Tag: world history

Back to North America: Clovis Culture

Post author By lbwriter
Post date October 24, 2022

The Clovis Culture

How Early Cultures Fit Together

Back to North America: Clovis Culture

After the Pre-Clovis culture disappeared from North America, the Clovis people showed up. They, too, are thought to have originated in Siberia. (What was it about Siberia? And where did Siberian people come from?)

Instead of wandering through Europe, the Clovis people traveled through Mongolia to Alaska, possibly over a land bridge between Alaska and Asia.

Their presence is noted in fifteen hundred locations across the United States (except Florida) and also down into Central, then South America. They, too, disappeared.

Like the Soluteans, the Clovis people are known for a unique weapon “point.” They flint knapped and pressure flaked their points.

But Clovis points, made from flint, jasper, chert, and obsidian, have a concave base with a groove on each side extending one-third of its length. This is called “fluting,” and it allowed the point to be fastened onto the arrow or spear shaft rather than just being tied onto it.

Because these points have not been found in Siberia or Mongolia, it is thought the points were developed in North America. Maybe they found Pre-Clovis points and they inspired the Clovis people?

Clovis tools also included end scrapers (tools with the scraper on the end) for processing hides, gravers and burins for engraving, spokeshaves for woodworking, and “wrenches” for straightening shafts.

The disappearance of the Clovis people coincided with a return of cold weather that destroyed the plant food of both animals and people.

During this time, a number of animals became extinct: giant bison, mastodon, gomphotheres (elephant-like mammals with four enormous tusks: two upper and two lower), giant sloths, tapir, camelops (a camel seven feet tall at the shoulder), horses, and some smaller animals.

Their disappearance was probably a combination of climate change and overhunting.

One grave containing two teenagers was found with grave goods. Powdered red ochre was found on the remains.

So, what happened to the Clovis people? Did they starve?

How Early Cultures Fit Together

Traditional DatingCulture

40,000 BCarcheological site lowest level at Kostenski, Central Russia

23,000 BCSolutrean culture established in Europe

19,000 BCZarzian culture appears in the Caucasus and Zagros regions

18,000 BCSolutreans arrive in North America? Pre-Clovis culture

14,500 BCSolutreans disappear

13,000 BCEnd of the last Ice Age

11,300 BCClovis culture appears in North America

11,000 BCSwiderian culture appears in Central Europe

10,500Swiderian culture enters eastern Anatolia?

10,500Zarzian culture vanishes

I’ll bet you have guessed which culture we will look at next time!

Zarzians: Full of Surprises!

Post author By lbwriter
Post date October 17, 2022

Wandering Life

Hallan Ϛemi Settlement

Surprise!

Zarzians Vanish

Zarzians: Full of Surprises!

Wandering Life

Signs of this culture are first seen along the Don River south of Moscow and flowing into the Bay of Azov. This empties into the Black Sea.

We also find them in the Caucasus Mountains of Georgia and south into the Armenian Highlands, then farther south to the Zagros Mountains of northern Iraq and northwestern Iran.

The Armenian Highlands gave them control of multiple sources of obsidian: a rock highly desired for tools and weapon points.

In general, though, they kept moving. They were early Middle Eastern users of the bow and arrow. They hunted red deer, onager (wild ass), wild cattle, wild sheep, and wild goats.

Zarzians domesticated dogs early in their culture. Quite possibly the dogs were protectors and hunters.

Hallan Ϛemi Settlement

The clock was ticking.

A dam was being built to regulate the Batman River in eastern Turkey. When finished, an entire area north of the near-joining of the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers would form a lake.

Archaeologists had little time to discover and recover any sites of interest. One site they saved was Hallan Ϛemi. (That’s pronounced H + the name Alan, Semi as in semicolon.)

Hallan Ϛemi is the oldest permanently settled village in the area, possibly in the world. And it was built by Zarzians.

They lived there for a long time. There are three building phases. In the center is a natural three foot diameter pit used for garbage and possibly ceremonial purposes. Huts were built around this pit.

The huts had stone foundations, which were below ground. The walls were of wattle and daub construction (wooden rods woven with twigs and plastered with clay). The roof was woven branches. The nearby forest was one reason why this location was chosen.

Earlier huts were made with sandstone block foundations six feet in diameter. Each hut was surrounded by a plastered wall creating a space about three feet wide for domestic activities. Because the huts were so small, they were probably used only for sleeping.

Later structures were constructed with stone from the nearby river. Had skills been lost?

Besides huts, there were two larger buildings, each eighteen feet in diameter, with stone benches and plastered hearths. The presence of exotic materials and a skull of wild cattle that had hung on the wall indicate that these structures had community ceremonial use.

Surprise!

A true village, the quantity and quality of work indicates separation of labor.

Engineering and building trades (supervisors and workers) for constructing the site.
Gatherers of bitter vetch, wild lentils, seeds, almonds, and pistachios.
1. Surprise! No cereal grains were harvested. This was a blow to the theory that settlement was invented by farmers.
Gatherers of turtles and clams from the nearby river.
1. Surprise! It is the year-round gathering of clams, as noted by shell growth rings, which proves that people stayed all year: a permanent village.
Hunters of wild sheep, wild goat, wild cattle, onager, and red deer.
Trainers to teach dogs to protect the village and help the hunters.
Pig farmers who caught wild pigs outside the village or ones nosing the garbage pit and domesticated them.
1. Surprise! The second domesticated animal was the pig, not a sheep or goat.
Stone carvers to create elaborate bowls and pestles decorated most often with vipers (Here’s the serpent again!), and also mundane tools and weapons points.
1. Surprise! No one expected elaborate stoneware.
Miners who went to the highlands to extract obsidian.
Traders of obsidian and crafted weapon points and tools.
Care-givers/teachers of babies and small children.
Possibly spiritual/religious/celebration leaders.
1. Surprise! The purpose of the settlement was trade between the Zarzians and the wandering people to the south.

