Taxon- a classification unit in the taxonomy of plant and animal organisms.
The main evidence of human origin from animals is the presence of rudiments and atavisms in his body.
Rudiments- these are organs that have lost their meaning and function in the process of historical development (evolution) and remain in the form of underdeveloped formations in the body. They are laid down during the development of the embryo, but do not develop. Examples of rudiments in humans can be: coccygeal vertebrae (remains of the skeleton of the tail), appendix (process of the cecum), body hair; ear muscles (some people can move their ears); third eyelid.
Atavisms- this is the manifestation, in individual organisms, of characteristics that existed in individual ancestors, but were lost during evolution. In humans, this is the development of a tail and hair throughout the body.
Historical past of people
The first people on Earth. The name of the ape-man - Pithecanthropus - was given to one of the earliest finds, made in the 19th century in Java. For a long time, this find was considered a transitional link from ape to man, the first representatives of the hominid family. These views were facilitated by morphological features: a combination of modern-looking bones of the lower limb with a primitive skull and intermediate brain mass. However, the Pithecanthropus of Java is quite late group hominids. From the 20s of the twentieth century to the present, an important discovery was made in southern and eastern Africa: the remains of bipedal Plio-Pleistocene primates (from 6 to 1 million years old) were found. They marked the beginning of a new stage in the development of paleontology - the reconstruction of these stages of hominid evolution based on direct paleontological data, and not on the basis of various indirect comparative anatomical and embryological data.
The Age of the Bipedal Apes Australopithecus. The first australopithecus of East Africa - Zinjanthropus - was discovered by the spouses L. and M. Leakey. The brightest distinguishing feature Australopithecus - upright walking. This is evidenced by the structure of the pelvis. Upright walking is one of the oldest human acquisitions.
The first representatives of the human race in East Africa. Along with the massive Australopithecus, other creatures also lived in East Africa 2 million years ago. This first became known when, the next year after the discovery of Zinjanthropus, the remains of a miniature hominid were discovered, the brain volume of which was no less (and even more) than that of Australopithecus. It was later revealed that he was a contemporary of Zinjanthrope. The most important discoveries were made in the lowest layer, dating back to 2–1.7 million years. Its maximum thickness is 40 meters. The climate when this layer was laid was more humid and its inhabitants were zinjanthropus and prezinjanthropus. The latter did not last long. In addition, stones with traces of artificial processing were also found in this layer. Most often it was pebbles ranging in size from a walnut to 7–10 cm, with a few chips of the working edge. Initially it was assumed that the Zinjanthropes were able to do this, but after new discoveries it became obvious: either the tools were made by a more advanced Zinjanthropus, or both inhabitants were capable of such initial stone processing. Full Opposition Clamp Emergence thumb the hand should have been preceded by a period of predominance of a forceful grip, when the object was raked into a handful and clamped in the hand. Moreover, it was the nail phalanx of the thumb that experienced particularly strong pressure.
Prerequisites for anthropogenesis.The common ancestors of apes and humans were gregarious, narrow-nosed monkeys that lived in trees in tropical forests. The transition of this group to a terrestrial lifestyle, caused by climate cooling and the displacement of forests by steppes, led to upright walking. The straightened position of the body and the transfer of the center of gravity caused the replacement of the arched spinal column with an S-shaped one, which gave it flexibility. An arched springy foot was formed, the pelvis expanded, the chest became wider and shorter, the jaw apparatus was lighter, and most importantly, the forelimbs were freed from the need to support the body, their movements became more free and varied, and their functions became more complex. The transition from using objects to making tools is the boundary between ape and man. The evolution of the hand followed the path of natural selection of mutations useful for labor activity. Along with upright walking, the most important prerequisite for anthropogenesis was the herd lifestyle, which, with the development of work activity and the exchange of signals, led to the development of articulate speech. Concrete ideas about surrounding objects and phenomena were generalized into abstract concepts, and mental and speech abilities developed. A higher education system was being formed nervous activity, and articulate speech developed.
Stages of human development. There are three stages in human evolution: ancient people, ancient people and modern (new) people. Many populations of Homo sapiens did not replace each other sequentially, but lived simultaneously, fighting for existence and destroying the weaker.
