History
Epic of gilgamesh
"We read The Epic of Gilgamesh, four thousand years after it was written, in part because we are scholars, or pseudo-scholars, and wish to learn something about human history. We read it as well because we want to know the meaning of life. The meaning of life, however, is not something we can wrap up and walk away with. " - Arthur A. Brown
This is my illustrated take on the Sumerian Epic.
This is my illustrated take on the Sumerian Epic.
Archaeology
Archaeology
The term "archaeology" is made up from two ancient Greek words- "archaios" and "logos", first used over 2000 years ago. Archaios means ancient, and Logos means word or speech. In ancient Greece then, Archaeology meant the "discussion", or "study of ancient things". Over 2000 years ago. Craziness!
Archaeologists help us understand the past, present and future by studying past human culture, and their behavior. To do this, they examine the physical remains of previous human settlements- fossils (which are preserved bones), jewelry, food remains, and even the ruins of ancient buildings.
The fascinating thing about this field of study (well, one of the many amazing things) is that our understanding of where we come from, and a better understanding of our ancestors is constantly growing and evolving. For a long time, it seemed like evidence for our earliest ties to our ancestors was around 2.5 million years ago- but in the Smithsonian link I provide below, you will be able to read how our estimates have now changed. Thanks to skeletal remains found in Africa, it looks like our ancestors lived as early as 4.4 million years ago. I'm talking walking upright, with an opposable toe to help her climb trees.
References -
Archaeology
Archaeology Guide to Humans
Smithsonian Article - The Human Family's earliest ancestors