This is the first time we see a true culture!

Zarzians Vanish

Zarzians are around longer than most cultures, but then vanish!

Lascaux Cave

Post author By lbwriter
Post date October 3, 2022

Treasure Discovered!

The Art

Touring the Cave

Horse: a Closer Look

Lascaux Cave

Treasure Discovered!

It’s September 12, 1940. You are fourteen year old Rascal Ravidat. You and your dog Robot are walking and romping in the crisp autumn air.

Robot runs toward an uprooted tree. He noses the ground. With a yelp, he disappears!

“Robot!” you shout while dashing after him. You can hear Robot whining and barking.

You rush to the spot. There’s the hole! And somewhere down there in the darkness is Robot. His bark sounds far away. There’s no way you can reach him.

“Robot, I have to get help. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Dashing back to your house, you locate three older friends and explain the situation. Everyone urgently packs for underground exploration, adding shovels to enlarge the hole.

When you and your friends return to Robot, he barks ecstatically. You shine a powerful flashlight down the hole. Robot is about fifty feet down!

“We’re coming for you, Robot!”

Shovels dig into the edges around the hole, throwing dirt in all directions.

The most experienced spelunker inspects the shaft. “It’s an easy climb back up. Maybe it’s the secret tunnel to Lascaux Manor. The tree grew over the hole and hid the entrance. That’s why it’s never been found.”

“The tunnel that leads to another tunnel, then treasure?” you ask excitedly.

He nods. “I’ll go down first.” He lowers himself a few feet then scrambles back up. “Yes, easy.” He disappears down the shaft.

Silence. More silence. Agonizing silence.

“Are you all right down there?” you shout.

“You fellows have to see this!”

You wriggle into the shaft, your heart pounding. Down you go into the darkness. At the bottom you squirm around and out of the shaft.

Robot is wriggling his whole self, jumping up on you and licking you. You kneel and hug him fiercely. “You’re okay, Robot. We’re here to get you out.”

You look toward your friend. His flashlight reveals the drawing of a horse on a cave wall. At the edges of the light, parts of other animals fade into the darkness.

“Whoa!” you say, switching on your flashlight. The walls are covered with a variety of animals.

After your other friends arrive, your group explores the cave. There is room after room of drawings! Walls and ceilings are covered with six thousand figures representing animals, humans, and geometric art.

After resurfacing with Robot, you and your friends rush to the authorities.

The curator of the Prehistory Museum, a sketcher, and two other men return to the shaft site with you and your friends. You lead the first guided tour of Lascaux Cave.

The authorities, stunned by the art work, declare that this is the oldest art found yet. Its value is infinitely more than the treasure chest you were seeking.

The Art

Lascaux Cave, made of limestone, is located near Montignac, France. The art work is traditionally dated at 15,000 B.C.

Damage was extensive during the fifteen years the public was allowed access. The cave was closed and the art work restored. A series of replicas were made for the public so they could still experience the art and, in some cases, the feel of entering the cave.

The art is not the same throughout. In some places, the rock is softer than others allowing etching instead of painting. Unfortunately, the etchings have not survived well.

Most areas have been brush painted with the common colors of red, yellow, and black. Ochre and hematite were used. So was goethite, which is reddish-brown or yellowish-brown. Manganese-containing pigments delivered silver-gray results. Charcoal may have been used, but if it was, it was used sparingly.

The art on some walls may have been painted with pigment suspended in animal fat or calcium-rich cave groundwater or clay. This suspension was applied by swabbing or blotting it on the wall instead of using a brush. We haven’t seen these techniques before!

The source of the pigments has been traced to a site two hundred miles away! Surely, this is not graffiti. The art had great importance to those who drew it and those who saw it.

Touring the Cave

Let’s take a tour.

We are in the Hall of Bulls (actually they are aurochs bulls). Some figures are immense: up to sixteen and a half feet long! Does their size indicate importance? Or is it actual life size? That’s something we have not seen before.

Two rows of aurochs face each other. On the north side of the wall, two aurochs are accompanied by ten horses and a large unidentified animal with two straight lines on its forehead, affectionately called “the unicorn.”

On the south side, three large aurochs are next to three smaller ones painted red. They are accompanied by six small deer and the only bear in the cave. For some reason, the bear is drawn on the belly of an aurochs.

One of the bulls is seventeen feet long, the largest cave art yet discovered! Also, the bulls seem to be in motion. (Why only the bulls?)

Now we enter the Axial Diverticulum. Here, the bulls, horses, deer, and an ibex cover the walls. One running horse was brushed with manganese pencil. On the ceiling, animals seem to roll from one wall to the other. Among the figures are many geometric shapes: sticks, dots, and rectangles.

The Passage is too damaged to examine.

The Nave has four groups of figures accompanied by geometric shapes. The groups are the Empreinte (Footprint) panel, the Black Cow panel, the Swimming Deer panel, and the Crossed Buffalo panel.

The hind legs of the Crossed Buffalo (actually a Bison) are crossed, giving the impression that one leg is nearer the viewer than the other. Although primitive, this is the oldest example of the use of perspective!

The Feline Diverticulum seems to be an area of practice or experimentation. Named for a group of felines, engravings of wild animals can be seen in naïve style. A figure of a horse is unique because of its head-on pose.

The Apse contains more than a thousand engravings, some of which are superimposed over paintings. The Apse contains the only reindeer in the cave. This is odd because reindeer is thought to have been the main staple of the people’s diet.

The Well is the site of a mysterious scene. A man with a bird’s head and erect penis seems to lie on the ground. At his side is either a long-legged bird or a bird on a pole. To the man’s right is a buffalo facing the man and transfixed by a spear from its anus through its belly. Intestines hang out. A geometric sign runs from the spear point to the bird. To the left of the man, a rhinoceros moves away.

Horse: a Closer Look

Let’s look closely at the horse painting above.

The first thing that strikes us are the proportions of the horse. Compared to today’s horse, which is the result of thousands of years of breeding, this horse has short legs and a bulky torso.

