This morning, very early, I was sitting in the silence of my office, and I began to wonder about the time when peace ruled the earth. Was there a time? Or has there always been fighting?
Most scientists can fully agree about when our first human ancestors appeared. That was a lot of years ago — between five million and seven million years. It most likely happened when some apelike creature stood up on two legs, and took her first steps. Then the next day, she did it again, finding it was much easier than plodding around on all fours, and scraping the holy hell out of her knuckles. Then, she started to do it habitually, and by the fourth day, she was like, “Hey Betty. You really ought to try this. I can reach the bananas from down here. And look! No more dishpan hands.” All of that in Africa. In the ballpark around seven million years ago.
It took those folks a while to figure out tools. They were flaking crude stone tools by 2.5 million years ago. Then eventually, collectively, they decided to start spreading out. Maybe they wanted to see what was on the other side of that hill. So they went. They spread from Africa into Asia and Europe after two million years ago.
But did they all get along, or was there fighting?
Those were the early ones. Next came the people who look like us. Anatomically, just like us — but hairier — the modern Homo sapiens. Again there seems to be a consensus about our ancestry here. The scientific world thinks we evolved at least 130,000 years ago, from ancestors who had remained in Africa. Their brains had reached today’s size. There are fossils to prove this, you see (Scientifically, with radiometric dating to measure the decay of isotopes).
Those newly evolved people started moving out of Africa too. And somehow taking over, replacing those non-modern human species — those Neanderthals in Europe and parts of Asia. The movement went to the Far East as well. But was it all peaceful, I wonder.
The next subject is where the agreement breaks down completely. On the question of thinking. Science cannot agree on when, where and how these “anatomically modern humans” began to use creative and symbolic thinking.
When was the time that we became fully human in behavior? When, and where, did human culture begin? And my question. Were we ever peaceful?
People speculate that human beings have probably always killed each other. Evidence has been found that early people used clubs, axes, spears, bows, and arrows. (400,000 BC, evidence of spears in Germany) (40,000 to 25,000 BC, darts, bows, arrows in Africa). A lot of this for hunting, I would suppose. But the rest?
There is an article on Psychology Today, which details a lot of my questions about peace. In synopsis, it stated:
“Humans are genetically predisposed to kill each other. The rate of lethal violence is 7 times higher than the average for all mammals. The reasons can be traced back to our primate ancestors, which are exceptionally violent creatures, killing each other at a rate of 2.3% like we do.”
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-new-brain/201610/humans-are-genetically-predisposed-kill-each-other
Truthfully, this saddened me. I thought perhaps, at some point, there was an accord. A big agreement. That perhaps, everyone was just hairy and walking around and getting along. Toothless smiles, big furry waves to one another from open cave doors. But it seems that somehow, it is genetically embedded in us, this need to harm others.
Though I have an opinion on this disposition. I think some people are more prone to this than others. I truly don’t think I could kill someone. When we first got our chickens, one fell very ill. Rudy our Rooster. His condition was worsening, and we decided it would be the humane thing to put him out of his misery. I said I would do it. I was sick for three days after that. I still can’t unsee that minute in my life, in his life.
I think I must have gotten out of line when they were handing out the killer gene. Maybe I heard a heavenly ice cream truck.
Logically, this seems out of reach. But. My biggest wish is for a peaceful existence. In my life. I the lives of others. As a way of human culture and understanding. A covenant between us. An ancient peace. I think, maybe, when we first stood up, it was there.
I’ll stand up for it again.
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Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.
— Martin Luther King, Jr.
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We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.
— Dalai Lama
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The most valuable possession you can own is an open heart. The most powerful weapon you can be is an instrument of peace.
— Carlos Santana
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