Week+4+-+Cultural+developments+preceding+agriculture


 * Choose two (2) cultural developments that preceded agriculture such as the domestication of fire, art, language, music or burial rites and discuss their supposed origin and time of appearance and their contribution to human prosperity. Write about 500 words on each development; you may need to start from the recommended resources but then extend your readings for more information.** **Submit your answers as a single document word document; remember to start your answer with the actual question or supply suitable headings.**


 * Cultural Development 1 - Art.**

Many theories abound with regard to the origin of art in human culture. Perhaps one of the more fascinating is the idea of art forming a key component in the development of our collective identity - that point at which humans began to perceive the individual impact of their role within a group or society. 1. Too weak and vulnerable to survive on their own, early hominids discovered the value and power of unity through early artistic expressions such as dance, song and body painting in order to reach a state of collective identity for the simple purpose of survival.

First signs we have of the culture of art can be found in cave paintings dating back over 25,000 years 2. This predates the period when agriculture and religion influenced the development of art.3. Agriculture lead to greater advancement in art because it encouraged the development and adornment of physical possessions (handicrafts) as humans began to build permanent dwellings. Religion contributed both subject matter and objects of worship to the realm of artistic expression.

For Paleolithic man, tools made from bone, flint, wood and obsidian were objects of both function and form. There is a logical connection between tools for hunting and gathering, and depictions of animals and hunters in cave art. Similarly, the act of reproduction as a survival necessity was also the subject of early artistic depictions during this age. Stone sculptures and icons representing fertility such as the Venus of Willendorf statuette carved from limestone and dating back to between 24,000 and 22,000 BCE4., are our earliest representations of the human body in a clearly female form.

Rock and cave art, as well as adorned burial sites have been discovered in areas of early human habitation around the world - from Southern Africa to the western Mediterranean, Central and Eastern Europe, India and Australia. As early man spread, so too did evidence of his artistic expression - in South America, the Middle East and United Kingdom.

The invention of writing could also be considered early art, growing from early civilisations of Mesopotamia and Egypt around 3,500BCE. Hieroglyphs, pictographs and ideographs began our journey into the development of written language, examples of which remain available to us today largely because of the longevity of writing materials then used: Stone tablets and carving tools being far more resilient than paper, (though papyrus was a relatively sturdy predecessor).

Today, discoveries of early art provide us with some of the most profound insights available into the lives of our ancestors. Art has come to include a diverse range of man made artefacts ranging from architecture to tools, clothing, music, sculpture, painting, poetry, homewares, textiles, pottery, metalwork and more - both practical and aesthetic manifestations which are all expressions of life through culture.

From the cave paintings of Europe and the Middle East to Aboriginal rock paintings and the mystery of monuments such as Stonehenge along with artefacts and handicrafts adorning stone age burial sites, we can piece together significant information about the way early man lived and how he viewed life - from issues of survival, to spiritual expression, to curiosity about the afterlife and the world beyond his natural borders into fields such as astronomy. Art provides a strong indication of the sophistication of cultures throughout time - but at times, it poses as many questions as it answers, and adds to our sense of mystery about our past.

How did early man carve and position Stonehenge and other significant surviving displays of Neolithic art across Europe? How were the pyramids of Egypt built?5. Who evolved the engineering know how to construct Machu Picchu, Angkor Wat,6. the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon in Mexico, the Mesa Verde7. settlement of the Anaasází in the United States?

As a living narrative to human history, art is an invaluable resource with which we continue to engage. As we evolve, so too does our artistic expression: Street art or graffiti in the 21st century could be considered an evolution from earliest cave paintings. Perhaps these will form cultural markers for future human cultures to contemplate and grow their understanding of human heritage.