The yellow coloring gives rounding to the hip and rib cage. Black highlights the mane, face, and legs. There is attention to detail even to the feathering over the fetlocks!

Perspective is artfully shown between near and far legs.

What I find amazing is the artistry of movement. The legs show activity, probably a trot. The tail does not hang downward as in a walk, but neither is it streaming behind as it would be in a gallop.

The characteristics of the rock is used for the path. A path always indicates travel. It inclines upward and seems to turn away from us. This change of view is emphasized by the shorter front legs and the tiny head.

Movement is represented in art by diagonal lines. This technique is used copiously by this artist. The longest diagonal reaches from the horse’s poll to the end of the tail. All legs and the neck are diagonal, as is the mane. The horse is moving through a field of grain, perhaps wheat, represented by individual stalks, all of which are bent diagonally.

I am awestruck at the quality of this art!

Cave and Creek

Post author By lbwriter
Post date September 27, 2022

Theopetra Cave

Buttermilk Creek

Cave and Creek

Theopetra Cave

This cave, found in Thessaly, Greece, contains the oldest man-made structure still standing. It is a stone wall. It partially blocks the cave entrance.

Traditionally dated at 21,000 B.C., it is thought to have protected residents from the cold of the last ice age. It would also have protected them from enemies, human or animal, who penetrated the cave.

In the soft floor of the cave a trail of footprints was found indicating the presence of three or more children between the ages of two and four.

This is another limestone cave, so flood theorists would say the wall dates after the flood.

Buttermilk Creek

This area near Salado, Texas is by far the largest and most varied site of the First People in North America (called pre-Clovis).

The people would have been drawn to this place by a dependable water source, favorable climate, and abundant food, but also because it was a source of chert, which was used for weapons.

Hammer stones were used to chip chert to the general shape required, then smaller antlers pressure-flaked the weapon, fine tuning it.

The oldest manufactured weapons discovered in North America are three to four inch spear points traditionally dated at 15,500 B.C.

Altogether, 15,528 blades and tools have been found at Buttermilk Creek.

There are other probable pre-Clovis sites that have not yet been certified for various reasons. The sites are widespread: South Carolina, Florida, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Kansas, Nebraska, and Oregon.

Cave Paintings: Art or Grafitti?

Post author By lbwriter
Post date September 19, 2022

Cave of El Castillo

Cave of Altamira

Chauvet-Pont-d’Arc Cave (Chauvet Cave)

Cave Paintings: Art or Graffiti?

Cave of El Castillo

This cave is located on the northern coast of Spain in the Cantabria region. It is part of the Caves of Cantabria UNESCO World Heritage Site.

There are many petrographs in the caves. Unlike a petroglyph, which is a carving, a petrograph is a “writing,” and before writing it was a drawing.

We are only interested in the oldest, because it is the oldest in the world!

This petrograph is a red stippled disc. Is it the sun? No one knows.

It is traditionally dated at 40,000 B.C.: about 100,000 years later than Murujuga.

Did it survive the flood? Normally paint would not survive. It would have had to exist in a hard rock cave that was thoroughly sealed.

These are limestone caves. Flood theorists expect that soft rock caves like these were caused by the scouring of the flood cataclysm. Therefore, even the oldest painting was drawn after the flood.

Cave of Altamira

The Cave of Altamira, which is close to the Cave of El Castillo, was formed by early karst formation. The topography was formed by dissolution of “soft” or carbonate rocks such as limestone. It includes a barren rocky top layer with no rivers or streams. Underneath is the water and drainage system: rivers, fountains, caves, and sinkholes.

Flood theorists think all “soft” caves were likely caused by the flood.

Let’s talk about the petrographs. They are traditionally dated at 36,000 B.C.

The art is amazing! It’s on the walls, yes, but also across the ceiling!

What a crick in the neck! How did they get up there? Did the artists build scaffolding? Wait. We don’t picture ancient people able to build and use scaffolding! Time to readjust our mindsets—again.

Animals and abstract shapes are painted in polychromic style using the natural color of the rock, charcoal, and ochre or hematite.

Ochre is a natural clay earth pigment. It consists of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand resulting in pigments from yellow to deep orange to brown.

Hermatite is a reddish-black mineral that can be crushed into pigment.

Animals in different poses were drawn with multiple colors from yellow to orange to reddish brown to black.

But the pigments were not only used in their natural state. Sometimes they were diluted. This variation in intensity produced a study in light and dark, and a sense of shadow.

As if that wasn’t enough, the artists used the cracks and shapes of the rock itself as part of their art. For instance, a bison could be drawn over a bulge in the rock in such a way that the bulge becomes the bison’s rounded ribcage!

Yes, the picture above is from Altimira, and you can see the rounded shoulder and ribcage. Look at the shading! The anatomical detail!

These people are way beyond my pay grade.

Later art included hand stencils. These were made by placing a hand on the rock and blowing pigment over them, possibly using a tube.

When calculations proved that these handprints were usually female, feminists rejoiced. The assumption that men were the artists because they were the shamans (and who says that’s true?) had been debunked!

Steady there. That could be true. Or perhaps male artists preferred female prints and used hand models.

This glorious art is no graffiti!

Chauvet-Pont-d’Arc Cave (Chauvet Cave)

The cave is located near southeastern France. The soft, clay-like floor retains paw prints of cave bears and depressions thought to be “nests” where they slept. Skulls of cave bears and an ibex are present. There are also paw prints of a dog or wolf.

There are also the footprints of a child.

The art is traditionally dated at 30,000 B.C.

There are no complete human figures. A few panels of red ochre hand-prints exist. Abstract lines and dots are found throughout the cave. Hundreds of animal paintings fall into at least thirteen species. Frequently painted cave art animals include horses, aurochs (a large, wild Eurasian ox, predecessor of today’s cattle), and mammoths.

The above Chauvet Cave petroglyph is a horse.

