Overview and origin
Overview.
Our planet Earth is more than 4 billion years old.
The history of human beings, is only about 200 thousand years old.
We are one of the several million species, that inhabit planet Earth.
Our species is classified as homo sapiens.
We came to existence in this planet, very recently, compared to the age of our planet.
We are natural descendants, from a family of apes.
How do we know, that we are different from apes?
A species is a distinct form of life.
It can be distinguished from other forms of life, by some unique characteristics.
It can more accurately be determined, by its genetic makeup.
Human beings have certain unique characteristics.
For example, we have a highly developed cortex, in the brain.
We have a distinct DNA.
Human beings are the most advanced species, that inhabit the Earth.
We have unique capabilities of thinking, which no other animal has.
When did we become homo sapiens?
Was it a sudden chance event, in evolution?
Evolution is never in a hurry.
Scientists have traced our ancestors, who existed millions of years ago.
One of our earliest ancestors, is called as the Ardipithecus ramidus .
This species existed 4.2 million years ago, in Ethiopia.
The Australopithecines evolved from this.
When translated this word means, southern ape humans.
We could infer that, they were somewhere between apes and humans.
One of the specimens, of this species, is affectionately called as "Lucy", by scientists.
Lucy belong to the species, Australopithecus afarensis.
She lived about 3.2 million years ago.
Her species were our greatest grand mothers.
We homo sapiens evolved from this species.
Our early ancestors lived in trees.
We could imagine that this gave them, some evolutionary advantage.
Many dangerous predictors, could not climb trees.
More important their habitat was thickly forested.
Food could be found in the trees.
Our ancestors could swing from tree to tree,
like Tarzan, looking for food, and were able to find it.
It is believed that significant climate change happened during this period.
Forest changed to grassland.
Trees existed, but were spaced out.
It was no longer possible to swing from tree to tree.
One theory speculates a significant change happened to our species, during this time.
Somewhere during this time,
we literally climbed down from the trees.
More fascinatingly our ancestors learnt to walk on two feet.
This was one of the defining period, in the evolution of human beings.
Walking on two feet, itself was a amazing acrobatic feat, and a complex acrobatic task.
It requires a sophisticated sense of balance,
and complex coordination of muscles, in the legs, and the body.
This obviously required some brain power.
Our forefather Australopithecines, had a small brain, about 1/3rd the size of human beings.
It is possible that the brain stem, and the cerebellum of the brain,
developed more, in this species.
The brain and the body, co-evolved.
Walking on two feet, gave us significant evolutionary advantage.
We could ambulate and navigate much more easily.
It gave us much more flexibility, like turning around.
Apart from these, motor movements, it gifted us another great anatomical advantage.
Our front paws, was freed from the drudgery of walking.
Normally in evolution, unused organs wither away.
For example, we used to have a tail, which withered away, over thousands of years.
But this did not happen to our front paws.
We learnt to use them for productive purposes.
The paws evolved into what we now have as hands.
Scientists believe that the evolution of the thumb,
opposing the other fingers, was a significant landmark, in this evolution.
It helped hominins, to hold and manipulate objects.
Hominins belong to the genus "Homo".
Evidence of use of tools, by hominins was found about 2.7 million years ago.
The use of tools was a evolutionary revolution.
We started out by making simple stone tools.
These helped in gathering food, and in hunting.
We not only made tools, we made tools, to make tools.
For example, we made chisels, which can be used to make other tools.
No other species could achieve this feat.
Hunting with tools, gave us a tremendous evolutionary advantage, over other species.
We could find food to eat, more easily.
This allowed our species, to thrive and grow.
The first species of the genus "Homo", was the homo habilis.
This species is thought to have evolved, around 2.5 million years ago.
It might be worth while, to pause and reflect the dates,
and time scales we discuss in the early history of human beings.
When studying evolution over millions of years,
it is not practical to accurately refer to a time period.
When scientists say that the homo habilis, appeared 2.5 million years ago,
they do not exactly mean 2.5 million years ago.
It could be thousands, or even hundreds of thousands years earlier, or later.
When discussing dates and time scales, we need to keep in mind,
that we are really discussing, a wide range of a possible time period.
For convenience we say that the homo habilis, species appeared around 2.5 million years ago.
Such approximations are the norm, when dealing with very early history.
When we say that, the homo habilis appeared 2.5 million years ago,
it does not mean that the entire earlier species, converted to the homo habilis species.
Typically a species will co-exists with a previous species, for several thousand of years.
This is another aspect, that we need to bear in mind, when discussing dates.
When discussing evolution, we cannot assume,
that a species evolved in every region, at the same time.
It is now generally believed that our ancestors evolved in Africa.
