Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Hunter-Gatherers

In just several thousand years, the lives of humanity has changed. Once, life was simple. All we did was look for food, water and shelter. We were hunter-gatherers. Some were hunters, hunting wildlife for meat. Others were gatherers, gathering plants and fruit, gathering branches to light a fire. We lived in caves, or perhaps simple huts, easy to construct, easy to dismantle. From our day to day existence, there was little time for anything else. We needed to hunt/gather just to survive.



(Source:http://tracksuitceo.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/caveman.jpg?w=180&h=154)


But now times have changed. From the moment humans started farming, and food became an overabundance, everything changed. The extra time has allowed humans to do other things. Fight, think, and dream. The thinkers started to invent things like "The Wheel" and "Mathematics" and soon, civilizations were born. The fighters on the other hand, started fighting, killing, and warring. The dreamers started dreaming... most dreamers never got anything done, but a few dreamers accomplished the impossible. At the same time, religion was born, either by divine intervention or by human invention.

Besides farming, there are several other important traits/events that humans have which allowed us to become who we are today. Humans have always been community people. The exchange and sharing of ideas and resources, teamwork in hunting, building and all activites have greatly benefited humans. Social living has allowed humans to fluorish and accomplish all sorts of great feats. Human jealousy, rivalry and warring, also a form of social interaction has spurred on human advancement as one tries to outdo the other. Besides that, humans have the advantage of a well developed brain. The human brain is special. It allows us to "think" and do things which no other animal has done. Some claim it is the spirit/soul that humans have, which separates us from animals. Is it true? That is up to you to decide.

And here we are in the 21st century. After perhaps 5000-6000 years when we first started farming, we are now at a difficult time. Humanity has reached a critical period. The challenges of the 21st century are greater then ever because humans have become so powerful and technologically advanced, become so twisted and evil, become so vile and demented, become so lazy and lavish, become so carefree and careless, become so cruel and uncaring, become so individualistic and selfish, and becoming so godless and godlike. We are in danger of losing our humanity, destroying ourselves, or worst of all, extinguishing life on our planet.

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