Page 65 - Berkshire Encyclopedia Of World History Vol I - Abraham to Coal

this fleeting world / beginnings: the era of foragers tfw-5

The further you get away from any period, the better you can
write about it.You aren’t subject to interruptions by people
that were there. • FINLEY PETER DUNNE (1867–1936)

history did not really begin until some minor genetic we have learned that many of these qualities can be found
changes made available the full range of modern sym- to some degree in closely related species such as chim-
bolic languages.This variant of the Out-of-Africa hypoth- panzees. For example, we now know that chimpanzees
esis depends on the proliferation of new types of tools can make and use tools and can also hunt.
and artifacts that is evident in the archaeology of Eurasia At the moment the most powerful marker, the feature
from about fifty thousand years ago. that distinguishes our species most decisively from closely
More recently, however, some supporters of the Out-of- related species, appears to be symbolic language. Many
Africa hypothesis have argued that the significance of animals can communicate with each other and share
these changes may have been exaggerated by virtue of the information in rudimentary ways. However, humans are
fact that scholars have conducted so much more archae- the only creatures who can communicate using symbolic
ological research in Eurasia than in Africa, the presumed language: a system of arbitrary symbols that can be
homeland of modern humans. In a careful analysis of the linked by formal grammars to create a nearly limitless
available archaeological evidence from Africa, the anthro- variety of precise utterances. Symbolic language greatly
pologists Sally McBrearty and Alison Brooks have argued enhanced the precision of human communication and
that evidence of distinctively human activities appears in the range of ideas that humans can exchange. Symbolic
Africa as early as 200,000 to 300,000 years ago and language allowed people for the first time to talk about
coincides with the appearance of skeletal remains that entities that were not immediately present (including
may be those of the earliest modern men and women. If experiences and events in the past and future) as well as
McBrearty and Brooks are right, our species appeared in entities whose existence was not certain (such as souls,
Africa between 200,000 and 300,000 years ago, and demons, and dreams).
these dates mark the real beginnings of human history. The result of this sudden increase in the precision, effi-
The periodization adopted in this essay is based on ciency, and range of human communication systems was
these findings. It adopts the compromise date of 250,000 that people could share what they learned with others;
years ago for the appearance of the first humans and for thus, knowledge began to accumulate more rapidly than
the beginnings of human history. However, we should it was lost: Instead of dying with each person or genera-
remember that this date remains subject to revision. tion, the insights of individuals could be preserved for
future generations. As a result, each generation inherited
What Makes Us Different? the accumulated knowledge of previous generations,
What distinguishes us so markedly from other species? and, as this store of knowledge grew, later generations
What distinguishes human history from the histories of could use it to adapt to their environment in new ways.
all other animals? Many answers have been given to these Unlike all other living species on Earth, whose behaviors
fundamental questions. Modern answers include the abil- change in significant ways only when the genetic makeup
ity to walk on two legs (bipedalism), the use of tools, the of the entire species changes, humans can change their
ability to hunt systematically, and the development of behaviors significantly without waiting for their genes to
exceptionally large brains. Unfortunately, as studies of change. This cumulative process of collective learning
closely related species have become more sophisticated, explains the exceptional ability of humans to adapt to
changing environments and changing circumstances and
For more on these topics, please see the following articles:
the unique dynamism of human history. In human his-
Creation Myths p. 449 (v2)
tory culture has outstripped natural selection as the pri-
Engines of History p. 654 (v2)
mary motor of change.
Language, Classification of p. 1106 (v3)
These conclusions suggest that we should seek the
Language, Standardization of p. 1111 (v3)
beginnings of human history not only in the anatomical