But many predatory animals are also included: cave lions, leopards, bears, and cave hyenas. They also painted rhinoceroses! Rhinoceroses in France?

Three artistic techniques were used here that were rarely used elsewhere.

The first seems like common sense, but it wasn’t common: scraping the cave wall clear of debris before beginning to paint. This left a smooth, lighter surface.

Second, artists sometimes incised or etched around the outlines of certain figures, giving them a three-dimensional quality. These figures also seem to move. Because only some figures are chosen, the question rises whether this technique indicated these figures were more important.

The last technique is one of scenes. Animals are sometimes shown as interacting with each other. A pair may be butting heads in a mastery contest.

Why are we so excited about the scenes? There are scenes in the Australian petroglyphs.

Ah, but apparently in Europe that composition had been lost. At Chauvet it was rediscovered.

Reading Suggestions:

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20141027-a-journey-deep-inside-spains-temple-of-cave-art
http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/prehistoric/castillo-cave-paintings.htm
https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/310/
https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1426/

Photo credits:

Altamira: Jesusdefuensanta on Unsplash.com
Chauvet: atlanta-kid on Unsplash.com

Tags ancient history, cave of altimira, cave of el castillo, cave paintings, chauvet cave, french history, history, petrograph, spanish history, unesco world heritage site, world history

World History

Noah’s Ark: a Story

Post author By lbwriter
Post date August 29, 2022

“How long is that crazy old coot going to stay shut up in that boat?” said Kenan.

“At least we don’t have to listen to his fanatical speeches anymore.” Javar laughed.

The friends drifted away, looking for new entertainment.

The three-story enclosed barge stood alone on the flat landscape, the only door shut.

The days passed uneventfully.

This day began with the perfect weather experienced every day. Crops grew in the field, watered by underground springs. People went about their business or pleasure.

“Kenan, look at that!” Javar pointed to the sky. “What do you reckon it is?”

A fluffy, translucent cloud stretched from horizon to horizon.

“Huh. Somethin’ new.” Jevar stared up, his hands on his hips. “Looks like it’s comin’ down from the sky.” He poked his friend in the ribs. “Gonna be interestin’ to be inside that, if it comes down this far.”

Curious. Unique. But silent, and soon forgotten.

Boom!

“What the–” Kenan jumped up from his dinner, knocking his plate to the ground. He had felt that sound vibrate wildly against his feet.

Boom!

Javar, also on his feet searched the sky, the origin of the second sound. All he saw was the gentle, fluffy cloud drifting lower, but still a long distance away.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Sounding loudly from below the ground and above it, the sky and earth seemed to be answering each other.

Everything broke at once.

Earthquakes shook the ground and created great cracks. People screamed as they fell into the gaps.

Eruptions burst forth from underground.

A geyser’s spout spewed from the left of Javar. The people it caught unaware screamed as they were boiled alive.

Javar and Kenan ran in the opposite direction.

Boom! The cone of a volcano rose before them, spilling lava, scorching and roasting the humans in its way.

“Come on!” Coughing from the noxious fumes, Javar pulled Kenan at a right angle to the lava streaming toward them.

Young and fit, the men raced past most of the other people scrambling away from the volcano.

“Everything’s on fire!” shouted Kenan. His voice was lost in the booming and hissing and human screams.

The men didn’t stop at the river’s edge. Plunging into the water, they swam with strong but desperate strokes to the other side. A tall hill thrust up before them, newly made by the chaos. After a moment of shocked surprise, the men climbed to the top. From here they could watch the sea.

People racing to the river or sea did not find safety. The lava boiled the sea and evaporated much of the river. But the lava could not climb the hill. However, it set fire to the vegetation. The fire worked its way toward Kenan and Javar.

Some humans hid in their houses or caves, too crazy with fear to consider what wild animals had chosen that refuge as well. They found an unusually high tide lapping at their toes.

Suddenly a tidal wave sea reared then crashed over the land near the sea, sucking many people into the depths.

Jevan and Kenan were safe on the cliff. It was too high to be touched by the wave, but the sea sprayed over the cliff, extinguishing the fire that was reaching toward them.

But that was not the worst of the terrors.

The fluffy cloud turned dark and curled.

With the loudest sky boom yet, the cloud broke into enormous drops, deluging these people who had never experienced rain. It pelted them mercilessly. It beat them to the ground.

“The sky is falling!” They called to one another in horror.

Lightning flashed everywhere, and thunder answered like a bass drum.

In flashes of light, Kenan and Javar saw the ark begin to lift gently on the water. People near the ark slogged their way toward it, their desperate pleas for help snatched away by the wind.

The weak fell and could not get up, drowning in water or asphyxiating when those who were stronger trampled their faces into the mud.

Funnel clouds whirled over land and sea, ripping trees and houses, tossing them on the people frantic to escape.

Javar and Kenan crawled under bushes and clung to them in desperation.

The clouds of dirt and fumes from volcanos spread across the ground and were tossed upward by violent winds. The darkness grew from earth to sky, meeting the storms blocking out the friendly stars.

In the darkness, all sight of the ark was lost.

The people were lost.

Lost.

Photo credit: Photo by nikko macaspac on Unsplash

Tags : history, ancient history, cultural legend, genesis, noah, noah’s ark, noah’s flood, world history

World History

Surviving Noah’s Flood

Post author By lbwriter
Post date August 22, 2022

Who Survived the Cataclysm?

How Did They Survive?

Description of an Ark

The Disappearance of Dinosaurs

Description of Noah’s Ark

What Noah’s Ark Was Not

What Happened During the Voyage?

Post-Cataclysm Changes

The Rainbow

Surviving Noah’s Flood

In almost all cultures, there were survivors of the cataclysm. When humans did not survive, a god would throw stones that turned into people or use other means to restart the human race.

Following the rule of the majority, we must ask who survived and how.

Who Survived the Cataclysm?

The most and oldest reports describe a Noah-like character who survives with his family. Some cultures even specify three sons.