It is quite possible, however that there were regional differences.
Archaeological excavations provide most of the evidence,
that scientists use, to base their theories.
Considerable progress has been made, in the last two centuries,
to unearth evidence, of our early history.
Scientists meticulously piece together evidence,
using sophisticated scientific methods and tools.
Recently genetic analysis, is one more powerful tool,
used by scientists, to interpret the evidence found in archaeological excavations.
Earlier the shape, size of bones, was one of the important factors, in identifying a species.
Each species, has a unique genetic makeup.
This has helped them more accurately trace our ancestral evolution.
We have by no means uncovered, all the evidence that lie buried for millions of years,
or even thousands of years.
Much of the evidence, has been destroyed over hundreds of thousands of years.
What we do find, no wonder becomes an archaeological treasure.
Some findings have provided us, crucial evidence, for tracing our evolution.
These are well preserved, and studied by scientists.
They have provided the basic thread, of our evolutionary history.
Even now new archaeological excavations, throws up a new piece of evidence.
Scientists have successfully mapped, the broad pathway of our evolution.
The new evidence typically helps to link, some relatively minor gaps.
New findings, will no doubt, refine our understanding, of our evolutionary history.
There are no written records of early history.
Much of the findings comprise of bones, and minor artefacts.
How do we reconstruct the life style of our ancestors?
The bones and the artefacts, only provide some clues.
We need to use our imagination, to extrapolate the evidence that is available.
What did the species do, when it first learnt to walk on two feet?
We can imagine the front paws, or hands became free.
Primitive stone tools indicate, that we used our hand to make tools.
Bones of animals, near human habitats, indicate that we used to hunt .
This is a simple example, of using imagination to reconstruct ancestors lifestyle.
Scientists carry out more sophisticated investigation, of the evidence that is found.
For example, from the way that teeth have worn out,
they can imagine what kind of food they ate.
Genetic analysis provides even more interesting clues, to life styles.
The migration pattern of early humans, has been established with genetic evidence.
Imagination is an essential component, in reconstructing our early history.
There are many ways to imagine, what could have been?
This makes history, a fascinating subject, as interesting as an exciting detective novel.
The reader is encouraged to use his imagination, to connect the dots,
of many facts presented in this section.
This would make history, much more interesting, than mere reciting of facts.
The species Homo Erectus, evolved more than one million years ago.
The scientist found an excellent fossil of this species in Kenya.
It was one of the most complete fossil found of our ancestors.
They named it, Turkana boy.
The Turkana boy dated by scientists, to have existed about 1.5 million years ago.
The homo habilis lived about 2.5 million years ago.
What was evolution doing for more than a million years?
There are some physiological changes, that scientists are aware of.
There is no other precise evidence, on what and how, this species existed.
We need to use our imagination, to think of what could have been?
We know that there were dramatic changes, in the climate during this period.
There were many glacial periods, when the earth became very cold.
Many of the polar regions, were covered with ice.
Most of Earth, was covered with a thick layer of ice.
Major climatic changes took place, in the time scales we are discussing.
What is a dessert now, would have been lush forest.
Many volcanoes would have scorched the earth,
and spewed poisonous gases.
Many earthquakes would have swallowed up whole forests,
and everything that lived in it.
Sea levels, rose and fell significantly.
Regions of land were connected and disconnected, by rising and falling sea levels.
Many rivers would have dried up.
New rivers might have flooded many regions.
What now we consider as a rare calamity,
we can imagine, that over millions of years would have happened, many times.
Changes in monsoon cycles, can also be expected.
During such long periods climate change, can be expected to be the norm.
The major objective of any species, that lived over this time period,
would be to survive.
This means adapting to the environmental changes.
Survival also meant capability to avoid predators.
Survival was also dependent on finding food, from food gathering, or hunting.
Many species, that were unable to adapt to the changes, died out.
Evolution is all about, survival of the fittest.
The homo species, adapted to all these changes, and survived.
What was special about this species?
It was by no means, the largest or the strongest, of the existing species.
The evolution of our brain, is likely to have played a significant role,
in the survival of our species.
When we think of our brain, we think of advanced thought processes.
We need to remember that the primary function of the brain,
is to keep us alive.
Any evolution of our brain, was largely oriented to our survival,
in a changing environment.
It also had to help us avoid predators and find food, for ourselves.
During this period, we must have mastered the art, of walking on two feet.
We take this amazing ability for granted.
The very act of standing, on two feet and balancing ourselves,
requires, sophisticated brain power.
We will get a feeling for this, if we observe babies learning to walk.
Babies might take about a year to learn to walk.
Initially they would be quiet unstable, and frequently fall.
