this point.
EARLY CIVILIZATION and RISE of the STATE
Ancient State and Civilization
One of the earliest states and civilizations was found in the Fertile Crescent which is
known as the Mesopotamian civilization. The word Mesopotamia is a Greek word for
“Land between two rivers” which is often referred to as the cradle of civilization. It is
the region of the Western Asia located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. It is
known as the Fertile Crescent where the first evidence of agriculture was also found.

Here the first human civilizations were taking the earliest steps from hunter-gatherer
society into settled community.

Moreover, it is in Mesopotamia that the history writing appeared as early as over

5,000 years ago. This invention was so important that it marks the end of the
Prehistory, and the beginning of history. One of the first writing systems, the
Cuneiform, is one of the most important civilizations in the history of
Mesopotamian culture.

Every city in Mesopotamia had its own government, rulers, warriors, patron god,
and functioned like an independent country. Mesopotamian cities were Ur, Uruk,
Kish, Lagesh. There is a temple at the center of each city called a ziggurat (a
massive, tiered, pyramid-shaped structure).

There was also what we called Mesopotamian warrior-gods(2.400-2.500 B.C.)who

govern and protect the people under its government. Military commanders
eventually became monarch creating a new structure of government called a
Dynasty. It is a series of rulers descending from a single-family line. The Akkadian
Empire lasted about 200 years. In the year 2350–2150 B.C, Babylonian Empire
overtook Sumerians around 2000 B.C., and they built capital, the Babylon, on
Euphrates River.

Another ancient states and civilizations was the Egyptian civilization. It emerged
more than 5,000 years ago along the River Nile in the north-east of Africa. The
Ancient Egyptians lived near the River Nile because of its fertile land suitable for
growing crops and domestication of animals. Each year, water from the Nile rose and
flooded the area. When the water went back, it left mud that made the fields fertile.

Egyptians called their king a pharaoh. The pharaoh was all- powerful: He passed
laws, He ruled the country, He owned most of the land, and He controlled trade and
led the armies. Egyptians believed that the pharaohs were gods.

Modern State and Civilization

In the European continent, several states and civilization grew tremendously over
centuries. In England, around 1500s, most of the people lived in small villages. They
paid tithes to their feudal landlords. Henry VII won the War of the Roses in England,
which led into what is known as the Tudor dynasty, and begun the development of
the English nation-state.

In Spain in the year 1492, Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella took Spain
back from the Muslim. It became the era of Spain as a global power.
In France, Louis XIV of France created an absolute monarchy. France became the
dominant power in Europe. When The French Revolution broke out, it created the
modern French nation-state, which sparked nationalism around Europe.
In 1914, when various nation-states started to claim their power and superiority over
all the nations in the world, the World War I begununtil1918. In 1919, Treaty of
Versailles ended the World War I. It divided several multinational empires that led to
the creation of several new nation-states.

In 1939, the World War II started until 1945. The end of World War II led to the
formation of United Nations in 1945.

The State of the People: Democratic State

In the recent decade after the two World Wars, people are becoming more active in
their government and state affairs, in which people become the source of political
power and government rules. This evolution in the government is known as the
process of democratization, or simply democracy – the rule of the people.

Democratization is the transition to a more democratic political regime, including

substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. It may be the
transition from an authoritarian regime to a full democracy, a transition from an
authoritarian political system to a semi-democracy or transition from a semi-
authoritarian political system to a democratic political system. What is a democracy?
Moreover, a democracy is a form of government where the citizens of the nation have
the power to vote.

Types of Democracy
There are several different types of democracies.

(1) Representative democracy is a system where citizens choose government

representatives among their citizens,

(2) Direct democracy is when the citizens form a governing body and vote directly
on issues,

(3) Constitutional democracy limits the powers of government through the

nation’s constitution.