Classics Retold

The Transition from raw diet to a cooked diet didn't just change human biology; it fundamentally shifted human technology.  Before fire, tools were primarily about extraction, after fire they evolved to processing and refinement.  Hominins like Homo habilis designed their tools that helped to get them at food. Those tools were an extension of their teeth and nails. What their teeth and nails could not do their tools did. These, according to archeologists, belonged to Oldowan traditions. They comprised hammer stones, sharp flakes and choppers. Hammer stones were fist-sized stones used to bash animal bones to get at calorie rich bone marrow.  Sharp flakes were crude stone slivers capable of slicing meat away from carcass.  Choppers were large heavy cores used for separating meat from thick hides.  The Oldowan tools were first discovered at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania.  Later, they had been discovered at various sites in eastern, central and southern Africa, inc...

Bathsheba loved Troy, and she abandoned her self reliance.  His embellishments surfaced and tha attracted her, while  the weaknesses went deep and unnoticed.  Bathsheba opened her heart to Liddy about her respect for Boldwood.  But her love of Troy was kept close to her breast. Gabriel could see the troubled waters and the absence of Boldwood from the house. An opportunity occured one evening when she had gone for a short walk by a path through the neighbouring corn fields.  It was dusk when Oak who had not been far afield that day, took the same path and met her returning, quite pensively.  The wheat was tall, and the path was narrow; the way was quite a sunken groove between the embrowning thicket on either side.  Two persons cannot walk abreast without damaging the crop.  Oak stood aside to let her pass.  "Oh, it is Gabriel?" she said; you are taking a walk too, goodnight." "I thought I would come to meet you," Oak said, turning and follow...

The prepositions On and upon are often interchangeable, but they differ in tone and usages.  Key differences and usage  "On" is common, direct and conversational, while upon is more formal, literary, or used to indicate immediate sequence and formal cause-and-effect relationships.  On is used in everyday informal, or standard English. Upon is used in writing, literature, or to sound more sophisticated.  Example: He placed the book on the table. -- Informal He placed the book upon the table. --  Formal. Upon signifies an event happens immediately after another, whereas on refers to a more general time.  Example: Upon arrival the meeting began. (Right after arriving) Example: On Monday the meeting began (a specific date) While interchangeable, upon can imply movement, while on is commonly used for static resting position.  Example: The bird landed upon the roof.  Example: The bird is on the roof  Some phrases strictly use either on or upon. On ...

The single most transformative event in the history of human bands, fundamentally altering both their biology and social structures was their mastery over fire.  It shifted humans from just  "another primate"  to a unique "cooking animal" with a high energy lifestyle. Even at this stage they moved in bands foraging. The bands were a sort of consanguin relationship.  Until at least 40000 years ago all humans lived in bands. In the course of our evolution we used ingenuity to out-source digestion, moving part of the process outside our bodies. This process is known as cooking and it served as a form of pre-digestion.  It broke down complex starch and denatured protein making them significantly easier to digest. To early humans, it was a gain of 30 to 50 percent of energy from the same amount of food.  Many plants like tubers and seeds that were toxic or indigestable when raw, became staple food source when cooked. Heat kills parasites and bacteria in raw meat...

The hill at one end of Bathsheba's dwelling extended into an uncultivated tract of land, covered with tall thickets of brake fern, plump and transparent, in hues of clear and untainted green.  At eight o'clock this midsummer evening, while the sun in the west still swept the tips of the ferns with its long, luxuriant rays Bathsheba appeared in their midst, their soft feathery arms caressed her upto her shoulders.  She paused, turned, went back over the hill, and down again to her own door, from where she cast a farewell glance upon the spot she had just left, having resolved not to remain near the place afterall. She saw a dim spot of artificial red moving round the shoulder of the rise.  It disappeared on the other side. She had doubts about the temerity of her decision.  Whether to go and abide by her promise, or remain here as nothing had happened. But her penchant for a visual of the sword exercise moved her legs towards the direction she traversed a few minutes ...

What might have been the number of members in the earliest human bands?  Human bands - small nomadic , egalitarian group of 30 to 50 people related by kinship are considered the primary social structure for most of the human history. Egalitarian means the members were of equal rights.  This may not be true to the word. The strongest male might have dominated the entire group. Children, followed by women might have experienced the greatest disability.  Since the group might not have engaged in wealth creation competition was limited to division of hunted meat or gathered fruits and nuts. Still the alf male must have dominated the band. Evolving over millions of years, these groups were defined by shared foraging, co-operative subsistence, and informal leadership. Foraging is the act of searching for, identifying, harvesting wild food sources from nature. It requires careful identification to avoid toxic lookalikes and awareness of contamination. Key Stages In The Evolutio...