The next most popular legend is that a brother and sister survive. After the flood they must get a special dispensation from the gods to marry. Otherwise, there will be no more humans.

The odd stories include the survival of two men (how does that work out?) or a group of people larger than one family.

How Did They Survive?

Legends describe a variety of survival strategies.

In legends that say one mountain peak remained above water, the survivors fled there.

There are a variety of escape crafts.

One legend says people escaped in wooden houses that floated on the flood. It sounds to me like they would not remain upright in a storm.

In two tales, people escaped sealed in a gourd. That sounds like asphyxiation to me.

Three times the survivors are described as escaping sealed in a tree or log. There’s little air there either.

Four times, people are described as escaping by raft. Can you imagine surviving many days in the storm we talked about last time? Maybe the raft would, but people would surely be washed overboard.

Now, let’s look at the more sensible ideas.

Two sources state the survivors escaped in a chest or box. As long as they have air holes and the box is made of wood, it’s possible. The size and shape of the box would be big factors in success.

Eleven tales say people escaped in a boat, ship, or canoe. Sorry, but a canoe is not going to make it through a cataclysm. A boat is a general term. A ship is large and made for traveling seas and oceans.

Surprisingly, four legends use the same word: ark.

Description of an Ark

I was sixty-nine years old and had heard the story of Noah’s Ark all of my life when I thought to ask myself, “Does the word ‘ark’ mean anything specific?”

To my surprise, it does!

An ark is a strongbox or sturdy chest in which one’s most precious treasures are protected.

Noah’s ark was a ship-sized treasure chest whose purpose was to protect God’s greatest treasures from the cataclysm. Those treasures were the righteous Noah and his family!

For the family’s survival after the flood, animals were invited onto the ship also.

I must admit that tales trying to be both “biblical” and “scientific” slip into ridiculousness, as is often the case. In one, the mammoth was too big to enter the ark so it sat on top. That’s not going to work.

In another story, the dinosaur swam behind. That was a very long swim.

The Disappearance of Dinosaurs

Let’s digress a moment and answer a question that has been nagging at us: What happened to dinosaurs?

Here’s a theory. Remember that Noah could only bring two of each kind of unclean animal into the ark. Whatever “kind” meant in Moses’ Egyptian classification of living things, it seems to be between species and family in ours. Therefore, not all species of dinosaurs would be included in the ark.

Reptiles are “unclean” animals, so one male and one female of each kind would be chosen.

Also, consider that most dinosaurs were smaller than today’s horse, even as small as a chicken. Wouldn’t it be logical to choose, say, the crocodile and Komodo dragon instead of Tyrannosaurus Rex?

The rest drowned with other animals we have never seen.

Description of Noah’s Ark

As an Egyptian prince, Moses surely was interested in building, architecture, and engineering. He probably studied those arts. His description of Noah’s Ark is specific.

Make it of wood. (Wood floats easily.)
Put rooms in it.
Waterproof it with pitch inside and outside.
The dimensions are to be 450 feet by 75 feet by 45 feet. (That’s half as long as the Titanic!)
Three stories.
One door in the side.
One window at the top.

What Noah’s Ark Was Not

Noah’s Ark was not designed for navigation. It was designed only for floating.

It lacks these parts: a pointed bow, a pointed stern, an anchor, a propeller and rudder or oars, slanted sides, and one or more masts.

Those were invented for navigation and cruise efficiency. It’s not as stable as a flat bottomed craft. Also, any structure under the water line could be damaged by hidden aquatic dangers.

The picture above does not represent Noah’s ark.

The blueprint describes a three story enclosed barge. Because of the straight sides, the enclosed volume of Noah’s Ark was roughly the same as the Titanic! Who says there isn’t room for every “kind” (not species) of animal?

What Happened During the Voyage?

We don’t know.

That’s right. No legend tells us what happened on board during the flood. Neither does Genesis. Apparently, Moses didn’t think it important.

The next thing we know is that the cataclysm was over, the waters receded considerably, and Noah was at the window.

Is it just Moses’s minimalistic style, or is it fact that there was nothing on board but the humans and the animals? Noah was not commanded to bring food or any other supplies on board.

Could it be that in God’s mercy He put the passengers of the ark into suspended animation, saving them the trauma of the cataclysm?

That would be my choice!

The fact is, we don’t know. Period.

Post-Cataclysm Changes

The earth Noah saw when he left the ark was as bizarre and astonishing as if he had landed on the moon.

God told Noah there would be changes between humans and animals. The Dream Time was finished. First, animals would be afraid of people. Second, “every living thing that moves will be meat for you.”

Humans are no longer to be vegetarians. That’s a good reason for animals to be afraid!

But why the change? God doesn’t say. It’s logical, however, to suggest that the change is related to the vastly altered earth.

The Rainbow

I was surprised how many legends included a rainbow at the end of the story as a sign of hope and peace. One story had four rainbows: one in each direction!

Of course, there are always outliers, such as the story with the Rainbow Serpent.

In Genesis, God says, “I will set my bow in the clouds” as a sign (think seal or signature) of the covenant between myself and the earth that I will never do this again.

This ceremony of the bow survives today in some places. When two tribes or clans have been warring but meet to create a peace treaty, each leader hangs his (war) bow on the wall, signifying he comes in peace and trusts not to be attacked.

The bows are always hung curved side up…just like the one in the sky.

Photo credit: Javiare_Art_Photography on Unsplash.com

Tags ancient history, cultural legends, genesis, history, moses, noah, noah’s ark, noah’s flood, rainbow, world history

World History

Welcome to Noah’s Real Worldwide Flood!

Post author By lbwriter
Post date August 16, 2022

In Generalities, Unity

In Specifics, Diversity

Causes of the Flood

Four Recurring Ideas

How Enough Rain Fell to Cover the Earth

Forming Diamonds

And That’s Not All!

Geographical Changes Resulting From the Flood

Welcome to the Real Flood!

