Hamurabi's Fair and Unfair Laws

Could you imagine a world without any laws, how would it be? The first roots of laws have came from the ancient Mesopotamia. The first laws in Mesopotamia were rote be the great ruler Hammurabi. The first records were written in ancient Mesopotamia, although, the laws were very harsh and strict, hens, some were also unfair. The reason why certain laws are more stricter and harsher than others, is that it depended i what rank of the society pyramid you were. Even today the same rule is applied to today's laws and society rules. Here are some of the Hammurabi Laws which have been translated from the ancient language of Mesopotamian to English, all of these laws are making the whole set of Mesopotamian laws called the Hammurabi Code

So far there have been occurring fair and unfair laws,but most of the laws are fair than unfair, but from my point of view I can say that many of these laws are roots of the today's laws.

The Begginings of Civilization

The most important moment in the history of human civilization happened between 7,000 and 10,000 years ago, with transition from hunting and gathering to farming. Before that, humans were forced to live in small, scattered, self sufficient groups who lived on the constant move. Transition to farming provided humans with steady supply of food year-round, and if they happened to live in a fertile area they had soon secured food surplus for the first time in human history. Before that, humans were more or less unsecure of when and where their next meal will come from. Food surplus also allowed people to have bigger families which led to global population growth . Scientists estimate that about 10,000 years ago, world’s population was about 5,000,000 people, and by 7,000 years ago, it was already 20,000,000. Farming settlements grew to villages, and then to towns and eventually to cities, food surplus also provided an opportunity which did not previously exist in human history, that is not all the people were involved in food production. Therefore, they had enough time to spend on improving their skills and talents, and became artisans, who invented so many new crafts and produced so many new items, which made everyday day life easier. The most crucial invention was a wheel, which was invented around 3,000 years ago, probably in Mesopotamia or Asir. The invention of wheel enabled people to travel great distances and sell their own food surplus, arts and crafts in other villages, towns, and cities, which provided cultural exchange and greatly enriched the communities involved. The other very important invention was bronze, an alloy of copper and tin, which enabled craftsmen to make more strong and durable metal items All of these were foundation for development of civilizations which are societies that have cities, a central government run by officials and workers specialized in different jobs, from writing and art to trade and building. Soon the trade was spread not only on the land but also over the big bodies of water. Unfortunately, overall development led to development of social classes i.e. group of people with similar backgrounds, incomes and ways of living. The social hierarchy went from king or chief to religious leaders, noble man and land owners to government officials and military officers, then to traders and craftsmen, and finally, to common workers and farmers who were the poorest members of the society. Finally the most unfortunate ones were slaves who were owned as property and had no human rights.

The Last Human Standing

During last class in humanities we have watched a documentary which was from a TV program PBS NOVA. The film is called "The last Human Standing", which is about how did human kind evolve. The documentary is mostly discussing how did the before last specie of early hominids disappear. The before last specie was Homo Neanderthals, which have migrated from northern Africa and have settled in the Northern Europe. Homo Neanderthal's fossils have been found in the Neander valley, Germany, this is how this specie got it's name. In the human history there was a big question, which was: why did the neanderthal specie disappear at once when cro-magnons moved to Europe. My class and I have discussed how could this happen if they were equip with very warm clothing, so they could protect from the ice age which happened during that time. My class and I have came up with an idea that the neanderthals have been extinct because of their diet. Neanderthals consumed only meat which isn't healthy enough for our organism. On the other hand, homo sapiens are omnivorous, thus, we can eat vegetables, fruits, insects, plants, etc. This is one big theory how did we stayed alive and the specie before us (Neanderthals) has been extinct. For decades, this question has been brought up and has been researched and it could be said that scientists have came to big points for this question. Scientists have discovered that neanderthals brains were slightly bigger than ours today, although all parts of their body were slightly bigger than ours. If their brains were slightly bigger plus they have lasted much longer as a culture then we have, and with all of this evidence still we cant find a solution. Now we have came up with various inventions just in 2000 years while they with 300,000 of their culture were considered as a very primitive and rough human specie.

"Last Human Standing." Becoming Human. PBS NOVA. 31 Aug. 2011. Television.

