“Caveman” Culture
“Caveman” Life Span
“Caveman” Achievements
Kings and Giants and Gods
This is the period between 4008/4010 B.C. and 2343/2345 B.C. according to Genesis. Once again it is the only source to date the events and also the only one to record specifics.
Cultures around the world still refer to this period as some form of the Dream Time. During this time the gods and goddesses existed and sometimes walked the earth. They are also called Kings or Giants (possibly for physical stature, strength, or achievements).
Genesis calls some of them the Nephilim. “They were the heroes of old, men of renown.”
They were gigantic in size and strength. Perhaps they were the original Hercules and other demigods of ancient cultures.
Nephilim means “to fall.” This can be interpreted as either the Nephilim are “the fallen” or they “cause others to fall.” Considering their stature and the fact that all other remarks about them are laudable, I lean toward the latter interpretation, but it’s shaky either way.
Are all of these humans? This is a hot theological topic, but they certainly could all have been human.
We know from recorded time that even then a human could attain god status by doing something seemingly supernatural in the eyes of the people. It also explains why a certain god/king/giant was associated with specific attributes. The original person had them.
Eventually the humanity disappeared altogether except in character, and only a supernatural god/goddess remained in the cultures.
“Caveman” Culture
In general, what were these people like? They were superior models of today’s humans.
We can hypothesize from what we learned about the judgement on Adam and Eve that nature, including human nature, was going downhill, but not necessarily rapidly. Although the specific curses took hold, accumulating DNA defects would have taken longer.
In short, the perfect human form and brain created for Adam and Eve began to deteriorate. It’s quite possible that earliest humans used the “dark neurons” that seem to have no purpose today. They may have processed new information more quickly. It’s possible that everyone had the potential to be a genius in every subject.
Caveman fashion was clothes made of animal skins according to Genesis.
These people may have chosen to sleep in the open. Perhaps they used handy caves.
Caves were a much better choice than building a shelter. A cave with one entrance was an excellent choice because it was easily defended, it didn’t have to be constructed, and it was sturdier that wood or dirt structures. Also, if one goes into a cave far enough, the temperature is constant.
“Caveman” Life Span
Following the genealogical line of Adam’s son Seth in Genesis, we see consecutive life spans of 950, 912, 905, 910, 895, 962, 365 (“and then God took him away”), 969, 777, and 950 years old when they died. Besides having amazing bodies, they must have lived in a fairly safe environment.
Mesopotamian culture recorded this list minus Adam in one of their Kings Lists. That’s probably because when Adam was crowned king by God, there were no other humans to rule, not even in a family sense. Or maybe it was because later people were angry that he wrecked the good times. Perhaps it’s because Adam lived in the perfect Dream Time. We just don’t know.
Interestingly, the length of life spans does not mesh—until you remember that Mesopotamia used Base 60 and Moses writes in Base 10. A mathematician calculated the Genesis list into Base 60 and discovered that his results matched the King List almost to the exact year!
Think what a millennium life span meant! Even with a brain like ours, you could have learned everything known by humans and still have had plenty of time to contribute to your field of interest.
However, as people became more and more wicked, God limited the life span of “men” (probably all humans) to 120 years. God may have accelerated DNA mutation to do this.
Interestingly, some scientists today have estimated that today’s man could last about 120 years if illness and accidental injury were controlled!
“Caveman” Achievements
Genesis traces the family lines of two of Adam and Eve’s sons.
Seth’s line were “sons of God,” which Judaism interprets as “the righteous.” Their life spans are listed above. Nothing else is known about them.
Cain’s family were the movers and shakers of Caveman Culture.
Cain, after murdering his brother Abel, was forced to give up farming. He traveled east into the land of Nod and built a city. Look at that! Architecture is the first named art! And it’s quite a complex art for a farmer.
This indicates that Cain learned or invented 4 of the 7 simple tools from which all tools and machines are made even today! He probably used the inclined plane (ramp), lever, wedge, and possibly the wheel.
Four generations later, Cain’s family exploded with creativity! Jabal didn’t like the city. He invented tent life and began domesticating livestock instead of following animals. His brother Jubal, the musician of the family, invented the harp and flute and probably established musical composition.
Their step-brother Tubal-Cain forged bronze and iron. One man brought everyone out of the Stone Age, through the Bronze Age, and into the Iron Age! That’s how smart these “cavemen” were.
No wonder later civilizations called these men gods!
Read it yourself: Genesis chapters 4 and 5 and 6:1-4.
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