For sometime they will partly crawl, and partly walk.
When our species evolved, we probably learnt this art over thousands of years.
We can imagine, that for thousands of years, our species could only baby walk.
This is the speed at which evolution takes place.
During this period, we probably developed the vestibular system, to give us,
a sense of balance.
This in turn was used by the motor control system, to finely adjust the muscle tension and movements,
which enables us to stand and walk.
Control of the muscles, to enable us to balance and walk is a complex task.
The brain sends continuous signals, to a myriad of muscles in the body and limbs.
It receives continuous feedback, from the body and limbs, on body position,
and muscle tension.
The brain also receives balancing information from the vestibular system.
The brain compares its intended movements, and the feedback information,
and sends revised control information, back to the body and limbs.
Most of this development possibly took place, in the cerebellum, brain stem, and inner brain.
What looks like an easy and simple task, is actually a complex engineering feat.
If we observe, how the most modern robots walk,
we will appreciate, how smooth and elegant, our walking is,
compared to the unsteady and awkward gait, of a robot.
Scientists using the most sophisticated algorithms, software and control systems,
are unable to mimic, the art of human walking.
Nature however was able to master this art.
It took a long time to fine-tune this skill, but it was well worth the time.
Walking can be considered as a major evolutionary milestone, for humans.
Scientists think that the sophisticated algorithms, systems and design capability,
that humans developed, may be in some way related to the problem solving capability,
that we have today.
The evolution of the human brain, set us apart as a unique species.
We should not under estimate, the role of physiological process capabilities,
that the brain developed.
Early brain development, meant developing a larger brain.
As our ancestors evolved, the size of the brain grew larger and larger.
Our brains grew to be more than 3 times larger, than our early ancestors.
There is an interesting corollary to this development.
The brain is a high consumer of energy.
About 25% of the energy we consume, goes to feed the brain.
A larger brain required a much larger amount of energy, to survive.
Our ancestors now required more energy rich food.
This could not be found, as earlier in trees.
It could be found in animal food.
Scientist speculate that we evolved to be hunters,
to find energy rich food, available in animals.
Our many generations, the art of walking, got programmed, into our genes.
It is likely, that the early homo species, spent many of their younger years,
learning to walk.
The life expectancy of this species was around 30 years.
We could imagine a time, that the parent was walking on two feet,
followed by children walking on four feet.
Much of the brain circuitry involved in walking, over generations got encoded in our genes.
This translated into a superior brain.
Most of this brain development would have happened in the brain stem, cerebellum and the inner brain.
Later generations would have spent less and less time, learning to walk.
Currently, human children learn to walk, in about one year.
There was an important corollary, to our learning to walk.
Our front paws, were no longer needed, for the mundane act of walking.
What does evolution do, to an organ, which is no longer needed ?
Usually the unused organ, withers away, over several generations.
This is what happened to our tail.
May be it could have happened to our front paws also.
Fortunately, our ancestors, were industrious and ingenious people.
They started to put their front paws to good use.
They started to make crude stone tools, like a wedge shaped stone.
To make a stone tool, they had to use another stone,
to chip away, and carve a tool.
This would have been a time consuming, and painstaking task.
They assiduously continued to pursue this task.
The tools, they made helped them to gather food, and hunt.
This was directly helpful for survival of the species.
This probably motivated them, to try to make better and better tools.
The toes of the front paws, were not as flexible, as our fingers.
The original design of evolution, for paws, was not to hold and manipulate objects.
But evolution is a great adaptor, when it finds that something is an advantage for survival.
Tools were a great advantage, to the homo species, which helped them to gather food, and hunt.
Evolution started to redesign our hands.
Our fingers became more flexible,
and our brain developed to exercise fine control our fingers.
The motor control areas of our brain, became more sophisticated.
Evolution hit upon a brilliant design idea.
It evolved the thumb, to oppose the fingers.
This was a revolutionary invention.
A opposing thumb dramatically increases the capability,
to hold and manipulate objects.
For example, our ancestors learnt to attach,
a sharp piece of stone, to a long pole.
This is what we call as a spear.
With lots of practice, they learnt to throw a spear.
With even more practice, they learnt to aim for,
and hit a fast moving animal.
This meant food.
The animal which was too fast to catch, could now be speared,
and provide for precious food.
This was an evolutionary advantage.
All this kind of gymnastic feats, would not have been possible,
without an opposing thumb,
and a better brain motor control.
The spear is just an example.
The homo species started to acquire, many skills,
which other species did not have.
The role of a seemingly frivolous thing like a thumb,
in setting us apart from other species, cannot be underestimated.
Our long evolutionary path, over millions of years,
is studded with these revolutionary landmarks.
