Have human needs changed?

Early man, such as the Neanderthals focussed primarily on physiological needs because the environment in which they lived was so hazardous.

Food was sparse and living too close to water courses may have resulted in unwelcome predatory visitors.

I’m sure you could find the same conclusion from an academic source and it would make your work stronger. Some generations of Neanderthals lived during the ice age, between and thus food was in short supply because few organisms could survive these conditions. This meant Neanderthals were dominated by the need to find food, which was secured primarily through hunting and scavenging, but nuts and berries also contributed in a small part to their diet. Water on the other hand, was not difficult to come by, and many made efforts to live close to water sources to ensure sufficient supply, however, living too close to water may have placed the Neanderthals in close proximity to predators who were also using the water source, putting their lives in danger. The discovery of many Neanderthal bones in caves has led us to conclude that they sheltered in caves and unearthed animal hides and needles have led us to believe that hide was used to protected themselves from the cold. These methods secured the needs of shelter and warmth, which are two of Maslow’s basic needs. Fire had a multitude of uses for the Neanderthals, it was used for warmth and also met safety needs as it kept unwelcome visitors such as cave bears away. Fire was also used for cooking, but not nearly as much as it is now, this is because Neanderthals, like other carnivores, had a specific combination of enzymes in their stomachs that allowed them to consume and digest large quantities of raw meat. Today, there is very little meat th...

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...he demise of Neanderthals, their influx put immense demand on already constrained resources, there was little available food during the ice age because only those species best adapted to the harsh environment could survive. Homo Sapiens however, had a different way of thinking and created different tools making them better equipped for hunting, this meant that Homo Sapiens obtained food more easily, which was necessary for survival, this led to Neanderthals being outcompeted and their numbers began to diminish.

So far, I have discussed the needs of early man, and how they were met in relation to Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, I am now going to compare these needs to human rights and explore whether there is a causal relationship between the two. I will also discuss whether human rights have become a need in themselves as a result of our growing population.