Surviving the Human Race
Donette Brantley
HIS/112
January 11, 2015
Professor Christian Rubalcaba
Surviving the Human Race
The beginning of time is quite a mystery when it comes to the Human Race and how we all evolved to present time as humans. The timelines of our existence is a combination of scavengers’ called the hunter-gather society which were called Paleolithic’s to a food producing society who were called the Neolithic’s.
According to today’s life style we are somewhat similar to the Neolithic era which is based on certain aspects of both life styles.
Paleolithic Era
Known as the “Old Stone Age”, this particular era was the beginning of all humans era where they really didn’t know what to do with land and food. Eventually, this era did develop some lifelong tools as going from not producing food, being scavengers as they were, to making rocks and applying sharp edges to them in order to cut and chop with. This particular era also created art work by carving bone and painting art work on cave walls. Going on forty five thousand years which has passed, this is where humans reached over most of the earthly livable areas by this time (Levack, Muir, and Veldman (2014), p. 12). Evidence has been known to show that even religion was somewhat non existence in the lower Paleolithic era.
According to Jones (2005), “It is clear that manifestations of religion cannot be determined from archaeological researches because material remains are silent (p. 6950).” Since in theory, this is an era when humans first appear based on the Paleolithic time.
But during the upper Paleolithic era the drawings in the caves did show some sort of proof of religious belief since this particular era shows that the Paleolithic man was very much similar to humans we have today (Jones, (2005). p. 6952).
Neolithic Era
According to Milne (2009), “As the “Neolithic Revolution” contributed to the establishment of village and city life, in this sense a new world order was created. It was revolutionary not because it was a rapid process but because of its profound impact on social, economic, political, and ideological life (p.33).” This describes the type of Neolithic era, meaning “New Stone Age”, that existed back eleven thousand years ago (Levack, Muir, and Veldman (2014), p.35). The Neolithic era was the beginning of our civilized way of life compared to the Paleolithic era. Once the human had years of interaction with nature and began to produce agriculture, and making animals more domestic, these types of actions turned into producing different civilizations.
Once these civilizations were able to produce agriculture they began to trade with each other as well (Levack, Muir, and Veldman (2014), p. 35).
Transformed society Paleolithic Era to Neolithic Era When the Neolithic era started to evolve from the Paleolithic era is when our culture began to advance further. During the Paleolithic era we were really non-thinking humans that only needed to survive and eat, nothing more. But when the Neolithic era evolved it was the beginning of our culture as humans.
According to Levack, Muir, and Veldman (2014), “Anthropologists use the term culture to describe all the different ways that humans collectively adjust to their environment, organize their experiences, and transmit their knowledge to future generations (p.11)”. The Neolithic era grew to be more organized and leaders were able to lead people by not only government and warfare, but by giving good and fortune to the communities (Levack, Muir, and Veldman (2014), p. 11).
Authority was an issue and religious rituals and monuments of gods that would be considered by the people as leaders, meaning a king would represent divinity, and the military as high authority (Levack, Muir, and Veldman (2014), p. 12). Four kinds of power existed in the early civilizations according to Levack, Muir, and Veldman (2014):
1. Military
2. Economic
3. Political
4. Religious (p. 12)
Creation of