| Human Ancestors | Progressive features in appearance | Lifestyle | Tools |
| Parapithecus (discovered in Egypt in 1911) | We walked on two legs. Low forehead, brow ridges, hairline | Considered to be the oldest ape | Tools in the form of a baton; hewn stones |
| Dryopithecus (bone remains found in Western Europe, South Asia and East Africa. Antiquity from 12 to 40 million years) | According to most scientists, Dryopithecus is considered a common ancestral group for modern apes and humans. | ||
| Australopithecus (bone remains dating back 2.6-3.5 million years were found in Southern and Eastern Africa) | They had a small body (length 120–130 cm), weight 30–40 kg, brain volume 500–600 cm2, and walked on two legs. | They consumed plant and meat foods and lived in open areas (such as savannas). Australopithecines are also considered as a stage of human evolution that immediately preceded the emergence of the most ancient people (archanthropes). | Sticks, stones, and animal bones were used as tools. |
| Pithecanthropus (the oldest man, remains discovered - Africa, Mediterranean, Java; 1 million years ago) | Height 150 cm; brain volume 900–1,000 cm2, low forehead, with brow ridge; jaws without chin protrusion | Social lifestyle; They lived in caves and used fire. | Primitive stone tools, sticks |
| Sinanthropus (China and others, 400 thousand years ago) | Height 150–160 cm; brain volume 850–1,220 cm3, low forehead, with brow ridge, no mental protuberance | They lived in herds, built primitive dwellings, used fire, dressed in skins | Tools made of stone and bones |
| Neanderthal ( ancient man); Europe, Africa, Asia; about 150 thousand years ago | Height 155–165 cm; brain volume 1,400 cm3; few convolutions; forehead low, with brow ridge; the chin protuberance is poorly developed | The social way of life, the construction of hearths and dwellings, the use of fire for cooking, dressed in skins. They used gestures and primitive speech to communicate. A division of labor appeared. First burials. | Tools made of wood and stone (knife, scraper, multifaceted points, etc.) |
| Cro-Magnon - first modern man (everywhere; 50–60 thousand years ago) | Height up to 180 cm; brain volume - 1,600 cm2; high forehead; the convolutions are developed; lower jaw with mental protuberance | Tribal community. They belonged to the species Homo sapiens. Construction of settlements. The emergence of rituals. The emergence of art, pottery, agriculture. Developed. Developed speech. Domestication of animals, cultivation of plants. They had rock paintings. | Various tools made of bone, stone, wood |
Modern people. The emergence of people of the modern physical type occurred relatively recently (about 50 thousand years ago), who were called Cro-Magnons. Increased brain volume (1,600 cm3), well-developed articulate speech; construction of dwellings, the first beginnings of art ( rock painting), clothing, jewelry, bone and stone tools, the first domesticated animals - everything indicates that real man finally separated himself from his animal-like ancestors. Neanderthals, Cro-Magnons and modern humans form one species - Homo sapiens. Many years passed before people moved from an appropriating economy (hunting, gathering) to a producing economy. They learned to grow plants and tame some animals. In the evolution of Cro-Magnons, they were of great importance social factors, the role of education and the transfer of experience has grown immeasurably.
Races of man
All modern humanity belongs to one species - Homo sapiens. The unity of mankind follows from common origin, similarity of structure, unlimited crossing of representatives of different races and the fertility of offspring from mixed marriages. Inside the view - Homo sapiens- There are five major races: Negroid, Caucasoid, Mongoloid, Australoid, American. Each of them is divided into small races. Differences between races come down to features of skin color, hair, eyes, shape of nose, lips, etc. These differences arose in the process of adaptation of human populations to local natural conditions. It is believed that the black skin absorbed ultraviolet rays. Narrow eyes protected from harsh sunlight in open spaces; a wide nose cooled the inhaled air faster by evaporation from the mucous membranes, on the contrary, a narrow nose warmed the cold inhaled air better, etc.
But thanks to work, man quickly escaped the influence of natural selection, and these differences quickly lost their adaptive significance.
Human races began to take shape, believed to have started to take shape, about 30–40 thousand years ago during the process of human settlement of the Earth, and then many racial characteristics had adaptive significance and were fixed by natural selection in the conditions of a certain geographical environment. All human races are characterized by species-wide characteristics of Homo sapiens, and all races are absolutely equal in biological and mental respects and are at the same level of evolutionary development.
There is no sharp boundary between the main races, and there are a number of smooth transitions - small races, whose representatives have smoothed out or mixed the features of the main masses. It is assumed that in the future, differences between races will completely disappear and humanity will be racially homogeneous, but with many morphological variants.
The races of a person should not be confused with concepts nation, people, language group . Various groups can be part of one nation, and the same races can be part of different nations.
The Ainu (in Japan) believe that they were descended from a mixture of man and dog. The Kara-Kyrgyz, the Papuans at the port of Moresby and the inhabitants of the island of Hainan think the same. The kings of Denmark and Sweden, according to legend, descended from a girl and a bear, Mongol princes- from a girl and a wolf.
A characteristic feature of Central Asian legends, says Mikhelson, is that they produce various human tribes from animals. According to Brooke, the coastal Dayaks are superstitiously afraid of eating certain animals, on the assumption that these animals are related to some of their ancestors, who either were “begotten by them” or “themselves begat them.”
The Aleuts, according to Bancroft, say that the mother of their tribe was a bitch, Magah. One day, a certain old man named Irakdadakh came to her from the north; the result of this visit was the birth of two creatures, one male and the other female, representing an extraordinary mixture of the various elements of nature, for each of them was half man, half fox.
According to another option, the first people descended from some two creatures that looked like humans, but with long hair on their bodies - something like monkeys or a bear. That is why there is an involuntary assumption that the cult of the bear, widespread among the Aleuts, Ainu and Gilyaks, probably replaced the cult of monkeys here.
Similar to the Aleutian legend about the origin of man is the legend of the Quiches, who think that the human race originated from a cave woman and a dog capable of turning into a handsome young man, as well as the legend of the wild-stone Kirghiz, who trace their origins “to a red greyhound dog and one queen with her forty servants "
Among the Polynesians, the fall of people corresponds to a period of general decline and weakening of the gods. Moreover, the conversion of the main god into an animal plays such an important role that this can be seen as a justification for the meaningless worship of animals. In Fiji they tell about the god Denge: when he once looked into a clear stream, he was amazed at its ugliness. As a result, he took on the form of a snake: “If I remain an ugly person,” he said to himself, “everyone will despise me, and if I become a snake, everyone will fear me and obey me.”
Even the fact that was mentioned above, that from the mixing of white man with Pithecanthropus, at first many different freaks were born, was remembered by the ancient Greeks. It is conveyed by Lucretius Carus in the following story about primitive times: “In its efforts, the earth produced many monsters, strange and monstrous forms: these were androgynes, bisexual creatures that did not belong to any gender, and also monsters, twisted so that they were not able to change at will. The earth created such monsters, but in vain. Nature stopped their growth, and they could not reach a flowering age, find food, or be united by the union of Venus. Many breeds have disappeared as being unable to produce offspring.”
