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The modern human, anatomically identical homo sapiens sapiens splintered off in the African hot bed of evolution some 100,000 years ago and gradually filtered north. Cannibalism still existed, perhaps suggesting a universal human tendency. One step towards modern culture was the resistance of this tendency. There are other manifestations but not manifested as extremely.
Some theories suggest that the reason that homo sapiens, i.e. the Neanderthaloid, and many other large animal forms became extinct so rapidly was because of the advent of the modern human. Initially scientists thought that these larger life forms were not able to adapt to the end of the last Ice Age. But they then realized that these life forms had survived many Ice Ages. The only difference in Ice Ages was the existence of humans, leading many to suggest that man, the ultimate hunter, was the cause of extinction. While the fact that they were better hunters was part of the problem, the other side was their continued tendency towards aggressive ecoprotection mentioned above. This is still a major component behind human behavior. It manifests as territorialism. Possession. Mine.
With this modern human also comes art. According to one theory, while the Neanderthal was selected for their caution, homo sapiens sapiens was selected for boredom. Those experiencing the most boredom would attempt to change forms. In this changing of forms, there were many failures but many successes. As we have seen homo as a species tend to hold onto their technology. Hence the successes were held onto by the culture and then improved upon by the subsequent generations.
There are many events that corroborate this theory. While the Neanderthal tended towards social convention across wide territories, the modern human showed a rich regional diversification. While most animals showed a consistent social structure, the modern human almost immediately developed regional differences. This tendency to experiment with form rooted in the pain from boredom set modern man distinctly apart from earlier humans. While the earlier humans were content to use the same unadorned stone tools for millions of years, the modern human needed to decorate, improve upon and experiment with all the various forms of expressions. Change for change sake becomes an operative idea.
But these changes also stimulated growth. These early humans spread all over the globe into the farthest reaches. While the Neanderthaloids stopped in Siberia, the modern humans crossed the land bridge to the Americas and spread relatively quickly to the bottom of South America. While the Neanderthaloids never took the southern route, homo sapiens sapiens, extended the species into the islands south of Asia and into Australia.
We are not going to get at all specific with the advanced Old Stone Age technology of anatomically correct modern human. The technologies were advanced relatively suddenly and continuously on all fronts. Upon the emergence of modern human from Africa regional differences proliferated.
Lest we become too smug about our modern intelligence, let it be pointed out that these early humans had an incredibly sophisticated knowledge of their raw materials. Additionally they used their existing technology to the limits of its capacity. They were called Stone Age for good reason. Their knowledge of the practical use of stones surpassed any modern human. They were stone experts.
ÒTool-making and the building of structures, even among the most primitive human societies, are based on a precise knowledge of raw material and, within the limits of the technology prevailing, of how most effectively to handle them.Ó World Prehistory, 1969, p.25
This expertise in raw materials combined with their tendency to expand their technology to the limits of the available resources led to many regional discoveries. These were passed down locally and led to an expanding diversity. Hence regional difference grew to be regional cultures with their distinct variations in all aspects of life.
One of the first distinctive art forms of these early humans was the so-called ÔVenusÕ figurine. These were representations of female fertility figures, i.e. with accentuated breasts and hips and minimized head and extremities, a few inches long carved out of ivory or stone or baked out of clay. These date from the Paleolithic Near East. The Paleolithic, by definition, is pre-agri-culture. Hence these initial fertility figurines are unassociated with the fertility of the soil for farming. Instead we must imagine that the fertility figures had to do with the fertility of wild Nature and women, themselves. Basically the small Paleolithic populations were interested in survival, which was dependent upon a fertile woman to produce more tribe members and fertile wildlife to produce more game for the hunt as well as an abundant flora to provide vegetal sustenance.
Hence one of the primary associations of the fertility figurines was probably connected with increasing the population of the tribe. This was necessary for the survival of these small tribes. At this time their biggest enemy was their environment. The sheer survival of the tribe was of utmost importance.
We mentioned earlier that the Age of Tribe Formation was the Golden Age of Motherhood. These ÔVenusÕ figurines are one of the artistic manifestations of the importance of the fertility of motherhood. Let it be stressed that woman in all her manifestations was not worshipped or venerated. It was woman as a mother that had the esteem. These figurines would make most modern feminists cringe if found in a modern context. There is no head, while the arms and legs are minimized. It is not the intellect or ability to make things that is venerated. It is the procreative power of woman that has the esteem. Hence while being the Golden Age of Motherhood, these tribal times cannot be called the golden age of woman because of the one-dimensional portrayal of her character.