There is another interesting theory about human hair.
Initially our whole body was covered with hair.
During evolution, we started losing body hair.
Instead, we developed sweat glands, on the whole surface of the skin.
Sweat glands helped us to cool down, when we exerted ourselves.
Scientist speculate that this enabled us to run long distances.
Many animals cannot run, for a very long period.
They did not have sweat glands, to cool themselves.
Our ancestors might have used this, as an advantage to hunt.
But this is only a speculative theory.
There is another interesting and significant development,
which happened in the evolution of our species.
Like now, lightning was a common feature, millions of years ago.
When lightning struck forest, which had dry wood,
the forest would catch fire.
The fire would spread rapidly throughout the forest.
This would obviously have been, a terrifying event,
for the animals, including the homo species, living in the forest.
We could imagine all the animals, and our ancestors, flee from the fire.
Fire was always a source of awe, and fear.
Our ancestors, no wonder worshipped fire.
Working with stone, to make tools, involved hitting one stone with another.
This we can imagine sometimes created some sparks.
Maybe a dry leaf nearby got ignited.
Our ancient scientists discovered the technology of making fire.
The discovery of making fire, would no doubt have been thrilling.
We should realise, that the total population of the "homo" genus, was very little.
They existed in small pockets, across Africa.
They did not live in sizeable communities.
They were hunter gathers.
They constantly kept moving, in search of food.
Many animals migrate, with the seasons.
This is true even now.
It is possible that our ancestors, also migrated with the animals.
Hunting animals were a major source of food, to them.
There is no reason to believe, that our ancestors maintained contact with each other.
When we say fire was discovered, it does not mean, that the technology of making fire,
or even the news that fire has been discovered, spread to other ancestors.
It is very likely that this discovery, was independently made by many ancestor scientists.
Some groups would have been using fire.
Some other groups might not have known, this technology, for thousands of years.
History was never uniform, across all the people.
This was specially true, millions of years ago, when communications,
were more or less non existent.
What was remarkable however, over a period of time,
all the members of the species, learnt to make fire.
What was the use of fire to our species?
Maybe it helped them to keep warm.
Maybe it helped to frighten other animals.
Maybe it helped them to sleep better, guarded by fire.
In any case, it differentiated us, from other animals.
We not only could walk, we could make tools, and we could even make fire !
There was another less obvious, and great advantage, in knowing to make fire.
When there was natural forest fires,
maybe there were some grains, nuts, and meat, which got naturally cooked.
Maybe some of them was still edible, after the fire.
Maybe it tasted good too!
Whatever exactly happened, we will never get to know.
The end result was, our ancestors, learnt to cook food, using fire.
This had many advantages.
Maybe previously inedible food, became edible.
Cooked food not only tasted better, but was much more easily digestible.
This gave an unexpected great advantage, to our ancestors.
Most animals spent most of the day, foraging for food.
Most of the body's metabolism, was involved in digesting raw food,
and extracting nutrients from the digested food.
Our brain naturally was oriented to our physiological needs.
Our primitive brain, was understandably preoccupied with these processes.
Cooked food was more easily digestible.
This meant a lot less time, effort and energy, required to digest food, and extract nutrition.
This translated to spare time and energy.
Scientist speculate that this could have played, a crucial role in developing our brain.
However strange this may sound, it is very likely, that cooked food,
helped us to evolve a more superior brain, compared to other animals.
There was an additional advantage to cooking food.
The process of cooking, possibly killed potentially harmful bacteria.
This could have saved us, from much of food borne diseases.
Any factor which improves the chances of survival,
is an evolutionary advantage.
The discovery of making fire, was helpful in our evolution, in more than one way.
These few, but dramatically important factors,
like walking, making simple stone tools, and eating cooked food,
changed the course of evolution, of our species.
We could already say, that we were a superior animal.
The next significant species of our interest, in this planet,
was the homo sapiens.
They appeared about 150 to 200 thousand years ago.
The genus homo, evolved from the Australopithecus afarensis.
Many branches evolved from this species.
Some examples, are the homo habilis, homo erectus, etc..
The homo erectus, was a prominent species, which migrated out of Africa,
and inhabited many parts of the Earth.
Another species, which evolved before the homo sapiens,
were the Neanderthals.
The Neanderthals were genetically very close to homo sapiens.
They co-existed with homo sapiens, for a very long time.
For reasons not fully understood, the Neanderthal species, also became extinct.
All the other species in the homo genus, including the homo erectus,
became extinct.
The homo sapiens were the sole surviving species, in our lineage.
It took about 800 thousand years, for the Homo erectus,
to evolve into the Homo sapiens.
Some of this evolution was physiological.