For the first time, man began to think about his origin a long time ago, in prehistoric times. Each tribe had its own totem - a sacred animal, from which it was believed that it descended. It could be a bird, deer, bear, etc. The veneration of totems is still preserved among some tribes living according to the customs of their ancestors. Obviously, at the dawn of its history, man did not see anything wrong with being descended from animals, and this was even a source of pride.
But in Christian countries up to the 19th century. such assumptions were considered absolutely unacceptable. However, there were almost no daredevils who risked refuting the theory that God created man from clay on the sixth day of creation. Opponents of evolutionary ideas have even created special teaching- creationism, which scientifically substantiated the act of divine creation. In the 19th century Creationism constituted a completely serious scientific opposition to the theories of evolution. The most prominent of the creation biologists was Georges Cuvier. Even now, according to surveys, the majority of American students, for example, continue to believe that man was created by God, as stated in the Bible.
There is a joke among biologists about this: “Ten thousand years from now, the creatures inhabiting the Earth will indignantly deny their origins from humans.”
Charles Darwin, in his famous work “The Origin of Species” (1859), very briefly touched upon the question of the origin of man, noting only that “light will be shed” on it. However, this modest hint already caused a flurry of indignation. Philosopher and historian Thomas Carlyle called Darwin's book "the gospel of dirt." Only 12 years later Darwin released separate book"The Descent of Man and Sexual Selection".
How is the question of human origins resolved? modern science? Homo sapiens belongs to the human family, a suborder of the apes of the primate order.
The first primates appeared about 70 million years ago, the first apes - 34 million years ago.
IN Lately Scientists have proposed a completely new way to determine the degree of relatedness of any living organisms. They compare how similar the DNA structure of two living beings is (see article “Genetics and genetic information”). The fewer matches, the further the relationship. This method was also applied to great apes. After comparison, it turned out that humans differ from chimpanzees by only 2.5%, a little more from gorilla, and from lower apes by more than 10%.
But all this does not mean that now
A comparative series of skeletons, indicating the differences and similarities in their structure (from left to right):
gibbon, orangutan, gorilla, Neanderthal, modern man.
living chimpanzees or gorillas are exact copies of human ancestors. It’s just that humans have a common ancestor with these monkeys. Scientists called it Dryopithecus (in Latin - “tree monkey”), because it lived in trees. In 1856, parts of the skeleton of this ancestor of chimpanzees, gorillas and humans were found in France.
During the life of Dryopithecus, a significant part of the land was affected by climate change: tropical jungles disappeared and were replaced by spaces devoid of forests. This circumstance could not but affect the way of life of animals. Some retreated under the cover of the disappearing forest, others tried to adapt to life in the open area. This is how life forced Dryopithecus “to descend from the trees to the ground.”
Australopithecines (in Latin - “southern monkeys”), who lived in the steppes of Africa, took two more steps from animal to human. Their first “achievement” was upright walking, as evidenced by the structure of the pelvic bones of Australopithecus. Walking on two legs, by the way, brought a lot of inconvenience to a person. The speed of his movement immediately slowed down, and childbirth became painful (unlike four-legged animals). But, apparently, the advantages of this method of transportation outweighed. What were they? The two forelimbs—the arms—were freed. Now they could hold stones, sticks, and other tools. Tools, as is known, can be used by many animals and birds. (For example, vultures break ostrich eggs by throwing stones at them - see the article “Daytime Birds of Prey.”) But in the life of human ancestors, tools began to acquire an increasingly greater, unprecedented role.
Australopithecines, apparently, had not yet processed their tools, but simply used what they found: in addition to sticks and stones, large bones and antelope horns. They could, for example, drive away an antelope from the herd and kill it, or drive a predator away from its prey.
The second “achievement” of australopithecines was the gradual loss of a “coat of thick wool.” Suitable for humid jungles, hot and
it only interfered with the dry savannah, making it difficult to cool the body.
The first Australopithecus skull was discovered in South Africa in 1924, and the most complete skeleton, in which 40% of the bones were preserved, was in 1974 in Ethiopia. It belonged to a 40-year-old woman who lived 3 million years ago, whom scientists nicknamed “Lucy.”
The next on the evolutionary ladder is already the “first man”, the first representative of the genus Homo. This is a skilled person (Homo habilis). The French writer J. Rosny Sr. in the novel “The Fight for Fire” describes the meeting of his hero Nao ( modern man) with “red dwarfs”:
“What a tiny people! The tallest of them was up to Nao's chest! They had round heads, triangular faces, and ocher skin. The Leopard's son looked at them in surprise. He would have mistaken them for children, if not for the senile appearance of some of them, the beards covering their faces in tufts, if not for the weapons in their hands.” “Red dwarfs” fit the description of Homo habilis given by scientists.
In 1960, the English anthropologist Louis Leakey found the most ancient tools created by human hands. It must be said that even a primitive stone ax looks next to them the same as an electric saw next to a stone axe. These tools are just pebbles split at a certain angle, slightly pointed. (Such stone splits do not occur in nature.) The age of the “Oldowai pebble culture,” as scientists called it, is about 2.5 million years!
Man made discoveries and created tools, and these tools changed man himself, decisive influence on its evolution. For example, the use of fire made it possible to radically “lighten” the human skull and reduce its weight. Food cooked over a fire, unlike raw food, did not require such powerful muscles to chew it, but more weak muscles the parietal crest was no longer required for fastening to the skull. Tribes made
Ape and human brains (from left to right): gibbon, chimpanzee, gorilla, human.