While this fertility can be extended to crops or creativity or even regeneration, the actual artistic manifestation speaks volumes. Remember that there was no form of birth control that was effective. Also the lifetimes were short. Tribal life was tenuous at best, hence the emphasis upon female fertility. We can imagine that much of the tribal womanÕs life consisted of bearing children and caring for them. This is not exactly the image of the liberated woman.
This Paleolithic value system still rules as we approach the end of the 20th century, 9000 years since the first ending of the Paleolithic in the Near East. Jews, Catholics, Mormons, Mexicans, Africans, the Indians of Asia and Chinese are still desperately producing children to increase their respective clans, religions, races, or cultures, almost as if there is still the Paleolithic threat of extinction. It is still political suicide to speak of actual measures to address population control so ingrained is this Paleolithic idea of fertility.
Many of the symbols of Easter are based upon the Paleolithic concept of fertility. The found eggs, the Easter bunny bringing eggs everywhere, are Hunter Gatherer symbols. Farmers didnÕt look for their eggs. Bunnies are not part of their livestock, while they are symbolic of an abundant natural world, untamed by man. We can imagine the awe-inspiring fertility of nature in the springtime, represented by these food sources emerging in abundance with the thaw of winter. These are not food sources related to the backbreaking work of farming but a bounteous Nature yielding its fruit.
The pregnant woman is one of the symbols of both popular and esoteric Taoism. It is the only major world religion or philosophy that venerates the pregnant woman. There are myriad references to the pregnancy process in alchemical Taoism. They speak of the Ôopening of the mysterious femaleÕ, Ôincubating the embryoÕ, Ôwaiting for 10 lunar months for the embryo to matureÕ, Ôthe infant emergesÕ, and Ôbreast feed for three yearsÕ.[3] While these references are symbolic, it is obvious that they are referring to the pregnancy and birthing process. The symbolism refers to creativity and self-regeneration. The fertile woman of the Stone Age is a major symbol of Taoism.
During the Paleolithic much of northern Eurasia was covered in forests. In the Advanced Paleolithic with the advent of the modern human, there is evidence that Tree worship existed. The endless forests represented by the evergreen were another symbol of fertility. The forests provided both shelter and food for their Paleolithic inhabitants. This love of forest began being selected for as soon as they moved inside. In the forests the inhabitants could in some places live in a type of ecological balance. There was not the idea of death and rebirth associated with the agricultural societies. There was only the concept of an ever green nature, which continually provides her bounty for the sustenance of these early Stone Age peoples. Thus the evergreen can be taken as a symbol for bounteous Nature herself, not of a cultivated agricultural nature but of a wild forest nature.
We still retain this Paleolithic value in our symbol of the Christmas tree. The Christmas Tree is not an agricultural symbol but a symbol of the endless forests of the Paleolithic. Ironically we cut down these trees to give us this sense of forest. The trees symbolize wild nature as opposed to domesticated nature. The smell of the tree harks back to the pine forests of the Hunter Gatherer cultures rather than the tilled soil of the agri-cultures. The inside smell of the pine tree reminds us of when we slept in the forests not of when we sleep inside as farmers.
The Christmas tree erected inside at the Winter Solstice is similar to the symbol of the rainbow. The fact of its presence is a testament to the continuity of the Forest. This is a reflection of the recent withdrawal of the glaciers of the last Ice Age. As the days get shorter and colder, the archaic fear of the next Ice Age emerges. The Evergreen bolsters our confidence that indeed the days will get warmer again and that the Ice Age will not overwhelm our forests again, like it did last time.
We must remember that the pine tree is cut down at Xmas. Hence while the memories the tree evokes are Paleolithic, the motivation is purely Neolithic. A plant is cut down and brought inside a permanent residence. While representing our yearning for our forests, it simultaneously reminds of the compromise weÕve made. A sad nostalgic longing is evoked.
ÒThose were the days.
And yet they were so unstable,
So hard in old age.Ó
And you instinctively sigh,
Realizing that you canÕt go back.
Hence the Christmas Tree is a settled farming culture looking longingly at their wild hunter-gatherer forest roots. It reminds us of our Paleolithic origins, i.e. tree worship and our wild nature, as well as serving a symbol of hope against the advancing cold of another winter or Ice Age.
[3]The Inner Teachings of Taoism, written by Chang Po-Tuan of the 14th century, commentary by Liu I-ming in 1808, translated by Thomas Cleary in 1986. Shambhala Press