01 The Dry Bones Speak
To 10,000 B.C.E.
The study of the earliest development of humans advances very quickly and often in sudden leaps forward. Because we know so little to begin with, each new discovery has profound impact. Before Darwin, the entire religious and mythological literature of the Judeo-Christian-Islamic world assumed that humans had been created directly by God about 6,000 years ago. (Hindu and Buddhist mythology had a much deeper time frame, but litter interest in exploring the distant past a history.) Darwin's theories, and a continuing array of fossil finds which supports them, propose a vastly longer time frame and a different interpretive framework for understanding human origins and early development. The discovery in 1953 of the structure of the DNA molecule, and our subsequent understanding of its role in determining the nature of each species and each individual, have further enriched our understanding of the evolution of humans. Discoveries of human cultural achievements beginning 35,000 years ago - sophisticated toolkits, cave paintings and small sculptures, long-distance migrations by land and sea - have added to our appreciation of the accomplishments of our ancestors, and of the people who study them so assiduously.
Human Origins in Myth and History
Where did we come from? How did humans come to inhabit the earth? These questions are difficult to answer because the earliest human beings left no written records or obvious oral traditions. For more than a century, we have sought the answer to these questions in the earth, in the records of the fossils that archaeologists and paleoanthropologists have discovered and interpreted. But before the diggers came with their interpretations, human societies from many parts of the world developed stories based on popular beliefs to explain our origins. Passed from generation to generation as folk wisdom, these stories give meaning to human existence. They not only tell how humans came to inhabit the earth, they also suggest why. Some of these stories, especially those that have been incorporated into religious texts such as the Bible, still inspire the imaginations and govern the behavior of hundreds of millions of people around the world.
- paleoanthropology: the study of the origins and predecessors of the present human species, using fossils and other remains. 古人类学。paleoanthropologist, 古人类学家。
Early Myth
As professional history developed, many historians dismissed these stories as myths, imaginative constructions that cannot be verified with the kinds of records historians usually use. However, myth and history share a common purpose - trying to explain how the world came to be as it is. Many historians and anthropologists now accept myths as important aids in understanding how different societies have interpreted the origins of the human world. Myths often contain important truths, and they can have powerful effects on people's values and behavior. Shared myths give cohesion to social relationships and provide people with sense of shared community.
- anthropologist: someone who scientifically studies humans and their customs, beliefs, and relationships. 人类学家。
For thousands of years, various creation stories have presented people with explanations of their place in the world and of their relationships to gods, to the rest of creation, and to one another. The narratives have similarities, but also significant differences. Some portray humans as the exalted crown of creation, others as reconfigured parasites; some depict humans as partners with the gods, others as their servants; some suggest the equality of all humans, others stress a variety of caste, race, and gender hierarchies. To some degree, surely, people transmit the stories as quaint tales told for enjoyment only, but they also provide guidance on how people should understand and live their lives.
- exalted: An exalted position in an organization is a very important one. 重要的（地位）。
- caste: A hierarchical ordering of people into groups, fixed from birth, based on their inherited ritual status and determining whom they may marry and with whom they may eat. 社会等级。