Those who had the best tools (like later more developed civilizations) defeated the tribes lagging behind in their development and drove them into barren areas. The production of more advanced tools complicated internal relationships in the tribe and required greater development and brain volume.
The pebble tools of the “skillful man” were gradually replaced by hand axes (stones chipped on both sides), and then by scrapers and tips.
Another branch of the evolution of the genus Homo, which, according to biologists, is higher than “homo habilis”, is Homo erectus. This species includes Pithecanthropus (in Latin - “ape-man”), Sinanthropus (“Chinese man” - his remains were found in China) and some other subspecies. They are often called ape people. The “straightened man” no longer ran in panic from the fire, like all the other animals, but started it himself (however, there is an assumption that the “skillful man” was already maintaining a fire in smoldering stumps and termite mounds); not only split, but also hewed stones, and used processed antelope skulls as utensils. The clothes of the “skillful man” apparently were the skins of killed animals. His right hand was more developed than his left. He probably spoke primitive articulate speech. Perhaps, from a distance, he could be mistaken for a modern man.
And finally, the species to which people living today belong is Homo sapiens. Biologists distinguish two subspecies in it. Less developed, now extinct, is Homo sapiens Neanderthal, or Neanderthal, named after the Neanderthal Valley in Germany, where the remains of these people were first found in 1856. 100 thousand years ago, Neanderthals widely populated Eurasia and Africa. Their height (about 155 cm) was inferior to that of modern people, Neanderthals had a sloping low forehead, the eyebrows protruded strongly forward. Scientists do not consider people living today to be descendants of Neanderthals. The last Neanderthals lived 28 thousand years ago among modern people and, apparently, were exterminated by them. Neanderthals and primitive people of the modern type (scientists call this subspecies Homo sapiens sapiens) are also described in the article “The Primitive World” of Volume I of our Encyclopedia.
In addition to the listed main branches in human evolution, there have always been secondary, “blind”, “dead-end” branches of evolutionary development. For example, huge apes (Gigantopithecus and Meganthropus). Roni Sr. also describes his meeting with them in his work:
“A strong and flexible creature jumped out of the gray-green darkness into the clearing. No one could say whether it moved like an animal, on four legs, or two, like people and birds. His face was huge, his jaws were like those of a hyena, his skull was flattened, and his chest was powerful, like that of a lion. ...Nao admired their strength, equal, perhaps, only to the strength of a bear, and thought that if they only wanted, they could easily destroy the red dwarfs, and the kzamms, and the ulamrs...” (Kzamms - so the writer named the Neanderthals; the Ulamrs - the tribe of modern people to which the hero of the novel belongs.)
The writer points out that since these creatures “ate only plants, and their choice was more limited than that of deer or bison, the search for food required a lot of time and great care.”
I must say that meat food played a very important role
Like hyena dogs, ancient people were probably able to drive away weak animals from the herd.
Scientists believe that with the help of threatening screams and waving sticks, they could drive the predator away from its prey and take possession of it.
Those returning from hunting share food with women and children.
in the development of the human mind. The life of plant-eating apes (for example, gorillas) is an almost continuous process of obtaining food. To get enough, a gorilla needs to absorb a huge amount of food. Animals are busy with this from morning to evening. Meat food saves much more “free time” compared to vegetarian food.
One of the results (it must be said, rather sad) of human preference for meat food was cannibalism (cannibalism), which persisted throughout almost the entire history of mankind. At an ancient Homo sapiens site excavated by archaeologists on the island of Java, for example, 11 skulls with broken bases were found that belonged to representatives of the Homo erectus species. This is evidence of cannibalism. This is how the relationship between the representatives turned out various types genus Homo. (However, it should be noted that more often ancient people ate representatives of their own species, and not other species of the genus Homo.)
But Neanderthals, Pithecanthropus and representatives of other species and subspecies of this genus, too, apparently, were far from harmless. Perhaps the ideas of wild, shaggy cannibals living in the forest, living in the folklore of many peoples, are a faint echo of those distant battles.
RACES
Human races evolved over hundreds of thousands of years. The sun “made” the dark and black skin of people in hot countries. The darker the skin, the better it protected against sunburn, allowing its owners to live longer and leave more offspring. The curly hair of blacks is also protection from the sun. A “pillow” of them protects the head from overheating.
The narrow shape of the eyes, which arose among representatives of the Mongoloid race, protected such eyes from clogging with sand and dust brought by the wind of the deserts of Central Asia.
Mongoloids and Negroids have almost no lush facial hair. On the contrary, for Caucasians who lived in a cold zone, it made the inhaled air a little warmer and protected the throat from the cold.
HUMAN RACES:
1. Mongoloid. 2. Caucasian. 3. Australoid. 4. Negroid.
HOW MANY PEOPLE LIVED ON EARTH?
According to scientists' calculations, during the entire existence of man, about 100 billion people lived on Earth. This means that every twentieth of all people who have lived on our planet is living at the present time. Moreover, when they were erected Egyptian pyramids(about 4 thousand years ago)
back), there were 50 million people in the world (today that many live in England alone!), at the beginning of our era - 200 million. The population of the planet in the first half of the 19th century. exceeded a billion, and in the 20th century. it has more than tripled.
Legends about the origin of humanity. Legends of different nations surprisingly have many similarities. Initially, all ancient peoples had faith in one God, the most important, the creator of the entire Universe and everything that exists. It is characteristic of many ancient myths that initially everything had an anthropomorphic appearance - all creatures, animals, objects, natural phenomena. Therefore, the emergence of man is often presented not so much as his creation, but as his separation from other human-like creatures who gradually lose their human appearance, which is preserved only by humans. (Totemistic myths).
