The Super Summary of World History (5 page)

As the universe formed our solar system fell into place with its planets circling a medium sized yellow sun. Our earth circles in the diminutive life zone at the perfect distance from our sun. The moon, one of the largest and closest orbiting objects anywhere in the solar system, probably formed after a collision between earth and some other earth-sized planet. As the two planets blasted into one another the moon tore away, and by some means the earth managed to acquire more iron from the striking planet thereby creating an especially large iron core. This outsized iron core produces unusually strong magnetic fields which shield the earth from deadly cosmic rays. Without this large iron core no life would exist on this planet. This scenario is not fact, it is one of several theories trying to explain the uniqueness of our water-covered planet. After everything had formed up and the surface of the earth cooled enough the march to life began . . . somehow. It is extremely hard to say how. No one knows how life first formed or how it came to be so complex so quickly. The theory of evolution tries to explain the development of life after it began; however, it has no application to the question of how life started.

History deals with people and not the physical events described above, but knowing the earth is a rocky planet with water—lots of water—at the exact position in the solar system it needs to be, and with many exceptional features that sustain life, helps us understand the uniqueness of our planet and thus ourselves. Even our universe is exceptional. For life to exist anywhere in the universe several of its most fundamental properties must be present at pinpoint exactness. To illustrate: the relationship between the strong nuclear force and the electromagnetic force
[1]
could not vary by even one part in 10 to the 16
th
power (10
16
), otherwise life would not exist on our planet or anywhere else. Commentators and scientists remark that perhaps the most amazing thing about the universe is that it is understandable. Somehow, mere people—less than a flea speck in the universe—figured out how the universe works. These patterns ordering our universe are dense and intricate beyond all imagination, nevertheless, on both the subatomic and universal level the patterns are there. Because our species discovered these breathtaking patterns
we
know
chaos
does
not
rule
our
universe
or
our
world
.
Why
our world and the universe are so well ordered on so many levels cannot be explained by science.

Now, on to people, their decisions, and history.

For our purposes, prehistory starts about 150,000 BC when modern man comes onto the scene, and ends about 3,500 BC when writing makes its appearance in Sumeria—according to widely accepted current theories. By definition,
history
must
revolve
around
the
written
word.
Without the written word history, as we will use the term in this study, does not exist. When we say writings we mean text by someone who lived at or near in time to the events, and who witnessed or participated in the events or at least talked with those who did. In this way we can attempt to reach back into the past and pull up the thoughts, sights, emotions, and actions of those who were there. We cannot understand the ancient mind very well even with these writings, because their lives were so different from ours. Can we really know what is was like to live in a hut covered with animal hides, hunt for our food, drink from mud holes, and live in fear of the noises of the night? Until people start writing down their thoughts we must simply guess at what went on inside their heads.

Please be acutely aware of
how
inaccurate
most
dates
are
in
prehistory
and
ancient
history
. Even though the dates seem to be precise numbers (2071 BC for example) most of them are rough educated guesses. Kings lists are good points to pin past events on
if
you know when at least one of the kings lived, but often we do not. A chronicler may say King Joe lived 50 years, but this may be an estimate by the ancient writer based on hearsay rather than personal knowledge.

From the writings of our forefathers we have proof that one thing never seems to change, at least from the time that writing began, and that one thing is
human
nature
. From the earliest written legends to our latest 3D movies the nature of people remains a constant. What it was like at the very beginning of human existence is speculation, but once writing begins it is apparent that human nature remains unchanged throughout history. The mind of humanity remains remarkably consistent (or is that inconsistent . . .); accordingly, the fundamental thoughts and emotional processes of our ancient brethren are the same as ours today.

Before proceeding to the arrival of
Homo
s
apiens
sapiens
[2]
into Europe we should mention one proto human type that existed, more or less unchanged, for over
one
million
years
—
Homo
erectus
(upright man)
.
This archaic human type spread throughout the old world including China (Peking man, 600,000 BC), but did not manage the trek to the Americas.
Home
erectus
was a fire user
[3]
, built dwellings (some of impressive size up to fifty feet in length), carved wood into spears and bowls, used stone hand axes, and lived in groups. The ability to use fire is a big deal.
[4]
With fire
Home
erectus
could ward off the cold, keep dangerous animals away, and light the night . . . at least a little bit. Art, at least sophisticated art, is missing from the evidence of
Homo
erectus
. Modern humans alone seem to have the ability or desire to create detailed and refined art. One amazing fact about this ancestor (latest theory) is he lasted so long.
Homo
erectus
is thought to have been around for over 1 million years and may have overlapped modern man by 50 or 60 thousand years or more.
Homo
sapiens
have been around for about 150,000 years. Compared to the one million plus years for
Homo
erectus
modern man has barely started.