For example, the shape of our head, slightly changed.
We developed a more prominent forehead.
Evolution was working on a different track.
It wasn't trying to make us more bigger and stronger, like dinosaurs.
It was working on developing a more superior brain, for our species.
The latin translation for homo sapiens, is wise man.
The most defining feature of the homo sapiens, was its superior brain.
We share many of our brain structures, with mammals.
These structures were basically designed, to manage our life processes.
This was essential for any animal, including Homo sapiens.
Here evolution took a revolutionary turn.
It started to focus, to develop our cerebral cortex.
Compared to other animals, our brain size related to our body weight,
is very close.
It is not the size of our brain that made a difference, to our evolution.
It is the size of the cerebral cortex, relative to the whole brain.
We have the largest proportion of cerebral cortex, compared to any other species.
in the planet.
This is what makes us human, and wise.
800 thousand years was spent on building a larger and larger cortex,
with billions of more neurons.
This created a surplus thinking capacity, in the Homo sapiens.
Evolution was very keen, on building more cerebral cortex capacity.
At some point the size of our skull became a limitation.
The brain was very keen to add more neurons, to the cortex.
Somehow nature figured out, that development of the cortex,
is a superior way to evolve.
It started to fold the cortex, in order to create more space,
and fit in more neurons.
More evolved species, had a larger cortex, which was highly folded.
The cortex developed over hundreds of thousands of years.
The earliest cortex that developed, in mammals was the archicortex.
Later it developed a paleocortex, over and above the archicortex.
The neocortex developed much later.
Much of the thinking capabilities, can be directly attributed, to the neocortex.
The neocortex is a thin sheet, in the outermost layer of the brain.
It is about 3 mm thick, and is highly folded.
It is like the crown of the brain.
The homo sapiens share a neocortex with other animals.
But the homo sapiens, had a much larger proportion of the neocortex,
in their brain, compared to other animals.
For example, in a mouse, the neocortex occupied about 20% of the brain.
In a homo sapiens, neocortex occupied about 80% of the brain.
The homo sapiens, were now a distinctly superior species,
in terms of thinking capabilities.
What did the homo sapiens do with all their excess thinking capabilities?
We can imagine a few possibilities.
It is unlikely, that the emerging homo sapiens, used their thinking capabilities,
for scientific or philosophical thinking.
It is quite likely that they used it, for the more practical purposes, of survival.
They started to make better and better tools.
They improved their hunting capabilities using these tools.
The chisel, the axe, the spear, the bow and arrow, are some examples,
of the tools they used.
The skills they developed, would have been related, to the tools.
Using axe to cut a tree, to make firewood, make fire and cook food,
we should realise, is more an act of thinking, then mere physical prowess.
Throwing a spear, and hitting a target, was also a special skill,
no other animal had.
Conceiving of a bow and arrow, designing it, and making it,
should be thought of, as a technological break through.
Armed with his tools, the homo sapiens became the best hunter,
among all species.
His thinking was applied to other needs, like clothing.
Clothing was not for modesty, but for practical purposes.
For example, walking on two feet, would have been hard,
on the soles of the feet.
This was true for people who had to travel a lot, like when migrating from place to place.
Footwear was possibly, one of the first clothing items, these people designed.
Finding shelter, was another activity, they engaged in.
Many people, choose to live in caves.
The probably made crude doors, to protect themselves, from wild animals.
Others probably built primitive structures, to shelter themselves from adverse weather conditions.
Food, clothing and shelter, was the priority for these people,
and the brain was put to use for this purpose.
There is another interesting possibility, that we can think about.
Most animals nurture, their offspring for a relatively short period.
After that, the young ones make a living of their own.
We humans nurture our children, for relatively large proportion,
of our life span.
This culture must have originated, in early homo sapiens.
They probably fed, and cared for the young ones, for a long time.
One theory speculates that the human brain, was too large to grow in the womb.
It had to be nurtured, to grow outside the womb.
Whatever the reasons, the fact is human beings cared for their offspring,
for a significantly long period.
They would have taught them living skills, like other animals do.
More significantly, they would have taught them, the art of making tools.
We can imagine, with the parents providing food and safety,
the young ones had more time to play.
They probably experimented, with new technologies of making tools.
They even probably dreamt of improving their life style.
Some among them, would no doubt have been, our early scientists.
They possibly exercised their minds, on ways of exploiting their environment,
to their advantage.
Animals in general adapt to the environment,
but they do not consciously exploit their environment, to their advantage.
The homo sapiens were unique, in the sense that they exploited the environment,
to their advantage.
They probably cut down trees, and used the wood, to make crude shelters.
Using tools, they hunted animals, which ran faster then them,
and were stronger than them.