Myths of the ancient Indians. The progenitor of the world was Brahma. People emerged from the body of Purusha - the primordial man whom the gods sacrificed at the beginning of the world. From this sacrifice, hymns and chants, horses, bulls, goats and sheep were born. From his mouth arose priests, his hands became warriors, from his thighs farmers were created, and from his feet the lower class was born. From the mind of Purusha arose the month, from the eye - the sun, fire was born from his mouth, and from his breath - the wind. The air came from his navel, the sky came from his head, and the cardinal directions were created from his ears, and his feet became the earth. Thus, from a great sacrifice, the eternal gods created the world. Other gods began to arise from the descendants of Brahma, and in total there were thirty-three thousand, thirty-three hundred and thirty-three more.
According to Hindu beliefs, the Universe is divided into 14 regions, and the Earth is the seventh from the top. Along with the sun, the ruler of the solar disk arose - the god Vishnu, who could receive various shapes, starting from fish and turtles and ending with the human form. In the form of a boar, Vishnu plunged into the abyss and lifted the entire earth from the depths with his tusks. Soon the land was populated by animals and birds.
The birth of a person. In ancient Slavic mythology, people were born Gods, and considered their Gods family, relatives.
It is worth noting that the legends of ancient peoples underwent significant changes during the wars of conquest (especially the American continent). But in mythology various peoples An amazing flavor of local customs has been preserved.
The creation of man.
In many ancient beliefs, people were artificially created by gods. Man was created or created by God, deified beings. So in the Sumerian myths - the origin of humanity from aliens. Perhaps this also includes Indian myths about the Lunar ancestors in the legend of the Prologue - “The Great Lords gave the order to the Lords of the Moon - the Pitris - to create people.”
Why were people created? This issue is not discussed in totemic legends. The main thing is to create a good, right person. All Sumerian and Babylonian myths converge on one thing: for a person to serve the gods, perform temple rituals and feed the gods. Also in Egyptian mythology, the gods created the world specifically for people, demanding from them in return only worship, the construction of temples and regular sacrifices. In Jewish mythology, man was created to cultivate the land.
How man was created. Norse mythology Northern, Scandinavian and Germanic, the ancient religion is known as Odinism (in honor of Odin), and also as ásatrú (an Icelandic term meaning “belief in the gods (Æsir)”) or simply as troth (from the English troth - faith or fidelity). It was believed that the structure of the world cannot be reflected in a two-dimensional or even three-dimensional model. It consists of nine worlds, or spheres. The first man and woman were created from trees by the triad of gods of consciousness (Wotan-Willi-Ve, or Odin-Henir-Lodur). The man was created from ash, and the woman from elm. The first people did not breathe, they had no spirit, no color on their faces, no warmth, and no even voice. But then Odin gave them breath, Henir - spirit, and Lodur - warmth and blush. This is how the first people appeared, and their names were: the man was Ask, and the woman was Embla.
Greece. The ancient Greeks, as far as can be judged from the sources that have come down to us, cared little about the origins of people. They were interested in the gods, their birth and death, their intrigues and exploits. The Greek gods did not separate themselves from people with an impregnable wall, but even took part in earthly affairs. In Greek mythology, a new race of people emerged from stone. The only people who were able to survive the flood were Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha. And the great gods invited them to create a new humanity. According to legend, Deucalion and Pyrrha began throwing stones behind their backs, and the stones began to turn into statues. The statues sang songs, Deucalion and Pyrrha had to choose one they liked
them a song about humanity, and from all the songs they chose a story about Greek heroes: Theseus, Hercules and other demigods. And humanity was thus reborn on earth. But not all Greeks traced their ancestry to stones. Some tribes considered themselves autochthonous, that is, arising from the earth. The Thebans, for example, thought that they came from the teeth of the dragon killed by the Phoenician Cadmus, which he sowed into the ground.
Apparently, a later borrowing in Greek mythology: People were fashioned from earth and water by Prometheus, son of the Titan Iapetus, cousin of Zeus. According to some myths, humans and animals were created Greek gods in the depths of the earth from a mixture of fire and earth, and the gods instructed Prometheus and Epimetheus to distribute the abilities between them.
The creation of people from clay or earth, by analogy with the Biblical version, is found in almost all Indo-European mythology. Linguists even point out that in Hebrew the words for “earth” and “man” have similar origins. (there is a connection between the Latin words homo - man and humus earth).
Egyptian mythology In ancient Egyptian myths, practically no attention is paid to the creation of man. Although the myths make it clear that Ra - Atum - Khepri created himself, emerging from chaos, which was called Nun, or the Prime Ocean. This ocean had neither physical nor temporal dimensions. The newborn god could not find a place where he could stay, and therefore created a hill, or rather, the island of Ben-ben. Already on solid ground, he began to create other gods. This is how the Great Nine of Gods arose - the Heliopolis Ennead. In Memphis, many gods were included in the creation myth, subordinating them to Ptah, who acted as the creator of everything. It is interesting that here the creation of the world was not a physical process, but exclusively of thought and word.
The Egyptians believed that people and their Ka (soul) were molded from clay by the ram-headed god Khnum. He is the main creator of the world. He sculpted the whole world onto potter's wheel, the first people and animals made of clay.
Among the peoples of Africa (the supreme deity of the Dogon, Amma, makes the first human pair from raw clay.
In one version of the Sumerian myth, Enki and Ninmah first sculpt “successful” people from the clay of the underground world ocean, and then, after getting drunk, they create monsters.
