The Church of Allan. The evolution of religion. Part 1

A serialization of the Book; The Plain Truth About God! @2002

When the ancestors of humanity made their first tentative journeys from the treetops of Africa down to the savanna at their doorstep, it was a step that made any other human endeavor, before or since, insignificant by comparison.

It was the first and original “Giant leap for mankind.”

Let’s call the leader of one of these groups that made their way to the savanna Urk!

The current thinking is that food was more plentiful on the savanna and that is what brought them out into the open.

Things finally got to the point where Urk and his wife “Lucy” journeyed out onto the plains to make a better life for themselves.

(On a side note, it is interesting to remember that Lucy made her own headlines many years later when scientist discovered her remains and termed her the ‘mother’ of humanity!)

After this, our forbearers lived as one of the great number of species of animals on the African savannas.

The great herds of Africa had a way of life not that far removed from ours. Our ancestors have spent millions of years foraging the savannas as one amongst the many, while we, (modern humans) have only spent only a few thousand years getting to know the ropes of civilization.

The human story is told in broad sweeps. We, in our humble way, were once part of the endless procession of herds and flocks that waited their turn at the watering hole in times of thirst. We came to drink, and occasionally, bolted in panic at the approach of lions or other predators.

Our ancestors of some two to three million years ago were small, hairy, ape-like creatures. Less than human but certainly more than their simian cousins.

They used sticks for digging and clubs for protection as they walked upright through the tall grass of the savanna.

Not only were the clubs protection, (Many carnivores considered hominids a tasty lunch!) but they were also weapons used to supplement their diet of plants and berries with a growing taste for meat.

Coming out of the ancestral forest, where game was scarce at best, to the abundance of herd and grazing animals on the wide plains, men found a whole new world open to them.

As they became bolder and more resourceful men started to compete with other savannah predators. This change to hunting larger animals no doubt had an effect on what was also taking place in our development as a species.

Although small in numbers at first, people spread out and developed to the point where they ranged over large portions of Africa, Southern Europe and points eastward through the Middle East, India, China, and present day Malaysia.

By the time they had migrated to these far away lands, the cooperation that was necessary for big game hunting had also put extreme evolutionary pressures on the wandering tribes.

There was a need to develop larger brains that were capable of the organizational and rudimentary linguistic tasks required for the systematic hunting of large game.

In simpler terms, humanity changed from just “being dinner” to a group of hunters who went and “got dinner.”

This major evolutionary jump was an expansion of the human brain due to increased competition with other animals and a more intricate cooperation amongst the hunters.

It was also during the process of becoming better hunters that we, at the same time, also became more human.

At one time small bands of people lived together mainly for mutual defense against other humans and the larger predators. They were considerably safer in small groups for the purpose of defense, but still-hunted individually when obtaining small game and other food.

With the shift to hunting larger animals, a new level of cooperation was required between the males actually on the hunt and the non-hunters back at home base.

Adult male hunters had to develop ways to work together. This meant a need to communicate more readily, and even more important, to temper their tendency to behave in selfish and self-serving ways.

We can safely say that the rise of Homo Sapiens culture goes hand in hand with the rise of big game hunting.

Not only did the human brain gradually increase in size to handle the complex tasks of organization and co-operation, but it also increased the level of contact with a multitude of individuals.

This necessitated a need to develop a framework of social rules and skills.

Quite simply, the birth of what made us human.............. Culture!

Allan W Janssen is the author of the book The Plain Truth About God (What the mainstream religions don't want you to know!) and is available at the web site www.God-101.com

Visit the blog "Perspective" at http://God-101.blogspot.com