**References** 1. Wikipedia //Collective identity// accessible at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_identity 2. Gardener H, (2001) //Gardner's Art through the Ages: A Global History//, 13th Edition, Cengage. 3. Wikipedia, //Origin of art// accessible at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_of_Art 4. Wikipedia, //Venus of Willendorf// accessible at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_of_Willendorf 5. Ancient Egypt, //Pyramids// accessible at http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/pyramids/home.html 6. Unesco, //Angkor,// accessible at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/668 7. Wikipedia //Cliff Palace// accessible at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cliff_Palace


 * Cultural Development 2 - Burial of the dead.**

In the 21st century, the practice of digging a hole and placing in it, a deceased body which is then covered, is a cultural universal. Methods and rituals surrounding burial vary greatly, but in essence, it is a custom which dates back some 130,000 years.1. Earliest evidence originated in Qafzeh Cave in Palestine (now Israel), where the bones of a deceased human were discovered, stained with ochre and accompanied by animal remains and other goods. This region has provided archaeologists with a wealth of burial examples over broad expanses of early human history.

The cultural practice of burying the deceased can be attributed to a number of motivations. While it is commonly thought to have begun as a matter of hygiene, the truth is, a decaying corpse presents little health risk to the living (unless the deceased was diseased). Matters of comfort are more likely, as the process of decomposition produces unpleasant odours. Additionally, burying a body is an indication of respect: hidden from view and out of the range of potential scavengers (both carnivorous animals and looters), the dead are granted the ‘peace’ to rest, the chance to decompose naturally, without interference. In religion, burial is an important ritual, both as a customary practice and in some cases, an important step for the deceased travelling on to an ‘afterlife’.

Early Greeks practised both burial and cremation of the dead. In Ancient Rome, cremation was customary - an anathema at the time to the still persecuted Christians, who believed burial was an essential part of their belief in bodily resurrection. They thus constructed extensive catacombs (predominantly around Rome) - secret underground tombs where Christian leaders and notable followers were safely interred.2,3.

Still practiced by some cultures today, the act of including artefacts with the body for burial was common in ancient Egypt, along with rituals of mummification and the casting of spells.4.Chinese culture takes funeral rites very seriously, and they vary according to the deceased person’s age, marital status, social standing and even cause of death.5.

From one perspective, the burial of dead remains is a natural, cyclical act. With oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium and phosphorus making up almost 99% of the mass of a human body,6. it naturally combines with the soil in which it is interred. Provided soil makeup is average and the climate is temperate, the average human body buried 2 meters underground will take around 15 years to fully decompose through contact with subsoil acids.7.

So what happens when the ground fills up with too many dead? According to The Straight Dope, it already has, and will again.8. Historically, the average gravedigger in Europe reused the same grave six times during his career. And even though cremation accounts for between 70-80% of burials in England and Wales, overcrowding remains a problem.

Nevertheless, there is no sign humans are about to abandon the ritual of burying their dead (with notable exceptions such as the Tibetans, some of whom choose to be cut into pieces which are then fed to vultures.9.) Apart from individual cultural significances, burial - or some sort of ceremony akin to it - affords family and friends a chance to reflect and offer a respectful farewell, to conduct a service where the life of the deceased is acknowledged. For those who live on, it can also provide a very important sense of finality to the cycle of life.

**References** >
 * 1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burial
 * 2) http://nuke.romeheritagetours.com/EARLYCHRISTIANROMETHEAPPIANWAYTOUR/tabid/473/Default.aspx
 * 3) http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_commissions/archeo/inglese/documents/rc_com_archeo_doc_20011010_cataccrist_en.html#Origini
 * 4) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egyptian_burial_customs
 * 5) http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_chinaway/2004-03/03/content_46092.htm
 * 6) Wikipedia, //Compostition of the human body// accessible at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composition_of_the_human_body
 * 7) Translated by Guerman Grachev, //What happens six feet under after internment?// Pravda, 23 March 2006, accessible at http://english.pravda.ru/science/mysteries/23-03-2006/77751-corpse-0/
 * 8) The Straight Dope, //Do cemetery plots have expiration dates?//2 May 2006, accessible at http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2248/do-cemetery-plots-have-expiration-dates
 * 9) Sky burial, accessible at http://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/tibet/sky-buria.htm