Chapter 2 Sources

I thought all these documents were very interesting, but the most interesting document were the laws. The laws seemed to harsh, most of the laws if you did something then you would be killed. For example "If any one is commiting robbery and is caught, then he shall be put to death. " I really think this laws were to harsh on there punishments. With this laws it seemed that it did not matter if you were poor or rich and you committed one crime you would deserve the punishment. I think that was good that rich people had the same punishments as a poor person. Another document that I thought was very interesting was the Book of the Dead because it showed that people really wanted to become immortal and have eternal life. In this document someone is entering the hall of the goodness of Truth to ask for eternal life. This person is telling the Lord of Truth that he has been good and has not done anything wrong. And because he has not done anything wrong he wishes to be granted eternal life. 

First Civilizations

Civilization has changed the way of life during the years, it has absorbed, overran, or displaced people practicing other ways of living. Civilization emerged around 3500 B.C.E. to 3000 B.C.E. It is interesting how the first seven civilizations were scattered around the planet. They did not just happen in one certain place and then began to scattered. In gathering and hunting societies equality was more evident, but on urban based civilizations the inequality was multiplied. All of these inequalities helped make the transition of the major turning points of humankind. Some people began to have more money than others, this was seen by the way they lived and dressed. All the way in the bottom of the social hierarchies were the slaves. Slaves were put to work, people had the idea that they could own other people which definitely was not true. The inequalities of gender and class shaped the character of the First Civilization. During this time women were subjected to men, men had more right and power than women. The mens were defined as rulers, warriors, scholars, and heads of household. Women's role was productivity and reproductive. This is very interesting to see how everything that humans have done has helped to shape the way we are today either for good or bad. They have been an influence to the way we do things.

Paleolithic people more Egalitarian?

Paleolithic people were more egalitarian than later people. We can see this because both men and women could do the same things. Both of them could have lovers, Nisa says"I did have lovers and so did he."(p.49) She also keeps talking about how women's had to have lovers and not sit around when she says" When you are a woman, you don't just sit still and do nothing- you have lovers."(p.49) When reading this it seemed like for everyone it was normal to have a lover. She also mentions that people from long ago would also have lovers. She says" Because affairs... is something that even people from long ago knew. Even my father's father's father's father's knew."(p.49) It was not a sock to them that women or men had lovers even though they might have a wife and children. It feels like Paleolithic people were much more open about things. Paleolithic societies were more egalitarian with power, they had a ceremonial leader who was seen as a person with power. Also it talked about the people who collected food better than others that also made you superior. Finally Nisa talks about wealth, she described people as being stinge because everyone was poor. She says" If a person doesn't give something to me, I won't give anything."(p.48)

Response/reflection on the primary source documents

Is there any indication in the documents that paleolithic peoples were more egalitarian than later peoples in wealth, status, power or gender? 

In the documents Nisa talks about how she lived in the bush, and talks about food making her happy. Then she says" It's the same today. Here I am, long since an adult, yet even now, if a person doesn't give something to me, I won't give anything to that person...." This means that Paleolithic people thought the same way as we think today. If no one gives anything to us it means we probably won't give anything either. Nisa also talks about lovers she explains how she married her fourth husband and because she did not love him she had lovers. And she talks about it like being something normal for both of them having. It seems like paleolithic people did not care about wealth, status, power or gender. When they would marry it seemed like they did not care too much who they would marry because they could replace them with another husband. But men were the ones who would bring the food home while women's would stay with the children. In one of the documents it talks about that their might of been "matriarchal society" were women dominated, but then also said there was balance of power. This might means that men and women had the same rights.  I enjoyed reading the documents they helped to give me an idea of what life might of been like in the Paleolithic era. By reading the documents it seems that paleolithic people are not to different, both men and women had the same rights, and when they would marry someone they did not care about status or power. 

Agriculture

The Neolithic Revolution(New Stone Age) was the age were the gathering and hunting in most parts of the world. Agriculture represented growing populations, settled villages, animal- borne disease, horse- drawn chariot warfare, cities, states, empires, civilizations, writing literature and many other things. People began ti be really smart with the idea of growing food. Then people began to change the nature, they were directing the process of evolution. As people began to see that the population began to grow they began to take advantage of food. I think that people began to see that they could grow and have a lot of food that is why they kept making more until they ended up exploring the land. Because they wanted to make  more food people began to invent new things. One of the new things was the digging stick and hoe. They made new things that were going to help with the process of making more food.

Paleolithic migrations; Population of the planet

According to archeologist and anthropologists the evolutionary line of descent leading to Homo Sapiens diverge from chimpanzees. They are the closest primate relatives, around 5 to 6 million years ago in easter and southern Africa. Hominid species began to change over time, their brains began to grow larger by the size of the skulls. For a long time Homo Sapiens lived in Africa but sometime after 100,000 years they began to migrate to Eurasian landmass. This is really interesting because this means that all are decedents come from Africa because that is were everything began. With the people living there they were able to have technological innovations. For example stone blades, and tools made out of bones. Interesting that historians have said that human numbers dropped 500,000 by 30,000 years ago and then to 6 million by 10,000 years ago.