Customer center

We are a boutique essay service, not a mass production custom writing factory. Let us create a perfect paper for you today!

Example research essay topic: Cave Paintings Early Man - 1,198 words

NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote

Primitive Man and Civilized Man are Alike in Many Areas An Analogy Early civilizations are credited with introducing government, art, and religion, among other things to the modern world. Does the credit actually belong to the people who created these early civilizations or to those that came before? The final product may be considered greater and certainly more polished than the product created by early man. All things found in an ancient civilization were actually brought to them by the collective memories of the people that came before.

Little is known about human life during the Paleolithic Period, 35, 000 to 10, 000 BC. Cave paintings and a few clay statuettes are the sum total of what has survived the years for modern archeologists to study. (Arts and Culture, An Introduction to the Humanities, p. 14, 15) Anything made of wood or bone has long since turned to dust. (Everyday Life Through The Ages, p 13) Other evidence has come to light in recent times. Burial sites that have been discovered allow us to peek into the remote past. These discoveries support the idea of an awareness of and homage paid to the spirits and natural forces that shaped the world that these prehistoric people lived in.

Several remote tribes have been discovered this century. Prior to their discovery, these remote tribes, some numbering in the many thousands, believed that they were the only people on the earth. (The Third Chimpanzee, p 223) We can relate the life styles of these remote people, who have lived many thousands of years cut off from the rest of civilization, to our ancestors Humans all over the world, since the beginning of recorded times have followed along the same path. That is the path of creativity, worship, and organization. Many of the things we attribute to early civilizations had its beginnings in our common prehistoric past. Ancient civilizations and early man are alike in many ways, some of them being, religion, government and organization.

God-kings, that is kings who took on the mantle of a God, ruled early civilizations. They were worshipped by the masses, and acted as intermediary between the forces that controlled nature and the human subjects that lived on earth. Early man also had an intermediary to act as go-between on behalf of the people. He or she would have been a shaman, or priest. This person would have been someone who would be counted on to advise the chief of the tribe or community on matters relating to the Gods. (The Third Every force of nature was a mystery to early man, as it was to those that lived in the first, early civilizations, and therefore a belief developed that those forces needed to be controlled. These questions that have troubled mankind from its earliest days: Who are we?

Where are we? How did we get here? They have all been answered through the ages in one way or another. (The Book Of The Ancient World, p 8) Cave paintings in Lascaux, France that date to 17, 000 BC, have been found that show graphic presentations of animals. Spearheads have been driven into some of these animal representations. These rites by early man were held to either bring success to the hunt, or to thank the Gods for their success at a recent hunt. We see that animal worship made its way into early civilizations also.

Animal representations have been found in tombs from the earliest days of civilized Mesopotamia. Animal representations are present also in religious symbols from the earliest civilizations. Early man would have had to live in harmony with nature. Civilized man, took this harmonious coexistence one step further, and incorporated animals into their worship of Gods. An early example of this is demonstrated on the Palette of Name, the Egyptian king who is credited with beginning Egyptian history. On it, Hathor, the cow-headed goddess who protects the city of the dead is present.

Also present is a hawk or falcon, symbol of the god Horus. Another example of animal worship in ancient Egypt was the family God, Bes. This was a grotesque creature, part dwarf and part lion. His job was to protect the family, and was found in many homes. On judgment day, an Egyptian believed he would face the Jackal Judge. A heart heavy with sin would tip the scales and a terrible monster would devour the sinner.

If someone lived a virtuous life, the scales would balance, and the person would have eternal bliss. (Arts and Culture, An Introduction to The Humanities, p 8 Fertility and a renewal of things, birth of people and animals, the seasons, and of vegetation used for food sources were also very important to early man, as it was to early-civilized man. What is believed to be a fertility figure, the Venus of Willendorf, was found that dates to 30, 000 years ago. (Quest For The Past, p 12) Also, the cave paintings represent what is thought to be a mother earth theory. That is, by painting the animals so close to the center, or womb of the earth, more animals would be born. (Everyday Life Through The Ages, p 17) Early civilizations also focused on fertility, and created Gods to ensure continued fertility of the population. In early Mesopotamia, the Sumarians worshipped Ninhursag, or Mother Earth.

She was the source of all life, and from her came the birth of plants. Daily sacrifices were also made to the Gods in temples in every major city in Mesopotamia. The most important of these was a spring ritual called the New Year Holiday. After several days of ceremony, a Sacred Marriage took place between the King, who took the role of Dumuzi, an early ruler of the town Erech.

A high priestess would take the roll of Inanna, who was the principle deity of Erech. This ritual re-enactment of the original ceremony, according to legend, would ensure the fertility of the land, and the kings long life. (Cradle Of Civilization, p 106) Gods of fertility are seen throughout the early civilizations. Eros, the God of love and Aphrodite, the Goddess of love, were worshipped by the Greeks, the Snake Goddess by the Minoans, and Cupid and Venus, by the Romans. The concept of a life after death has been with mankind at least since we dweller in caves. Archeologists have uncovered evidence in cave dwellings that support this theory. Stone Age graves have been found that contain not only the remains of a person, but pollen evidence that a ceremony followed the persons death.

Axes, spears, and throwing sticks have been found in many graves. These are items that would be needed by the person in the afterlife. The graves were often located under the fire pit, which would have been considered a sacred place by early man. (Everyday Life Through The Ages, p 17) Fire, among other magical things, would have been worshipped by a cave dwelling people. (The Book Of The Ancient World, p 6) We find that the Romans had a strong belief in an afterlife also. Pharaoh would be entombed with riches, food, and servants to provide for him in the af...


Free research essays on topics related to: everyday life, ancient world, cave paintings, mother earth, early man

Research essay sample on Cave Paintings Early Man

Writing service prices per page

  • $18.85 - in 14 days
  • $19.95 - in 3 days
  • $23.95 - within 48 hours
  • $26.95 - within 24 hours
  • $29.95 - within 12 hours
  • $34.95 - within 6 hours
  • $39.95 - within 3 hours
  • Calculate total price

Our guarantee

  • 100% money back guarantee
  • plagiarism-free authentic works
  • completely confidential service
  • timely revisions until completely satisfied
  • 24/7 customer support
  • payments protected by PayPal

Secure payment

With EssayChief you get

  • Strict plagiarism detection regulations
  • 300+ words per page
  • Times New Roman font 12 pts, double-spaced
  • FREE abstract, outline, bibliography
  • Money back guarantee for missed deadline
  • Round-the-clock customer support
  • Complete anonymity of all our clients
  • Custom essays
  • Writing service

EssayChief can handle your

  • essays, term papers
  • book and movie reports
  • Power Point presentations
  • annotated bibliographies
  • theses, dissertations
  • exam preparations
  • editing and proofreading of your texts
  • academic ghostwriting of any kind

Free essay samples

Browse essays by topic:

Stay with EssayChief! We offer 10% discount to all our return customers. Once you place your order you will receive an email with the password. You can use this password for unlimited period and you can share it with your friends!

Academic ghostwriting

About us

© 2002-2024 EssayChief.com