Welcome to Noah’s Real Worldwide Flood!

In Generalities, Unity

Nearly all of the worldwide flood stories agree on these things: the flood covered the planet to at least the tip of the highest mountain, there was an escape vehicle, and very few humans survived.

The fact that these agreements come from all times and cultures around the world establishes these as facts. No history book should ignore them.

In Specifics, Diversity

Often differing by geographical area, the legends generally become more fantastic the farther their origins are from Turkey and the near east in time and geography.

We would expect both of these effects for spoken legends. It verifies the location of the first human settlement.

Causes of the Flood of Water

Ancient Greece: The fountains of the deep opened and rain fell in torrents.

Celtic: The Giant named Earth was murdered and his blood caused the flood.

Assyria: The waters of the abyss rose up.

Chaldea: There was violent rain, and the rivers, lakes, and ocean burst forth from

beneath.

Hebrew (not Genesis): The male waters of sky met the female waters of the ground.

A hole in the sky was caused by the removal of two stars from the Pleiades.

Persia: The Angel Star (Sirius) descended three times.

Masai: There was a great long rain.

Tuvinian: The earth’s supporting frog (or turtle) moved.

Hindu: There was constant rain and ocean overflow

Lisu (China): There were torrents of rain and a huge wave.

China: A chief was defeated by a goddess. Angry that he had been defeated by a female,

the chief beat his head against the Heavenly Bamboo, knocking it down and

tearing a hole in the sky.

Victoria, Austrailia: The god Bunjul urinated into the ocean.

Lake Tyres, Austrailia: Frog swallowed all of earth’s water but Eel made him laugh and

spit it out.

Maori, New Zealand: A man worshipped as a god became angry. He stomped on the

floor of heaven, breaking it and releasing the Celestial Waters.

Innuit, Alaska: There was an unusually high tide.

Tinneh, Alaska: An unusually heavy snowfall one September melted.

Tinneh, Alaska: The Mariner rocked his canoe.

Bella Coola, Br. Columbia: The Creator stretched the rope connecting earth and sky.

The earth sank, allowing the waters to run over it.

Kato, California: The sky fell.

Cree, Canada: A monster lashed the sea with its tail.

Chippewa, Wisconsin: There was a great snowfall one September. Mouse nibbled a hole

in the leather bag containing the sun’s heat. The snow melted.

Mandan, N. Dakota: The earth is a large tortoise. A tribe digging for badgers cut a hole

in the shell. Tortoise began to sink and water rose through the knife wound.

Nahua, central Mexico: The heavens came crashing down in one day.

Jivaro, eastern Equador: A great cloud fell from heaven and turned to rain.

Canelos Quechua, Equador: The stars were crying.

Yamani, Tierra del Fuego: It snowed so much that ice covered the earth. A

rapid thaw caused the flooding.

Four Recurring Ideas

Although these explanations sound very different, there are four repeated ideas:

Snow and ice
Underground water thrusting upward
Torrential rain falling downward
Enormous wave(s)

The last idea includes The Mariner rocking his canoe and a monster thrashing its tail. Since neither of these could have been observed by anyone but Noah, we can omit the monster and Noah’s canoe as literary hyperbole.

That leaves us with this: repeated waves crashing over the land flooding it. Perhaps the waters were rising, but these waves, so striking that they have been remembered for millennia, were the first cause of flooding the land.

The Innuit report an unusually high tide. The Canelos Quechua specify that people were swept out to sea.

If we put all of this together, are the ancients talking about tidal waves?

Okay, this is more than we bargained for!

The idea of snow and ice is only reported by cultures from Alaska, Wisconsin, and Tierra del Fuego: all places that still see heavy snow. The Sek’hem of the southern tip of Argentina report ice floes seen during the flood. Remember, the Wisconsin story includes a sudden increase in heat from the sun.

I’m not sure what to make of this. There are hints of glaciers and icebergs. And what would cause the increased intensity of solar heat? Yet, it’s so precise and sounds so reasonable (except for Mouse) that it feels authentic.

I know. That’s not scientific. But sometimes a feeling or an intellectual nudge leads to a scientific discovery.

Reports of water thrusting upward from “the deep” into existing rivers, lakes, and the ocean are intriguing. Are we talking about geysers? If so, what is the sudden cause of sufficient force to result in these eruptions? Where was this water before the eruptions? In aquafers?

And what about the rain?

It is described as a deluge most frequently. Cultures also describe the rain as torrential, constant, and violent. Through various stories, the Cosmic Waters are described as dumping or gushing from heaven. Persians stated that “each rain drop was as big as a bowl.”

One gets the idea that the ancients are struggling to describe a unique event.

How Enough Rain Fell to Cover the Earth

Critics of the flood accounts ask, “How could enough rain fall to cover the mountains in the time allotted? What was the source of the rain?”

Three legends are of particular interest to me: the Jivaro description that “a great cloud fell from heaven and turned into rain.” The Nahua of Central Mexico state that “the heavens came down in one day.” The Kato report simply, “The sky fell.”

Some scientists who believe the Genesis account point to Genesis 1:6.

And God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters

to separate water from water.” So God made expanse and

separated the water under the expanse from the water above

it. God called the expanse “sky.”

In the view of these scientists, this verse describes a layer of water above the sky which no longer exists. It came crashing down during the flood.

The legends now sound reasonable, don’t they?

Other scientists object, saying such a layer would create a greenhouse effect so intense that it would destroy life.

Meanwhile, it created the perfect worldwide climate described in Genesis. And while it may have had a negative effect (which we don’t know as fact), the canopy was only in place until the tenth human generation.

Forming Diamonds

An objection to the “short earth theory” is the formation of diamonds and other geological findings that are said to require billions of years under the pressure of the earth: today’s earth pressure is what the scientists mean.

But if the pressure is tremendously increased by the weight of a mountain-covering flood, then the equation demands an equal decrease in required time.

A mathematician calculated the time-pressure result of the biblical flood and found it to be more than sufficient to create diamonds.

