It All Began...

It all had to start somewhere – the sheer magnitude of our existence causes me to step back and take a deep breath. History is the study of our earth’s past events. Going to Catholic school, I was taught that God created the world; however, science tells us differently. Science gives us the argument of the “big bang” theory, of evolution, and the adaptation of nature to its environment. There are so many thoughts that came to my mind, and recollections that I had, as I read these three chapters. My thoughts and ideas will ramble over this first blog as I try to capture the true essence of that I want to convey to all of you.

When I was in college, the first time, I was not required to take any history courses, let alone a world history course. Now, in my education here at NDNU, I have had the opportunity to take World Religion, Indigenous Cultures of Latin America, and French History and Culture courses. All of these classes taught me history from a different perspective and broadened my knowledge base by allowing me now to look at events more critically. As I think about the readings for this first week, it strikes me as to how much similarity there is between events across time. Global Warming, that can’t be blamed on humans, followed the Ice Age. We are currently in the process of possibly a major change in the earth’s climate again. Is this a part of the “cycle” of history? Will historians look back at our culture thousands of years from now and observe our history as a repeat of the history we have observed and studied? What will they say about us?

The world has evolved, in part, based on human ingenuity; it is happening right now, though the pace today is so much faster. Looking back: first people, then farmers, which then led to civilizations – all as a result of progress. So much has happened in the past that we are still experiencing today. There is hunger, natural disasters, over-use of resources, chaos and conflict. This all seems so strikingly eerie. Where are we headed? Our society is so busy living in its glass house that we fail to see where we have come from or where we are headed; however, history tells us we are doomed to repeat it.

Last year as part of my job as a para-educator, I was assigned to a 6th grade social studies class. I, as well as all of the other sixth graders, learned all about the beginning of civilization: hominids, homo erectus, homo sapiens. How and why did all of human civilization start in Africa? What made that place so special? There is a great article on the start of man in the October 2008 issue of National Geographic. The pictorial account and details presented in the article are amazing. Visit the National Geographic website http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/10/neanderthals/hall-text to read the article. The photo I selected at the beginning of this blog was on the cover of the magazine. This subject of human beginnings and their migration on earth fascinates me. Recently I read an article from Science News (January 30,2010). The article says artifacts were found on the Island of Crete suggesting that the ancient Homo species used rafts or other type of water vessels to cross the water from northern Africa to Europe. We are still uncovering clues as to our beginnings. The mystery continues to unfold; what will we find next?