Another interesting proto human was the
Neanderthal
. Neanderthals had, on average, a brain as large as
Homo
sapiens.
Neanderthals inhabited Europe and areas as far east as Palestine by about 200,000 BC. After modern humans arrived in Europe about 50,000 BC Neanderthals went extinct, although some claim they intermingled with
Homo
sapiens
making Neanderthals part of the modern human genome. If modern man and Neanderthals interbred this would mean they were the same species and should all be identified as
Homo
sapiens
. Interbreeding is difficult to prove, nevertheless, modern DNA research is showing there are genetic similarities. Both
Homo
sapiens
and Neanderthals are said to have the gene for speech, and a few researchers think that intermingling caused the gene sharing; however, all this is speculation and other investigators can cite evidence pointing to extinction.

Researchers using modern methods to image the human brain have recorded areas that are more active than others when the brain is involved in certain tasks. The doctors conclude the brain’s pre-frontal cortex (front part of the brain) is the center for generating long-term goals and analyzing how to achieve them. This area also manages the ability to learn from the past. It is also one of the most modern areas of the brain; that is, the newest or most recently evolved (
Change
Your
Brain,
Change
Your
Life
, Dr. Amen, 1998, Three Rivers Press). If this is so, we can speculate that
Homo
erectus
may have lacked a developed pre-frontal cortex, thus lacking the ability to set goals far into the future and work toward achieving them as easily as
Homo
sapiens
. Because of the developed pre-frontal cortex,
Homo
sapiens
may have learned from previous errors far easier than
Homo
erectus
. These two traits alone may account for the dominance of modern man over this successful but now obsolete predecessor.

The first true “humans” were the
Homo
sapien
s
and they developed in Africa (says the latest theory) by around 150,000 BC, then spread to Europe about 50,000 BC. We classify this period as the Old Stone Age or the
Paleolithic
because of the type of tools used and the houses
Homo
sapiens
lived in. As the human race advanced and the tools and houses became more sophisticated humanity moved into the Middle Stone Age or
Mesolithic
. The final era of the stone ages is the
Neolithic
or New Stone Age, again classified by the tools used and houses lived in. The chart below may help the reader understand the three stone ages.

Note,
the
New
Stone
Age
brings
in
agriculture;
and
this
was
the
greatest
advance
in
the
long
history
of
humanity.

In prehistory there is no writing, and this makes investigating the era especially hard. We do have bits of physical evidence left by prehistoric peoples and it tells us a lot. People lived in groups, learned to build houses with hearths and shelves, and often buried their dead in cemeteries. Some graves contained bodies along with jewelry and clothing. Other burials involved cremating the body and placing the ashes into urns, followed by a burial of the urn (the Urnfield culture). Artistry included brightly colored realistic pictures inside caves, impressive carvings, and pottery. Our ancestors constructed very simple to very sophisticated stone tools, consumed a large variety of animals, grains, nuts, fish, and fowl from the areas they inhabited, and they eventually developed trade with other sets of people outside their area. Archeologist have found woven and died clothing dating from 26,000 BC, and clay cooking pots from 12,500 BC. These assertions are based on solid physical evidence from archeological sites, accordingly, there is little speculation about the fundamental facts; however, some books and articles on prehistory are based on the surmises of those studying the period, and this guesswork is
not
fact.

Figure 1 Neolithic Cave Painting 30,000 BC

(See front cover for color)

Let us discuss an illustration of speculation. Beautiful cave paintings found in France (Lascaux) and Spain date from
30,000
BC
. The paintings are far inside the caves in all but inaccessible places. Animals and animal life are the main subjects, and some are painted with what appear to be spears or arrows in the animals. The infrequently depicted people are poorly drawn stick figures. Nearly everyone writing about the paintings classify them as high art or art with a ritual purpose. The best paintings are beautiful, containing well-executed color usage and lifelike qualities for the animals; however, are they the Rembrandts of their era? Could the paintings be graffiti placed there by wayward youths? After all, graffiti in large cities is often well executed, colorful, and generally pleasing except for its location.