And That’s Not All!

There’s more to the “flood” than rainfall and flooding. These are in the legends:

Mountains parted

Islands arose

Mountains rose

Earthquakes

It all began with a great booming above the earth and another below ground.

Storm

The day turned dark.

Violent winds

Mountains tumbled down

Hot subterranean waters gushed out

Black rain of resin (???)

Darkness ascending from earth to sky

Thunder

The sun and moon turned red, blue, and yellow

Volcanoes erupted.

(Now you understand why I insist on calling it the Great Cataclysm!)

Geographical Changes Resulting From the Flood

Three cultures (Lushai, Bunun, and Kiangan Ifugaro) state that the earth’s surface was flat before the flood. Interesting. No other culture describes the overall geography of the earth before this event, nor does Genesis.

The intense pressure from the water formed diamonds and other geographical findings.

The same disruptions by water from below, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions that altered mountains and islands easily explain the missing, inverted, and shuffled geologic layers as well as seashells atop mountains.

Welcome to the Real Flood!

Photo credit: Elen11 on Unsplash.com

Tags ancient history, cultural legends, genesis, history, noah, noah’s ark, noah’s flood, world history

World History

Cataclysm Journalism

Post author By lbwriter
Post date August 9, 2022

Why?

Who?

When?

Where?

Cataclysm Journalism

Just like we looked at the origin of humans, we will explore the journalistic questions: who, what, when, where, why, and how.

Usually we would end with “why” because it wraps up everything we learn. This time we will begin with that question.

Why? Because Moses begins there so that what he tells us will make sense.

Why?

Unlike the comfortable comet theory which posits a huge asteroid crossing earth’s path and being sucked in by gravity, the event commonly called Noah’s Ark is always initiated by one or more gods who deign to punish humans.

The corrupt acts vary from a woman who drank from a stream during her menses to disrespect of the gods to complete wickedness. A few cultures say it wasn’t evil that triggered the event, but overpopulation.

How did humans disrespect the gods? Here are some examples: the gods were miffed by the King of Alba setting himself up as a god equal to Jupiter, general rudeness and lack of hospitality when a god came in the guise of a poor person, or outright disregard of required sacrifices and worship.

Here are some specific wicked behaviors listed by different cultures:

They didn’t know how to act as humans. (Lakota: indigenous American)

Imperious and depraved (Chaldean: ancient Mesopotamian)

Idleness, wantonness, rapacity (Hebrew legend, not from Genesis)

Wicked, lazy, and didn’t wash (Munda: India)

Wasted fish, polluted the pond until all of the fish were poisoned (Sui: China)

Genesis 6: 5 says that “every inclination of the thoughts of (man’s) heart was only evil all the time.”

Well! That covers it!

And since we know that according to Moses, God had already ejected Adam and Eve from the garden and prevented humans from returning, had allowed the DNA decay and defect processes to begin, and had cut human life time to 120years, we see that God is progressively angrier.

God wasn’t going to take it anymore! He was going to destroy everything on earth!

But then, he remembered Noah….

Who?

It is amazing how many cultures use “Noah” or a derivative for the protagonist of the story!

These cultures use Noah: Genesis (Hebrew Bible), Islam, Russian, the Hershel Island Eskimos (Canadian Yukon). The Zapotecs of ancient Mexico called him Noéh.

Here are related names: Nama (Altaic: central Asia), Noj (Sagaive: eastern Siberia), Nol (Lifou: New Caledonia), Nu’u (Hawaii), Nanaboujou (Ottawa: indigenous American), and Nu-mohk-muck-a-nek (Ottawa).

Other cultures refer to the same protagonist by a descriptive name.

Several cultures refer to him as a son of a god, although he may have a different name. Ancient Greeks called him Deucalion, the son of Prometheus.

According to the ancient Chaldeans, he was the tenth king of Babylon. Well, Noah was the tenth generation from Adam. It seems the Babylonians considered the Genesis genealogy to be their king list!

The ancient Sumerians called him a priest-king, which is who ruled their culture. Is Noah where the idea came from?

Another popular title was “Long of Life.” This is the meaning of Ziusudra of Sumer, Utnapishtim of Assyria, and Xisudthrus of Chaldea: all of which were ancient civilizations. Tuvinian (Soyot, north of Mongolia) and Lifou call him the Old Man. According to Genesis, Noah lived 950 years. No later person’s age was worthy of comment.

Noah was known to the Vogul (western Siberia) as the Great Man, to the Maori (New Zealand) as Hero, and to the Cree (indigenous American) as the Old Magician (Wise One).

But to me, the description that is the most tantalizing is from Sumer: The Mariner. I’m interested for two reasons: because Sumer is the oldest scientifically proven civilization, and because “The Mariner” is that specific.

The synonyms closest to “mariner” are seaman, seafarer, navigator, and sailor.

Sailor is a more general word. A sailor can work on lakes or rivers as well as the sea.

A seaman, seafarer, or mariner specifically sails the sea, and by extension the ocean. Yet, there are differences.

A seaman is one who works as a sailor, especially below the rank of an officer. That’s not Noah. He was the highest ranking person on the ark.

Seafarer can be anyone who serves aboard a marine (sea-going) vessel, or a sea traveler, often an adventurer. Yes, that could be Noah.

Mariner is the oldest of the three synonyms, dating from Latin in which “mare” means “the sea.” Mariner then means “man of the sea” or “man from the sea.” It gives the feeling that the sea is not just a job to this man. Somehow, it has become his identity.

Isn’t that true of Noah? Whenever anyone says, “Noah” the usual response is to think of the ark on the sea.

A navigator, however, is a mariner who directs the route of the ship. That was not in Noah’s job description.

When?

Ussher dates the Genesis event 2349-2348 B.C.

Most cultural legends are vague: “in the time of the stone giants,” “after the dream time,” “in the time of the first men.”

