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... terrify. (The Book Of The Ancient World, p 25) The word government comes from the Latin word, gubernare, which means, to steer a ship. Among primitive people that live today, the leader may be only the oldest person in the tribe, and therefore respected. People tend to follow those that are respected. (The Third Chimpanzee, p 220) It might be that the leader of an early culture might well have been the best hunter, organizer and the strongest man in the village. In ancient Mesopotamia, Greece, and Rome, just to name a few, the kings or rulers were anointed as God-Kings. It is not unthinkable to consider that somewhere in early human development, the duties and responsibilities of the shaman might have become joined with those of the tribal leader.
This would have allowed a tribal leader to, steer the ship while at the same time provide answers to the multitude of questions about the mysterious world these stone age people lived in. It has been thought that stone age man relied totally upon storytelling to pass needed information from one generation to another. This has theory has recently been found to be inaccurate. Ice age relics now support the view that stone age man was more sophisticated that previously thought. Rock are and tools have been discovered in Australia which date to 100, 000 years ago. (The Way Of The Pebbles and other stone surfaces have been found with markings engraved on them, that date to the time of the last Ice Age.
Alexander Marshack, of the Harvard University was able to decode these engraved markings. Dr. Marshack discovered that the markings were notations that, kept track of sequences of events that recur: the regular patterns of animal, bird, and fish behavior tied to the seasons, for example, that are to be seen on the earth and in the heavens. (The Way Of The World, p 19, 20) This would be the type of information that would be observed and shared with others over a long period This new evidence puts doubt to the previous theory that writing first developed in ancient Mesopotamia. While it may be true that writing may have been more thoroughly developed there, writing in some form has existed since at least the Ice Age. A culture that has developed some form of writing, would certainly be advanced enough to have established some form of government, even if it were rudimentary. (National Geographic, Strong evidence exists that prehistoric man possessed the organizational skill necessary to hunt as a group.
Fossil evidence of mass killings of large animals lend credit to the theory that early man had an established language by the end of the last Ice Age. While a group of hunter-gatherer people would not need established roads, permanent homes, and decorative items such as large pottery and artistic sculpture, they would possess the skills that would be necessary should that lifestyle change. Cave dwellings have been found that have roof structures added to prevent wind and the elements from entering the cave. (The Cambridge Ancient History, page 79 - 80) Several primitive cultures have been found in the past century. These cultures developed separate from modern civilization since the dawn of their culture. Most possess the ability to build rudimentary structures, have a language that is their own, unique language, and to manufacture what is needed for survival. (The Third Chimpanzee, page 51) Experiments have been conducted as far back as the Pharaoh, Psammeticus. In this experiment, documented by Herodotus, the ancient historian, Psammeticus ordered a shepherd to raise two boys in total silence.
He estimated that the first words the boys spoke would be the oldest language known. After years of nothing but meaningless babble, the shepherd reported to the Pharaoh that one of the boys had said the word, below, which meant bread in the Phrygian language spoken in Turkey. While some doubt is cast on the validity of this experiment, the fact remains that people raised in total social isolation, like the wolf boy of Aveyron, remain virtually speechless and wont invent or discover a language. However, in a community or tribe, where survival depends upon communication and exchange of ideas, language would develop early if the people who lived in that community or tribe expected to live and thrive. Scientists have discovered that vervets, a type of monkey, have at least ten putative words, that the troop use and understand. (The Third Chimpanzee, page 155) If members of the animal kingdom rely on words for survival, it would not be surprising to find that early cave dwellers would have developed a complex language to help ensure their survival. At the dawn of civilization, these skills that, while rudimentary, would have already been known by man.
As farming and domestication of animals began to replace the hunter-gatherer lifestyle, improvements in building techniques, manufacture of needed goods, and established roads would have taken on more importance than ever before. By the time of the first civilization, these techniques would have been well known and fairly well refined. What was needed was better organization and better communication to bring all of the already established processes together. While it is clear that the early civilizations took the processes that were already in place and built upon them, every piece of the puzzle was already available to them. Established government hierarchy, religious beliefs, and an organizational structure would have already been established.
It seems incredulous that any civilization could come into being without a culture or cultures already being advanced to the point where the roots of a civilization could take hold. Working backwards, an advanced culture could not come into existence without the sophisticated framework that an early culture would grow into. The knowledge and experience of a fairly advanced tribal culture would set the stage for an early township or community, and organizational skills, establishment of religion, and a working form of government was already necessary for a tribal culture whether considered sophisticated or not, to survive. Bibliography: Bibliography Benton, Jenetta Record and Robert DiYammi. 1998 Arts and Culture, An Introduction To The Humanities. New Jersey. Pretence Hall Best, Nicholas. 1984 Quest For The Past.
USA: Readers Digest Association Boardman, John. The Cambridge Ancient History. 1982. New York. Cambridge University Press Briggs, Asa. 1992 Everyday Life Through The Ages.
Berkeley Square, London Readers Digest Diamond, Jared. 1992 The Third Chimpanzee. New York. Harper Collins Edwards, Mike. Indus Civilization National Geographic Vol 197, No 6, June 2000, page 126 Fromkin, David. 1998 The Way Of The World. New York Alfred A. Know Kramer, Samuel. 1971 Cradle Of Civilization.
Morristown, New Jersey. Time Life Books Mills, Dorothy. 1951 The Book Of The Ancient World. New York. G. P. Putnam's Sons
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