September 1, 2007

We, as human beings, are interested in our past. We are eager to know the different stages of our civilisation, as to how and with what difficulties we have reached the present stage. It is a fascinating and interesting story. However, it is not the story only of human beings but also that of mountains, rivers, forests, deserts, animals, birds, in short everything on the planet.

History tells us the difference between human beings and other creatures, and the intelligence that man used to invent tools to complement and to adjust in changing environments. Acceptability of change is the main characteristic of human beings. That is why men and women change and adjust to new environments continuously.

History and archaeology

Historical period of humankind began with the invention of writing. It provided material to write the history of human activities. Of pre-historic period, our main source of information is archaeological findings. During excavations of ancient historical sites a number of things such as pottery, tools, weapons, jewellery and seed of wheat and grains were discovered. This enabled the historians to write the social, cultural, political and economic history of the pre-historic period. In most of the human civilisations it was customary to bury the dead along with their personal belongings. Such archaeological finds further helped the historians to write about the habits and lifestyle of ancient people.

These antiquities also indicate the expertise of the artisans and show the aesthetic taste of the society so far back in time. With the discovery of the statues of gods and goddesses we came to know of ancient religious beliefs and rituals.

History and evolution

It is estimated that life on earth is 4,500 millions years old. During this period earth and its environment changed continuously. Human beings also passed through different stages before reaching the stage of ‘Homo Sapien’ or wise man. During the evolutionary process a number of animals, birds and insects could not survive and disappeared.

According to Darwin, it was human beings who faced all natural challenges and kept their existence. There is a difference between human beings and animals: Animals have their tools attached to their bodies; they can only defend themselves by their teeth or nails. On the contrary, man has no such tools, so he had to invent not only for his protection but also to hunt and get food.

As a rational human being, man learns from the experience of his earlier generations. Speaking and writing provide him the facility to accumulate all past human knowledge. This enriches the history of human civilisation.

History and progress

In the beginning the speed of human progress was very slow as most of his time was spent getting food for survival. When he invented tools and started to live together with others, his progress became rapid. It is estimated that in 8000BC, which was the New Stone Age, human beings were in a position to control their environment.

During this period man produced enough food for his survival. He learnt how to bake pottery, domesticate animals, build shelters; with some free time available turned to creating art, literature and music. History tells us that civilisation thus progressed and learnt more when it came in touch with other human cultures. Civilisations that stayed in isolation did not progress. That is why, on the whole, progress of humankind is uneven.

History and time

To understand history, consciousness of time is important. We must know at what time an event took place and when a new historical period began. In order to determine the timeline, different civilisations developed their calendars. With the help of these they determined seasons for cultivations and dates of festivals and ceremonies.

Muslims have their own calendar which is known as the ‘Hijra,’ beginning from the great migration from Makkah to Madina. However, Christian calendar is now widely used. It is divided into before and after the death of Christ time periods. In case of BC we deduct time and after Christ add it. For example, when we say that a person was born in 350BC and died at the age of 50 in 300BC we deduct 50 years.

In the subcontinent, the people also developed their own calendar based on seasons. Farmers in rural areas of Pakistan and India use the Bakrami calendar to mark local festivals. The months of this calendar are: Phagan, Chate, Besakh, Jeth, Harr, Sawan, Bhadon, Aswaj, Katek, Magh, Poh, Mah.