The Greeks are more specific: “Zeus sent a flood to destroy the men of the Bronze Age.” Now, that’s odd. If this legend first arose before the ancient Greece civilization we think of, the Greek tribes existed during the Bronze Age! Why didn’t the speaker just refer to that? After all, a civilization ties everything to itself.

Could it be that this is corroboration of the first bronze age: the world that Tubal-Cain invented? That is exactly when the flood occurred according to Genesis! Wow!

Where?

We don’t know where Noah lived. Surely, there was still plenty of room in Turkey for everyone to live. But maybe some went exploring.

We do know that the whole earth would be affected by the event.

What and How?

Ah, that’s the story isn’t it? And it deserves its own post.

See you next time!

Photo credit: globalmoments on Unsplash.com

Tags ancient greece, ancient history, assyria, chaldea, china, cree, genesis, hawaii, hebrew, history, india, lakota, maori, mesopotamia, noah, noah’s ark, noah’s flood, ottawa, russia, sumer, world history, zapotec

World History

The First Humans

Post author By lbwriter
Post date July 7, 2022

God and Adam touch - from Sistine Chapel

The Biblical Adam and Eve

Going to Work

Humans in God’s Image

We Agree!

How Humans Differ from Apes

What Was Life like in the Garden of Eden?

The First Humans

We have examined the evolutionary explanation of the first human. Now it’s time to look to Genesis.

The Biblical Adam and Eve

Adam was made from dust. God breathed into his nostrils “the breath of life.”

God said, “It’s not good for man to live alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

He brought all of the birds and wild animals to Adam to see what he would call them. Adam named them. (Try that. I bet you can’t do it!) But Adam did not find a suitable helper.

So, God performed the first surgery. It was orthopedic! He took a rib from Adam’s side and used it to create the woman.

Adam said, “She shall be called ‘woman’ for she was taken out of man.”

It has been noted that Eve was not taken from Adam’s head so she would be the boss. She was not taken from Adam’s feet so he could trample on her. She was taken from his side to partner with him in the work God gave them to do.

Going to Work

What was that work? “…rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” They were to be king and queen of planet Earth!

God also commanded, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.”

“Be fruitful and multiply” is the only command that humans have always enthusiastically obeyed!

The earth refers to the geological earth: the ground. It does not refer to subduing anything living. Humans were to rule non-human creatures, not subdue them. Also, humans were not commanded to rule over each other.

To subdue the earth means to bring it under control for the good of themselves and the creatures they kindly rule.

The diet of every living thing was to be all of the green plants. The diet of humans was also vegetarian: every seed-bearing plant and every tree with fruit containing seed(s).

I know. This brings up questions such as, “Then why did predators have teeth.” Or, “Didn’t this mess up the gastrointestinal systems of predators?”

Hey, I didn’t say Biblical theories don’t raise questions. And we may never know the answers. Moses writes on a need to know basis and this is something we apparently don’t need to know.

Humans in God’s Image

How could they accomplish all of this? Because man and woman were created in God’s image. At the very least, that means that people are in a different category from animals.

Therefore, there are three biological kingdoms: plants, animals, and humans.

We Agree!

All historians I have heard of agree on some things. In the earliest preliterate days, humans were smarter than apes. We just don’t agree by how much.

Let’s look at apes!

Apes have instincts. All animals do. This built-in action helps the apes survive.

You have instincts too. If your hand gets too close to fire, it jerks back. You don’t think about it at all.

Apes are intelligent. They solve problems using tools. An ape might use a rock to crush nut shells. A branch lying on the ground could be used to reach fruit. This is using nature as it is found.

Apes are even smarter than that. If there is no branch lying around, an ape can break one off of a tree. The ape might make it shorter. Maybe the twigs need to be removed. This is changing nature to make a tool.

They also remember this invention the next time the need arises.

However, that’s as far as apes go.

How Humans Differ From Apes

Apes are usually presented as being very close to humans, something like a second cousin. Are they?

The National Library of Medicine says that there is a 4% difference between ape and human DNA. In fact, there are “35 single nucleotide differences” and “approxiamately 90 Mb of insertions and deletions” in the DNA. Read it here:. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16339373/#:~:text=Humans%20and%20chimpanzees%20shared%20a,Mb%20of%20insertions%20and%20deletions. I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t sound close at all to me.
Humans focus on the future. We are always thinking what we will do tomorrow. In fact, since “tomorrow” is not yet in existence within our world, it is actually the first part of eternity. Because we live in the future, always thinking about tomorrow, we invent tools to help us do our work easier, faster, or better next time.
Humans also create the arts. Create means “to make out of nothing.” We can’t quite do that, but what humans can do is the next best thing. We can create out of our imagination. We don’t only modify and improve existing objects. We actually can create new objects, tools, toys, machines, shelters, clothing, weapons, and works of art.

This is different from problem solving.

You see, painting can’t feed you (unless you sell it). A drum can’t help you sleep. Quite the opposite! There is no reason for the arts…except they are fun!

Yet, humans in all times and places have produced art.

Humans have free will. We aren’t bound by instincts and survival problem solving. We can choose to act against instinct and survival. And we do—frequently.

What Was Life like in the Garden of Eden?

Dream Time is remembered in the human collective consciousness. Amazing!

There is a universal longing to return to that time. You see it at every zoo. You see it 24 hours a day on Animal Planet channel. People long to rule animals with love and be loved in return. Just think of all of the pets in the United States alone!

The Bible says those days will return. Prophecy is poetic language, which you may recognize in the description below. This scene is not an actual scene, but a description of the Peaceful Kingdom, as it has been called.

“The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child shall lead them.

“The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.

“The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.” Isaiah chapter 11, verses 6-8.

Don’t you long for a world like that? I do!

Read it for yourself: Genesis 1:27-31 and 2:18-25

Photo credit: Vieriu Adrian

Tags adam and eve, ancient history, arts, future focus, garden of eden, genesis, humans and apes, intelligent design, orthopedic surgery, vegetarian diet, world history