These and many other skills, set the homo sapiens apart.
The homo sapiens, could consider themselves as the supreme species.
Usually in history texts, the history of human civilisation,
starts around 4000 BCE.
BCE stands for Before Current Era.
This is the modern terminology, for what was earlier referred to as BC.
Similarly, CE refers to Current Era.
This was earlier referred to as AD.
We will use this terminology, for our discussion.
The homo sapiens are thought to have evolved, more than 150,000 years ago.
How come, we talk of civilisation, for only 6000 years?
That is starting from 4000 BCE, to now.
It is almost like implying that we became civilised, only 6000 years back.
What then were we doing for more than 150,000 years?
Again, we need to use our imagination.
Of course, we have fragments of historical facts, to supplement our imagination.
For want of a better terminology, we can say that the homo sapiens,
spent about 150,000 years getting civilised.
Early history of civilisation, is usually about communities living together.
Our early ancestors were hunter gathers, who in the conventional sense,
did not settle down in one place.
They probably moved from place to place, in small groups.
One of the remarkable things, that the early ancestors learnt,
was the advantages of cooperation.
When human being learnt to cooperate,
they could divide the tasks, required for living.
This division of labour, possibly favoured specialisation.
Specialisation could have contributed, to the improvement of living skills.
One of the more obvious division of labour, was gender based.
Women specialised in nurturing children, and gathering food.
Men specialised in hunting, fighting battles,
and other arduous tasks, like moving and cutting rocks, etc..
In a broader sense, may be some people specialised in making tools.
Others might have experimented with growing food.
In any case, our ancestors started learning to live as communities.
Communities started developing an identity.
This would have dramatic implications.
People started to help and favour, people of their own community.
This had its advantage of people learning to live as a community,
and share responsibilities.
The development of harmonious community living,
had unfortunately another parallel development.
Community started to compete with each other.
Very often, this competition was hostile and violent.
This was the beginning of many battles, and wars,
that we know of, through out our so called civilised history.
Communities started out as tribes.
Tribal conflicts were common.
Increasingly, humans more than having to protect themselves,
from wild animals, had to protect themselves from other tribes.
Tools that were originally developed, to hunt other animals,
were now modified and improved, to fight other tribes.
The war of weapons, invariably led to better and better weapons.
Tribes which had superior weapons, had an advantage.
They could subdue the tribes with inferior weapons.
The discovery of metals, like copper and tin,
led to the development of bronze weapons.
Tribes which had the technology to mine, and use metals,
had a great advantage over tribes with more primitive tools.
Our early ancestors, are commonly referred to, as belonging to the stone age.
One of the factors of civilised life, was the capability of metal technology.
This transition from the stone age, to the bronze age, happened gradually.
The time period, starting around 4000 BCE, is called as the bronze age.
The technology of making tools, was definitely a defining advantage for humans.
There is another major technology, which might be less obvious.
We all know physical labour can be delegated to machines.
What was the earliest machines, used by humans?
It was animals.
Human beings learnt to domesticate animals.
Cows, Goats, Sheep, Horses, Camels, and even elephants,
were tamed, and trained to perform labour tasks.
They became our beast of burden.
Many of the tasks that humans used to perform was now delegated to animals.
Finding and training animals became a specialised skill.
The amount of leverage that animals provided,
to human effort cannot be underestimated.
Animals also provided valuable by-products.
They provided valuable food, in the form of milk.
Humans were earlier, lactose intolerant.
Lactose is a main ingredient sugar, in milk.
Human could not digest milk.
After domestication, humans evolved the capability to digest lactose.
Milk then would become, a precious food source.
Animals also provided leather to make garments, tents etc..
They also provided horns, from which artefacts, could be produced.
Tribes who could master the technique, of domesticating animals,
were at a great advantage.
Possession of animals, was considered a source of wealth.
Animals do not have a concept of possession.
We can imagine that early humans also, did not have a concept of possession.
However, this changed during the process, of "Civilisation".
Maybe one of the most priced positions of early humans, were his tools.
Humans also learnt to make garments, from leather.
We also made many artefacts, from animal bones and horns.
Humans also developed a taste for music.
Wood and leather, were used to make, ancient drums.
They probably danced to the rhythmic beat of drums.
Some innovators were able to carve flutes.
They collected naturally occurring precious stones.
They carved beads, and other ornaments, out of bone, ivory, corals, stones etc..
They made pots, out of clay, and pouches out of leather.
These kind of artefacts, were the earliest possessions, of humans.
They considered these as precious, and guarded them from others.
When one tribe subdued another tribe, they acquired the possession of the tribe.
This increased the wealth, of the winning tribe.
