Let There Be Light!

 

Let There Be Light! - Photo by Larry Foulk, Jr.

January 4, 2022

LET THERE BE LIGHT!

In the vicinity of nearly two million years ago, hominin creatures - perhaps, "predawn" ancestors of Homo sapiens sapiens - came into a more astute awareness of fire and began to develop crude means of manipulating it. Around the same time, Homo habilis and Homo erectus demonstrate an ability to craft tools from stone. A changing diet vis-a-vis cooking with fire combined with the use of new technologies like the hand-axe signified a remarkable advancement in the quality of life for these hominin creatures. (See Lesson 2 below for the link to Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History website titled "What Does It Mean To Be Human?" for details.)

How do you think hominids came to control fire? What inspired them to craft tools from objects like stone? Let the thinking begin!

"History," in a literal sense, is a study of the recorded or written past. Fossils and artifacts of a "pre"-historic kind are, nonetheless, records of a sort, are they not? Although a study of early hominids may not be considered a study of "history," I do believe a brief review of the findings as concerns their existence stands to teach us a great deal about the deep underpinnings of our human (i.e. Home sapiens sapiens) nature. 

The lightbulb, oil lamp, candle, and torch all give off light, and these objects are sometimes used as symbols for our human curiosity or quest for knowledge. Early efforts to manipulate light (i.e. fire) has had significant and long-lasting effects upon our story and lives. There is much for us to learn just so long as we continue to exercise the deep and inherent quality of our curiosity as human beings!  

Click here to access Lesson 2 (i.e. HAH). 

Be Good,

Larry Foulk, Jr.