In the Sumerian myth about Lahar and Ashnan: By order of Nammu, the mother of the gods and Ninmah, with the help of other gods, man was created by mixing water and clay.
According to the Akkadian version, Marduk (together with the god Eya) makes people from clay mixed with the blood of the monster Kingu he killed.
In the Babylonian creation myth, called the Enuma Elish, the creation of man is described in the sixth tablet (seven have been found). God Marduk, from clay mixed with the blood of the murdered god Kingu, creates people in the image and likeness of Kingu,
In Jewish mythology, there are two versions of the creation of the world. In both versions of the myth, man is created from clay, and life fills the clay in one case with the blood of Yahweh in the other with divine breath
Among the Turks. Humanity was born on the black mountain. In a cave alone
a hole was formed, which in shape resembled a human body,
streams of rain carried the clay with them and filled the mold. Clay,
warmed by the sun, she remained in shape for nine months. And through
nine months the first man came out of the cave: AY ATAM, whom
called the father of the moon.
At the Arabs. There is an option for creating the Old Testament. In their cosmogony
In order for a person to be born, earth of four different colors is needed:
blue, black, white and red. God sent the angel Gabriel for her,
but when he bent down to pick up some earth, the earth spoke
and asked what he wanted. "The earth, so that God could create
person,” Gabriel explained. The earth replied: “I can’t do that for you.”
allow it, because the person will be uncontrollable and want to destroy me.”
Angel Gabriel conveyed her opinion to God. Then God sent the angel Michael.
The same story happened. Exactly the same failure. The earth rebelled again
the birth of a person. Then God sent the angel Azrael, whose specialty was
that he was the angel of death. He was not convinced by the land's arguments. So
Thus, man exists thanks to the angel of death, and therefore man is mortal.
From the brought earth God created Adam. But for forty years he did nothing
did, just lay on the ground. The angel could not understand why the man did not move.
He looked into Adam's mouth to find out what was inside, and realized
why Adam remains motionless. Inside, the man's body was empty. Then an angel
I told God about this, and he decided to give the man a soul. Adam came to life, and God, for
in order to give it an advantage over the earth, nature, plants and
animals, allowed him to name everything that surrounded him. One person has
the right to give names even to spirits (genies) and mountains. And every time he
pronounces the name, he conquers the one he names. (Taba ri, Arabic
9th century chronicler, Abba Sid caliphate.)
In Mongol. Man was created by God, who dug a hole in the earth in the shape
human figure. Then God caused a storm, and clay with streams of water
filled the hole (very similar to the Turkish version). The rain has stopped, moisture
dried up, and the man, like a cake out of a mold, came out of the hole.
In Altai mythology (Ulgen creates the first seven people from clay and reeds),
America. Iroquois. Ioskeha sculpts the first people from clay based on his reflection in the water.
Cahuilla Indians. The demiurge Mukat, who took the black earth out of his heart, creates the bodies of people. Temayahuit, who took the white earth out of his heart, unsuccessfully sculpts people with bellies on both sides; with eyes on both sides of the head; when Mukat proved to him the failure of his creations, Temaiahuit, angry, hides with them in the underworld, trying to take the whole earth with him.
Mexicans (XVII century). The formation of the legend was equally influenced by ancient cults and Catholicism. God made a man from potter's clay and put him in the oven. But I left it in the oven for too long. The man therefore came out of the oven burnt and black. God decided that he was mistaken, threw his child to the ground and ended up in Africa. But God did not stop there and created another person, whom he left in the oven for a much shorter time. The man turned out completely white. God decided he was wrong again. And again he threw the man to the ground and ended up in Europe. The third time, God approached the process more carefully and monitored the degree of readiness of his product. He waited until the man was properly baked until golden brown. This time God got it right. And slowly, very carefully he placed the successful man in America. This is how the Mexicans appeared
North American Acoma tribe. The first two women learned in a dream that people live underground. They dug a hole and freed the people.
The Incas. In Tiwanaku, the creator of all things created the tribes there. He made one person from each tribe out of clay and drew a dress for them to wear; those who should be with long hair, sculpted with long hair, and those who should be cut - with short hair; and each people was given its own language, and its own songs, and grains, and food. When the creator finished this work, he breathed life and soul into every man and woman and ordered them to go underground. And each tribe went out where it was ordered.
Central America. The gods molded the first people from wet clay. But they did not live up to the hopes of the great gods. Everything would be fine: they are alive and can speak, but can clay fools even turn their heads? They stare at one point and roll their eyes. Otherwise they will start to crawl, and a little rain will sprinkle them. But the worst thing is that they came out soulless, brainless... The gods got down to business for the second time. “Let's try to make people out of wood!” - they agreed. No sooner said than done. And the earth was populated by wooden idols. But they had no heart, and they were foolish.
And the gods decided to once again take on the creation of people. “To create people from flesh and blood, we need a noble material that will give them life, strength, and intelligence,” the gods decided. They found this noble material - white and yellow maize (corn). They threshed the cobs, kneaded the dough, from which they molded the first intelligent people.
Indians of Mexico. When everything was ready on Earth, Nohotsakyum created people. The first were the Calcia, that is, the monkey people, then the Koha-ko - the boar people, then the Kapuk - the jaguar people and, finally, the Chan-ka - the pheasant people. So he created different peoples. He made them from clay - men, women, children, fitted their eyes, noses, arms, legs and everything else, then put the figures in the fire, on which he usually baked tortillas (corn cakes). The clay hardened from the fire, and people came to life.
