The development of and interactions between various societies without a doubt impacted trading all goods and ideas. These groups of people, without bartering, would have only very specific knowledge and goods. If these groups were never to interact they would never enjoy the benefits of trading for more adequate resources, they would never have learned what neighboring societies had discovered, and no resources would have been spread around. In the Paleolithic era, societies were just gaining these relationships. Also since the communities were small, there weren’t many possibilities for change(22). Once these societies came together they were able to advance much faster as one, they could share supplies, and two, they could share their ideas on how to use these supplies for the greater good. With the advancements in transportation technology, trading was able to expand and resources were distributed over larger distances.
Over time some of the characteristics and trends of humanity have changed and some have remained the same. Humans without Synergy, the ability to link minds through language for creativity, had no ways to pass on ideas or organize thoughts(31). Without organizing thoughts very little progress could be made as ideas could not be passed on from person to person. Once humans had a language ideas were able to be passed and people were able to organize great societies. These societies had lots of manpower compared to the earlier nomads. This power could be used to create new things. Large groups caused more problems that in turn caused innovation of things such as governments(66). More people also meant more trade and improvements in transportation, communication, storage, and warefare(66). This manpower could also be used for destruction. Warefare tactics also were improved upon and passed along with everyone making edits along the way, creating ultimate battle plans. Another thing that changed warefare was technological innovations through the ages that have lead up to weapons of mass destruction such as nuclear bombs. Whereas human emotional trends have remained relatively the same. Primal fears and curiosities, such as the existence of gods, are still well alive today. Humans still remain as greedy as their ancestors, what has changed with technology is the quantities they can steal from the earth and other humans.
The spread of technology through time has been effected by mainly the abilities to travel and communicate. Before humans could communicate using language, anything one discovered would be lost when they died. Technology could not be spread until communication between beings was possible. Even once findings could be communicated, technological growth was often so slow in the Paleolithic Era that it was not noticed during a lifetime(31). Technology grew faster once large agrarian societies were founded. These citizens were pushed to discover new things to help with population growth. Also, all these people had an easier time sharing discoveries in large but central group. Transportation between these large groups was also a huge breakthrough in the spread of technology. Large webs of relationships could be created to share and receive the maximum amount of information.
Many factors influenced the change of population over time. The rising productivity of the agricultural communities allowed populations to grow(41). Population grew at about .05 per annum, or doubled every 1,400 years(41). The problem with agricultural communities is that bacteria and viruses found them favorable(45). The close quarters of animals, humans, and waste all made a perfect environment for disease(45). The nomadic forager’s groups were small and constantly moving so disease was generally not a problem. Farming communities, however, could have their populations reduced to nearly nothing if a disease broke out. Eventually, though, resistances were built up and many became immune. In the modern era, population growth is .8 percent per annum(69). This is caused by highly increased production. The increase was caused by technological advancements such as fossil fuels, pesticides, genetic modifications, and improved irrigation(69). Medical advancements have, for the most part, stopped the spread of epidemic diseases, stopping significant drops in population. Also, the average life span has risen, but more and more kids are still being born, created a very populated earth.
Over the history of the world, the structures of human societies have remained relatively the same. In the foraging era societies were very small groups that wandered with each other and shared their food. In these groups there was very little hierarchy. Males, females, and the environment were all viewed as equal. These societies were an exception to the general rule that societies are controlled by dominance. Agrian societies were often villages that focused on sowing, reaping, and storing the harvest(41). Hierarchies emerged because of disputes over crops and the land they grew on(45). Societies with a mix of farmers and non farmers also needed laws and protections, some central group to control the exchange of goods and services. Eventually some people had jobs of just managing other people(46). Use of force to control also emerged during this time(47). Many leaders chosen were just from birth. They or their parents claiming to be descendants of mythical creatures or gods(50). In the modern era, governments have taken on all new rules of tracking citizens and trying to control them, rather than just managing resources and warefare(71). Though changes, like the ending of slavery, have occurred along the way, the same principal remains the same. Societies are groups of people lead by others who provide services for conducting business, safety, defense, and livelihood.
Humans have impacted the environment in a variety of ways. Starting in the Paleolithic era, foragers had very little environmental impact because there was very few of them and lots of land to exploit. However, there were impacts beginning to be made. Megafaunal extinctions coincide with the dates of arrivals of humans(28). This information suggests even the foragers were capable of driving animals to extinction. Another practice that changed the environment was ‘fire-stick farming”, which was the burning of land to destroy underbrush and promote new growth. This growth would attract animals to graze and allow areas to be hunted more often(28). Sadly, this practice also altered the landscape overtime, accidentally destroying parts of the environment. In the modern era, humans are consuming all things at high rates of speed. Land is being destroyed for buildings and farming. This in turn drives animals to extinction. Fresh water is being used up. The worlds food supply is being used up also, especially the fisheries(99). The world’s population, whose growth is slowing, is becoming more modernized. Soon, even if the population levels out, more materials will be used in higher quantities by the modernized populations of countries such as Africa(99). In the Agrian Era, more carbon dioxide was released into the atmosphere because of deforestation. In the Modern Era, even more forests have been cut down, but fossil fuels have also been being burned, causing even more greenhouse gasses to be released into the atmosphere(99). These gasses will trap in the suns heat causing global warming, rising seas, unpredictable weather patterns, and fluxes in land fertility.
The elements of human culture that changed societies the most in my mind are values, rituals, and social norms. Over time I feel human values of hard work and appreciation of the environment and others has been degraded. The environment in Paleolithic times was regarded as family, not just a resource at humans disposal. In modern times it is destroyed without a second thought for personal gain. In most Paleolithic societies human life was regarded as equal. In modern times we are quick to degrade or consider others as lesser. Social norms have also changed, driving societies to change. For example smoking tobacco was a normal thing to see someone doing in public since it was cultivated in the Agrian Era. Recently, however, smoking has been less and less accepted as health effects are realized, and there are more and more laws against it. Finally, I believe changes in rituals effected whole societies. When religious rituals were performed in some societies they involved a living sacrifice, sometimes even human. These types of rituals eventually died out as technology pushed forward and the world came to accept non-violent substitutes