Acquiring additional wealth was one more motivation for violent conflict.
Humans also developed, a spiritual side to their personality.
Worship of nature, evolved naturally in many communities.
The sun, fire, lightning, were some of the myriad phenomena,
associated with Gods.
Worship of Gods, is a unique characteristic of our species.
The inclination towards spirituality, developed early in the evolution of man.
Different communities, created their own different Gods.
Gods helped to develop, a sense of community.
People who worship the same God, shared a sense of kinship,
with other people, who worshiped the same God.
The relationship with Gods, was a two way relationship.
Offerings were made to fearful Gods, to appease them.
Many communities had a pantheon of Gods.
Each God was typically related to some important natural phenomena.
There were Gods associated, with the Sun, the Wind, Rain, Water, Fire, etc..
Offering were made to Gods, in return for favours.
Food, animals, sometimes even human beings were offered as sacrifice, to Gods.
When conditions were favourable, it was attributed to God's favour.
This was the origin of religions.
Communities developed around a common religion.
Places of worship, were among the earliest structures built by humans.
Very often the most sturdy, intricate, aesthetically pleasing, and prominent architectural structures,
were of ancient temples, which were places of worship.
Interestingly, often places of worship, were also the place,
where scientific thoughts were seeded.
The concept of leadership, also developed in tribes.
Usually, the strongest, and maybe a clever person, emerged as the leader.
Possibly there was contention, for this position.
Most tribes typically had a leader.
These tribal leaders were the precursor to what we know as kings.
History is full of the story of kings, who were later versions, of the early tribal chief.
Tribal chief played the role of protecting the tribe.
They led the tribe, in battles with other tribes.
The tribal chief who was successful, became more powerful.
A more powerful tribal chief controlled more people.
Tribal warfare was probably nothing more than a scuffle,
with crude weapons including clubs.
There was no full time army, like we know of today.
Most abled bodied men, had to do warrior duty, when the need arose.
At other times, the men were involved in the mundane activity, of day to day living.
It was only much later, the leaders were able to feed and maintain, a full time army.
Tribal leaders who controlled more people, could gather up a larger group,
to fight in battles.
Larger numbers had a obvious advantage, in battle.
There was in built motivation to have a control over larger and larger number of people.
We could easily assume, that violent conflict, was a part of life, for our ancestors.
Winning battles also meant, that the conquerer, acquired the wealth, of the conquered tribe.
This of course increased the motivation, to fight and win battles.
Animals usually nurture their young ones, for a short period of time,
and let them go, to fend for themselves.
When the young ones grew up, it is unlikely that they even recognised their parents.
It is possible that our early ancestors, also grew up in the same way.
But, as our species evolved, they nurtured their young ones, for longer and longer periods of time.
Homo sapiens became the species, which nurtured the children for the longest period of time.
During this time, they no doubt taught them many living skills,
and also the all important art of making tools.
Instead of leaving the parents, the children started to live with the parents,
for their entire life time.
Groups of families, lived together as a tribe.
This would have required a good deal of social skills.
This laid the foundation, of community life.
A new social behaviour started to develop.
Children started to respect their parents.
They probably cared for them, in their later years, before they passed away.
Instead of abandoning the dead, as animals do,
they buried their parents, with respect.
Historians are able to deduce this, because the body was buried,
in a careful and elaborate way, sometimes in pots, along with many valuable artefacts.
Those these artefacts were simple stone tools, beads, carvings etc.,
they would have been very valuable possession, at that time.
There is also evidence, that many tribes worshiped their ancestors.
It is possible that they treated their ancestors equal to other Gods, they might have worshipped.
If the ancestor was a powerful tribal chief, he was venerated with very special respect.
Some ancient Gods were actually, tribal chiefs, or kings of a community.
Living in tribes, developed another social skill.
People learnt to communicate using a language.
Animals communicate, in a very limited way, using special sounds.
It was the homo sapiens, who developed these skills further,
by inventing more combinations of these sounds, and assigning meanings to them.
This was the beginning of the "Word",
and more important a meaning for each word.
Over time, words were strung together, to form meaningful sentences.
We could imagine, a early homo sapiens, telling a tribal mate,
"I saw deer".
The response might have been,
"We catch".
Of course this would have been said, in their native language.
The important thing is people were able to communicate,
ideas essential for living, through language.
This was a revolutionary invention, in the system of education.
The brain started to evolve, specialised areas to recognise and speak, languages.
The area in the brain, specialising in the spoken language, is called the "Broca's area",
and is located in the frontal lobe, close to the motor control area of the brain..
The area specialising in recognising the sounds of language,
is called the "Wernicke's area", located in the temporal lobe.