Of great interest are Anthropogonic myths of a totemic nature, according to which man was once not different from animals (for example, he was covered with wool, as in the mythological ideas of the Selkups, Western Siberia). In anthropogonic myths of a totemic nature, most often we are talking about the origin not of all people, but of a certain group, the zoomorphic totemic symbol of which is this or that animal.
The Tibetans arose independently. Their ancestors were the mountain spirit Aryabalo and the monkey, who was the embodiment of Darehe. According to another legend, which explains the origin not of the world, but only of the Tibetan people, Tibetans descend from the monkey and the deity of the underworld and waters Lu. According to another version of the legend, it was not Avalokiteshvara himself who took the form of a male monkey, but rather sent his disciple a monkey to Tibet. A male monkey, settled in Tibet for contemplation, became the king of the monkeys who lived there. The king of the monkeys was handsome, and the demoness of the mountains and rocks, Lu, fell in love with him. The similarity between man and monkey gave rise to two types of A. m. of opposite nature. According to one of them, existing in Tibet and among the Hadzapi tribe in South Africa, man descends from a monkey. According to another, known among the Bushmen, monkeys (baboons) were once people, but the mythological hero Tsagn turned them into monkeys, punishing them for killing his son. According to the myths of some others African peoples(Bambuti, Efe), chimpanzees are an ancient people who went into the forest because the pygmies deceived them.
America. Among the Sioux tribes. According to Sioux legend, man was created by the universe rabbit, who found
there's a blood clot on the road, it turned out to be a real little boy,
the first boy in the world. The rabbit called this first person a rabbit
boy This was the ancestor of the Sioux.
Myth North American Indians. One day there was such a hot summer that the pond in which the turtles lived dried up. Then the turtles decided to look for another place to live and hit the road. The fattest turtle, to make his way easier, took off his shell. So she walked without a shell until she turned into a man - the ancestor of the Turtle family.
Among the Navajo Indians. At first, half-humans and half-beasts lived on earth. They crossed
three heavens, from where they were expelled because of their stupid actions. In the end
they descended to earth, where there are four local gods: blue, white, black
and yellow, came to look at them. The gods tried to teach them something
the help of gestures, but the subhumans did not understand anything. Then all the gods except
they left them alone, the black one. The black god told the demihumans that they
dirty and smelly fools. “The rest of the gods will return in four days,” said
he named them “Wash yourself, and we will indulge in the ceremony of creating people.”
The gods brought with them various objects, deer skins and two ears of corn,
yellow and white. A man came out of the white cob, and a woman came out of the yellow one. They
made love under a canopy and gave birth to five pairs of twins. The first twins were
hermaphrodites, but the rest gave birth to children, and these children married the newcomer
by the people. This is how modern humanity appeared.
Australian myths. At first, the Earth was covered by the sea, and at the bottom of the dried-up primeval ocean and on the slopes of rocks protruding from the waves, there were already... lumps of helpless creatures with glued fingers and teeth, closed ears and eyes. Other similar human “larvae” lived in water and looked like shapeless balls raw meat, in which the rudiments of parts of the human body were only guessed. The flycatcher bird used a stone knife to separate human embryos from each other, cut out their eyes, ears, mouth, nose, fingers... She taught them how to make fire by friction, how to cook food, gave them a spear, a spear thrower, a boomerang, and provided each one with a personal churing-ga ( guardian of the soul).
Various Australian tribes consider the kangaroo, emu, opossum, wild dog, lizard, crow, and bat as their ancestors.
Once upon a time there lived two brothers, two twins - Bunjil and Palian. Bunjil could transform into a falcon, and Palian into a raven. One brother made mountains and rivers on the earth with a wooden sword, and the other made salt water and fish that live in the sea. One day Bunjil took two pieces of bark, put clay on them and began to crush it with a knife, sculpting legs, torso, arms and head - so he created a man. He also made a second one. He was pleased with his work and performed a dance with joy. Since then people have existed, since then they have been dancing for joy. He attached wood fibers to one man as hair, and to another too - the first had curly hair, the second had straight hair. Since then, men of some births have curly hair, while others have straight hair.
PS/ Preliminary version. A brief incomplete overview of the mythology of the peoples of the World, materials of scientific research works, numerous Internet articles
We all know from school that many ancient animals that once inhabited the planet have long since become extinct. But did you know that there are now animals on Earth that saw dinosaurs? And then there are animals that have been around longer than the trees these dinosaurs ate the leaves from. However, many of these ancient representatives of the fauna have remained virtually unchanged over the millions of years of their existence. Who are these old-timers on our Earth and what is so special about them?
1. Jellyfish
The first place in our “rating” is rightfully occupied by jellyfish. Scientists believe that jellyfish appeared on earth about 600 million years ago.The largest jellyfish that a person caught was 2.3 meters in diameter. Jellyfish do not live long, about a year, because they are a delicacy for fish. Scientists are puzzling over how jellyfish perceive nerve impulses from the organs of vision, because they do not have a brain.
2. Nautilus
Nautiluses have lived on Earth for more than 500 million years. These are cephalopods. Females and males differ in size. The nautilus shell is divided into chambers. The mollusk itself lives in the largest chamber, and uses the remaining compartments, filling or pumping out with biogas, as a float for diving to depth.
3. Horseshoe crabs
These marine arthropods are rightfully considered living fossils, because they have lived on Earth for more than 450 million years. To give an idea of how long this is, horseshoe crabs are older than trees.
It was not difficult for them to survive all the known global catastrophes, practically unchanged in appearance. Horseshoe crabs can rightfully be called “blue-blooded” animals. Their blood, unlike ours, is blue, because it is saturated with copper, and not iron, like human blood.
