Journal # 1

Kyle  Anderson

World History SM 208

Patti Andrews

Journal entry #1 

     This week I read chapter’s one, two, and three, from the book, Ways Of The World: A Brief Global History by Robert W. Strayer. These chapters reviewed the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras of human history, form the nomadic way of life to the early development of agriculture. These chapters further talked talked about how the human species developed from small “gatherers-hunters” tribes to larger societies and then ultimately to the first  known civilization.

     I found these chapters to be interesting because they talked about a time in history that I do not know much about. In fact in chapter one Strayer says that this time in history was  a “way of life [that] sustained humankind for more than 95 percent of the time that our species has inhabited the earth” (Strayer p.11 2009). This statement captivated my imagination because I have not  realized that the modern era (which I am a part of) is only a very small percentage of the amount of time humans have been on this planet. This might be naive but nevertheless this new fact has sort of changed my perception and reshaped my world view of our human history.

     The Author has also changed my perception by deviating from the popular idea that often depict this time in human history as being barbaric, simplistic, and primitive. Instead the author cast light on a view that depicts this time as a time of development and evolution, with rules and structure. In chapter one the author reports that one scholar referred to the Paleolithic and Neolithic people as “‘the original affluent society’ not because they had so much, but because they wanted or needed so little” (Strayer p.21 2009). This blew my mind and once again captivated my imagination causing me to wonder if these nomadic people were happy. 

     It has also caused me to think about my life and specifically our modern society. Ironically, in the modern world we have so much and a lot of technology that can better the human race but yet I would bet that very few of us are considered affluent. Sure the definition of wealth and prosperity would be different in the stone age but I think that happiness and contentment is universal. So, the question still stands, were they happy. Its painfully obvious that we will never know the answer to this question but, still, maybe we can learner something form our ancient  ancestors. Simply put maybe less is more. It might seem strange to think about happens when reading school text book but I think it is good to remind our selves how history can provide us a vast wealth of knowledge encompassing many topics.

Reference

Strayer W. Robert. (2009). Ways of the world: A brief global history. Boston, MA: Bedford/St.

     Martin’s