Language facilitated the formal thinking process.
A meaning was attached to every word.
Adding more and more words, enriched the vocabulary.
Having a larger vocabulary, facilitated more complex thinking.
People were able to communicate these ideas to each other.
When more than one person, discuss an idea, the quality of thinking improves.
A group discussion, could possibly throw up a totally new brilliant idea.
We can imagine tribals, getting together and discussing a problem.
This methodology no doubt improved the problem solving capabilities, of homo sapiens.
Anything new and useful was an important innovation or invention.
Technology and science, however primitive, would still be valuable science and technology.
Tying the knot, inventing a bow and arrow,
using a lever, transporting a heavy stone using logs,
should be considered as examples,
of great progress in science and technology, at that time.
The development of language, greatly facilitated development of technology, and science.
We should however keep in mind, that the rate of progress was much slower,
than what we are used to today.
We can only appreciate the importance of these developments,
if we lived in time, where we almost knew nothing.
Language was a catalyst, for the differentiation, and superior status, of the homo sapiens.
Language also played a role, in the development of memory.
Experiences were encoded in language.
These experiences could be remembered for a long time.
This helped to accumulate knowledge.
The hippocampus is an important part of the brain,
involved in memory.
The hippocampus and related brain areas, developed significantly, in human beings.
Now it was possible to encode and remember, a life time of experiences.
This helped to develop the homo sapiens, to become even more wiser.
He could not only remember his experiences, but also share it with others.
This meant that people could become more knowledgable, without the actual experience,
just by listening to, and understanding what other people said.
Probably, people mixed experience, with a little imagination, and made up stories.
Stories were a powerful way to communicate.
It was more interesting, and easier to remember.
Parents, probably entertained and taught their offspring using stories.
This was a great way, for children to pickup knowledge, without experiencing it.
This laid a knowledge foundation for children, and they possibly spent time,
in exploring new ways of doing things.
Each generation was marginally more knowledgable, than the previous one.
A concept of formal learning, using language, from previous generations,
was unique to human beings.
Animals did not get wiser, with each new generation.
Human beings did.
The tradition of transferring knowledge, orally, from one generation to another,
continued for thousands of years.
Usually, these were transmitted as stories.
A lot of early literature, and scriptures, was passed on from generation to generation,
through stories.
At this time, writing was not invented.
We can only imagine the stories from records written,
hundreds or thousands of years later.
In the division of labour, it is possible that some people,
who had the aptitude, played the role of teachers.
This role was sometimes combined with spiritual duties.
Each community developed its own language.
In early times, there were only limited interactions with other communities.
This led to the parallel development of many languages.
Language itself served as an identity for a certain community.
People speaking the same language, bonded together better.
Having a common language, served as crucial link to exchange ideas.
Language played a crucial catalyst role, in the development of the communities skills.
The more developed communities had a more sophisticated language.
Language started as a verbal communication skill.
There were no scripts to write the language.
There are no written records of early community life.
What we know, about these people, is inferred through painstaking research,
of archaeological findings.
The history of homo sapiens, is about 200 thousand years old.
Most of this history is unrecorded.
Written scripts for language started to appear only about 3000 years ago.
To a large extent our early history is like a history novel.
We are of course finding more and more evidence, which give crucial clues to this period.
But the story needs to be filled in with our imagination.
Our early ancestors, who in general, we will call as hominids, originated in Africa.
Some of the hominids migrated, out of Africa.
One of the prominent migrations, was the migration of the homo erectus.
Remains of these species, have been found in remote places in the Earth.
This species however, became extinct.
The remains of a more recent species, the Neanderthals have been found in Europe.
This species also became extinct.
The homo sapiens species appeared about 200 thousand years ago.
This species also was perilously close to extinction.
A super volcano now called lake Toba, is located in Sumatra.
It erupted about 70000 years ago.
The volcanic ash that it spewed out, engulfed the Earth.
It caused a period of global cooling, which lasted for many years.
Many species died out during this time.
Homo sapiens were also severely affected.
Some scientist estimate that only about 15000 homo sapiens, were left,
after this catastrophe.
The homo sapiens species however survived, and propagated itself.
About 50000 years ago, another major migration took place,
out of Africa.
This species was the homo sapiens.
Homo sapiens spread across the globe, and populated all the continents,
except Antartica.
Which ever country we belong to, we human beings descended,
from the homo sapiens, who migrated out of Africa, 50000 years ago.
The earliest period of human history, is referred to as the palaeolithic age.
It literally means stone age.
In the technologically sophisticated times, that we live in now.
We tend to look down upon our stone age.
In reality this period of our evolution, is as interesting,
and as important as our recent history.