From Grunts To The Evolution of Language

This article is about how did human language evolve. Although we may never know exact time when our communication turned into language, scientist are almost sure that Homo sapiens were using language between 40,000 and 35,000 years ago. Scientists also assume that the language developed slowly, over long period of time, evolving from a primitive system of grunts, gestures, and facial expressions, into something more complex. However, the period during which humans and hominids have used a primitive system of communication probably lasted for 2,000,000 years. The most important condition, which have assured evolution of language was an anatomical transformation which happened about a million and a half years ago within genus Homo. The larynx ( the voice box) which contains the vocal cords begun to descend from its place high in the throat, where it was connected with the nasal passages, as it is the case today with most mammals, which can breathe and swallow at the same time, but it limits their range of possible sounds. Therefore, modern humans and our ancestors were able to breathe through both nose and mouth, thanks to that transformation, while mammals are generally nose breathers. This enabled our ancestors to use their vocal cords, the muscles of the throat and the back of the tongue in a different way, hence, the language evolved. Evolution of language was also triggered by more complex needs humans were faced with.

Tamming Fire

"'Taming Fire: The First Scientist?'" Odyssey: Adventures in Science Oct. 2009:

29-30. Print.

For millenniums, a dangerous and in same time a very productive invention has been used. For over 250,000 years ago Fire has started to formulate. The first time fire has ever been used was approximately 1 million years ago. The only proof that has been found was hearths which are a very primitive construction of a fire place which is formed by big rocks put in a circle where in the middle of the circle the fire is lightened. In the Bible fire is recorded as the one of the materials that only gods used, as well in the Greek mythology the same story is told. Uses of fire were mostly for cooking and for keeping warm when it would be very cold. As you can see the invention of fire is a dangerous but productive in the same time which both sides have their own advantages and disadvantages.

On Our Own Two Feet

For centuries, human and ape like walking has been differed a great deal. We humans have a very unique kind of walking which is on two legs. According to the science research, walking on four legs consumes more energy. On the other hand walking on two feet saves energy. Why is it this way you are probably wondering? Well, the human skeleton is build this way that we (Humans) have more strength and better developed muscles in our feet then in our arms, because humans more frequently use legs more often (like for walking, or jumping) rather then hands. Another interesting fact there is is that we humans are able to balance are big skulls on the top of our skeleton. A new fact has came which caused an outrage which is that we humans are not related to chimpanzees. Millions of years ago our common ancestor was a chimpanzee but as years and decades went by the branch of hominids and humans has branched of chimpanzees. But between the human and chimpanzee specie there was a specie which was Afarensis. Afarensis was a hominid that lived 3.3 million years ago. Afarensi's physical features more look like to chimpanzee's physical features for example the aferensis skull is more pointier and has sharper cheeks than to the human skull. There is a theory why are legs are used more often than our hands it is because we can free more our hands so we can work more with our hands.

Whitt, Stephen. "On Our Own Two Feet." Odyssey: Adventures in Science Oct. 2009: 26-28. Print.

Who is Who among Early Homininds

Millions of years ago before humanity evolved there were no humans but hominids which have evolved to today's us. Fossils of the early hominids have been discovered all around the world. The main theory is that the early hominids were related to the African apes which have evolved to hominids to humans. From time to time there have occurred new species of hominids. As far as we know there have been 12 species of early hominids. The first hominid skull was between 6 and 7 million years old who was the Sahelanthropus tchadensis which its fossils have been found in Chad in the north-central Africa. After came Orrin Tugenensis witch's fossils have been found in Kenya, Orrin is the oldest definitive hominid it dates from 5.8 million years ago. Afterwards comes Ardipithecus which means the ground ape, this hominid dates back from 4.4 million years ago, its fossils have been found in Ethiopia 1994, this hominid is very significant by its forehead because it is very flat. After comes the Kenyaplthecus platops which its fossils have been found in lake Turkana in Kenya. Its fossils date from 3.5 million years ago. Australopithecus or in translation the southern ape marks a new phase in human evolution this hominid has been found in the central Africa it dates around 4 millions years ago. Then came the Paranthoropus or in translation similar to a man, this hominid dates 2.5 to 3 million years ago. After comes the new phase in evolution which the early hominids evolve t humans and in names has put in the word Homo which on Latin means a man. the first early ancestor to enter this phase was Homo erectus or in translation the upright man the fossils of homo erectus date back from 1.8 million years ago. Then comes Homo habilis or the handy man which was the first early ancestor to make tools out of rock and wood. After comes Homo rudolfensis which dates back from 1 million years ago and its fossils have been found in Kenya. After comes Homo georcus which its fossils date back from 1.8 million years ago. Then comes Homo Neanderthals which lived in Europe and central Asia from 250,000 to 30,000 years ago. The last comes Homo florenslensis which its fossils have been found in central Asia it dates back from 94,000 years ago. These were the branches of early hominids which have evolved to today's humanity.

Susman, Randall. "Who is Who Among Early Humans ." Oyssey Advantures in Science Oct. 2009: 22-25 .

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