Western Civilization. History and Background of Evolution - Research Paper Example

?Western Civilization History of Evolution The documentation on the history of evolution by Charles Darwin talks about the origin of genus using natural choice ways. The works by Darwin focused on evolution and became popular in the year 1859 after the publishing of his works. Darwin always had an interest in nature from his early childhood years. In the years between 1823 and 1913, Russell Wallace too discovered this idea of natural choice (Kemp, p.12). Darwin’s book “The origin of species” introduced the scientific theory that stated that the people did evolve through the ages through a process of natural choice. Background of evolution In the year 1859, Charles Darwin wrote a book with the title ‘The Origin of Species’. In this book, the author stated that all the living things in the universe live in a complex web of survival where all the things have connections to one another. The source also states that hereditary disparities begin occurring in all the living creatures and this make all the species to begin reproducing in extra ordinary ways. The book describes the key to evolution as the ability to make natural choices implying that the fittest will survive through any situation. In the year 1871, Charles Darwin wrote a book on the origin of human nature according to the issue of sex. The author attributed the way man looks and acts to the appearance and actions of chimpanzees. He says that if man looks and acts like chimpanzees then he must have come from where they live. In the year 1863, Thomas Huxley came up with evidence as to the segment of man in the natural world (Kemp, p.43). He claims that the chimpanzees and man are close and act similarly thereby implying that they come from the same ancestors. Another author by the name of Ernest Hagkel came up with the missing connection theory that suggests that man must have come from something. In the year 1924 Dr. Raymond Dart, an Australian from the University of Oxford went to South Africa to become a teacher. He described the evolution process as consisting of five stages. This are the stages one to five of the evolution process. The first stage analyses the characteristics of the fossil and dates it to be as old as 2.5 million to six million years old. The killer ape theory of Darwin however suggests that apes only grow to four feet and do not live past the age of four years. In an effort to verify this claims, Louis and Mary Leakey carried out archaeological discoveries in Tanzania in the year 1931. They managed to find a complete skull of a sixteen year old at The Old Dubi George. Stage two of the evolution process states man is to live for a period of twenty five years and grow to five feet tall with a brain capacity greater than 700CC. They referred to this creature as the homo habilis since they had 100 teeth and a big toe. The creatures features were almost similar to the man of today. Stage three of the evolution process makes the discovery of a creature they call Java with a brain capacity of 1,000CC, is six feet tall and can live up to 35 years of age (Kemp, p.76). It has the ability to stand straight and can also speak. They can also build better tools, start fires and raise families. The name that the creature gets is the name homo erectus. Stage four describes the discovery of a creature living in the Neanderthal valley in Germany and France. It has a brain capacity of 1,500 CC, teeth that are identical to those of man and stands at five feet tall. They adapt to their harsh environments by growing body hairs and having thicker bones. Stage five of this process dates back to the period between 1868 and 1928 and states that the man did live about seventeen million years ago. They described the species as having a brain similar to that of the modern man, wearing clothes and building settlements (Kemp, p.94). 2) History of Ancient Egypt from 10,000 BC to the end of the 2nd intermediate period The pre historic Egypt had a cover of ice measuring two blocks in the northern and central areas. The ice did melt down by the year 8,000BC leading to the formation of the Libyan Lake. The Nile river did provide the country with their water and runs from the north to the south of the country. By the year 7,000 BC two main events occur that cause major changes in Egypt. This is a result of the reverse in the magnetic poles that brings a lot of sand to the Nile changing its form. By 5,000 BC the migration from Egypt by the Israelites begins and the end up settling in the north in what is the present day Israel (Kemp, p.101). These people are light in color whereas those who migrate to the south into the Sudan are dark in color. At around the year 3,600 BC two separate states come into being in Egypt and this are the upper and lower Egypt regions respectively. During this period, the Sahara starts drying up resulting in a vast desert. Compare and contrast Upper and Lower Egypt The land in Upper Egypt is dry and sandy and the area is home to people having a dark complexion. The people living in this region depend on the activities of hunting and gathering for survival. The people living in lower Egypt are light in complexion with their land being moist and damp. The people in this region depend on the activities of fishing and farming (Kemp, p.21). Discuss the unification of Ancient Egypt The unification of upper and lower Egypt is an activity that comes from a man by the name of Narmer. He hailed from the south of the country and helped to unify these states in the year 1897AD. He led forty two wars and made the falcon the symbol for the king. His efforts to unite both states came to being a reality because of his unification of the crown, building his capital in Memphis, which is central to the regions. He also placed all the land under the King’s control and got a wife from the North (Kemp, p.56). Discuss how Narmer unified Egypt and the characteristics of the time Narmer managed to unify these Kingdoms by building his capital in the central town of Memphis. This place will be accessible by members of the upper and lower states. He also brought all the land under the control of the King and fought in many wars to end this division. His rule was stable and orderly and he had no professional military since there were no boundaries. During his regime, mothers were left to care for the households and live in oppression. There were also no laws to govern the people and the King was autocratic (Kemp, p.213). Discuss the characteristics of the old kingdom (2770-2200 BC) and the four pyramids The old Kingdom was stable and orderly and had no professional military since there were no boundaries. During his regime, mothers were left to care for the households and live in oppression. There were also no laws to govern the people and the King was tyrannical. Most of the people at the time depended on agricultural activities for their survival. The pyramids that the regime builds were the red pyramid, the great pyramid of Khufu, the bent pyramid and the pyramid at Dashu. The pyramids at Dashu and the Bent pyramid were 270 feet in height and took 30 years to build along with 30,000 workers to work on it. The red pyramid was the first pyramid flat side containing 52 iron oxide bricks for praising the sun god. The great pyramid at Khufu on the other hand was 481 feet in height and weighs 5,000 pounds. It also covered an area measuring 13.5 acres and had to involve 100,000 laborers to work on it. It took a period of 30 years to complete (Kemp, p.86). Discuss the causes of decline of the old kingdom as well as the first intermediate period The old kingdom fell because of bankruptcy. They encountered extra ordinary costs in their development efforts and the presence of corrupt officials looting from the tax coffers. A great famine hit the Kingdom for a period of seven years along with floods from the river Nile. Egypt also involved itself in a civil war in the years 2200 to 2050. This war resulted in the division of the kingdom yet again (Kemp, p.45). Discuss the characteristics of the Middle Kingdom (2050-1786 BC) The Middle kingdom reunified the nation and brought back the Kingship as the symbol of their country. In this Kingdom, the people found jobs in digging canals at the irrigation schemes and there was an increase in economic trade. This was because they built transport ports in the North and South of the country. In the Middle Kingdom, the people believed that everyone could achieve life after death (Kemp, p.63). Significance of the 2nd intermediate period (1786-1560 BC). During the second intermediate period, the country encountered attacks from the Hyskos. The building of religious buildings led to the practice of democracy being put to use in administrating the people. The people of the time participated in the democratic processes in their country (Kemp, p.73). Works Cited Kemp, Barry. Ancient Egypt, Anatomy of a Civilization, 2006. New York: Routledge. Read More