The blood of horseshoe crabs has amazing properties - when it reacts with microbes, clots are formed. This is how horseshoe crabs create a barrier against germs. A reagent is made from the blood of horseshoe crabs and used to test medications for purity.
4. Neopilins
Neopilina is a mollusk that has lived on Earth for approximately 400 million years. He has not changed in appearance. Neopilins live at great depths in the oceans.5. Coelacanth
Coelacanth is a modern fossil animal that appeared on our planet approximately 400 million years ago. Over the entire period of its existence, it has remained virtually unchanged. On this moment Coelacanth is on the verge of extinction, so catching these fish is strictly prohibited.
6. Sharks
Sharks have existed on Earth for more than 400 million years. Sharks are very interesting animals. People have been exploring them for many years and never cease to be amazed at their uniqueness.For example, a shark’s teeth grow throughout its life; the largest sharks can reach 18 meters in length. Sharks have an excellent sense of smell - they can smell blood at a distance of hundreds of meters. Sharks practically do not feel pain because their body produces a certain “opium” that dulls pain.
Sharks are amazingly adaptable. For example, if there is not enough oxygen, they can “shut down” part of the brain and use less energy. Sharks can also regulate the salinity of water by developing special means. Shark vision is several times better than that of cats. IN dirty water they can see up to 15 meters away. 
7. Cockroaches
These are real old-timers on Earth. Scientists say that cockroaches have inhabited the planet for more than 340 million years. They are hardy, unpretentious and fast - this is what helped them survive during the most turbulent periods of history on Earth.Cockroaches can live for some time without a head - after all, they breathe with the cells of the body. They are excellent runners. Some cockroaches run about 75 cm in a second. This is a very good result relative to their height. And their incredible endurance is evidenced by the fact that they can withstand radiation almost 13 times more than humans.
Cockroaches can live without water for about a month, without water for a week. Their female retains the male's seed for some time and can fertilize herself.
8. Crocodiles
Crocodiles appeared on Earth about 250 million years ago. Surprisingly, crocodiles first lived on land, but then they liked to spend a significant part of their time in the water.Crocodiles are amazing animals. They don't seem to do anything for nothing. To make food easier to digest, crocodiles swallow stones. This also helps them dive deeper.
There is a natural antibiotic in the crocodile's blood that helps them not get sick. Average duration Their lifespan is 50 years, but some individuals can live up to 100 years. Crocodiles cannot be trained and can be considered the most dangerous animals on the planet.
9. Shchitni
Shchitni appeared on Earth during the period of dinosaurs approximately 230 million years ago. They live almost all over the world, except Antarctica.Surprisingly, the shields have not changed in appearance, only become smaller in size. The largest scale insects were found measuring 11 cm, the smallest - 2 cm. If the scale insects are hungry, cannibalism is possible among them.
10. Turtles
Turtles inhabited the Earth approximately 220 million years ago. Turtles differ from their ancient ancestors in that they have no teeth and have learned to hide their heads. Turtles can be considered long-lived. They live up to 100 years. They see, hear, and have a keen sense of smell. Turtles remember human faces.If the temperature in the nest where the female laid eggs is high, females will be born; if it is low, only males will be born.
11. Hatteria
Hatteria is a reptile that appeared on Earth more than 220 million years ago. Now the tuataria live in New Zealand.Hatteria looks like an iguana or lizard. But this is just a similarity. Hatterias established a separate detachment - beak-headed. This animal has a “third eye” on the back of its head. Tuttaria have slow metabolic processes, so they grow very slowly, but they can easily live up to 100 years.
12. Spiders
Spiders have lived on Earth for more than 165 million years. The oldest web was found in amber. Her age became 100 million years. A female spider can lay several thousand eggs at a time - this is one of the factors that has helped them survive to this day. Spiders have no bones; their soft tissues are covered by a hard exoskeleton.The web could not be made artificially in any laboratory. And those spiders that were sent into space spun three-dimensional webs.
It is known that some spiders can live up to 30 years. The largest known spider is almost 30 cm long, and the smallest is half a millimeter.
13. Ants
Ants are amazing animals. It is believed that they have lived on our planet for more than 130 million years, while practically not changing their appearance.Ants are very smart, strong and organized animals. We can say that they have their own civilization. They have order in everything - they are divided into three castes, each of which does its own thing.
Ants are very good at adapting to circumstances. Their population is the largest on Earth. To imagine how many there are, imagine that there are about a million ants per inhabitant of the planet. Ants are also long-lived. Sometimes queens can live up to 20 years! They are also amazingly smart - ants can teach their fellows to look for food.
14. Platypuses
Platypuses have lived on Earth for more than 110 million years. Scientists suggest that at first these animals lived in South America, but then they got to Australia. In the 18th century, the skin of platypuses was first seen in Europe and was considered... a fake.Platypuses are excellent swimmers; they easily obtain food from the river bottom using their beaks. Platypuses spend almost 10 hours a day underwater.
Platypuses could not be bred in captivity, but in wildlife Today there are quite a few of them left. Therefore, animals are listed in the International Red Book.
15. Echidna
The echidna can be called the same age as the platypus, because it has inhabited the Earth for 110 million years.Echidnas look like hedgehogs. They boldly guard their territory, but when in danger they burrow into the ground, leaving only a bunch of needles on the surface.
The echidna does not have sweat glands. In hot weather they move little; in cold weather they can hibernate, thus regulating their heat exchange. Echidnas are long-lived. In nature they live up to 16 years, and in zoos they can live up to 45 years.
I wonder if a person can live on Earth for that long?