Human evolution
Saturday, 25 July 2009
Mohammad Rajja
IN the ancient age of human civilisation, men used to live in hilly caves that protected them from hot and cold weather, wild animals and other dangers.
We know from various researches and anthropological discoveries that the history of human beings started 0.5 million (5.0 lakh) years ago. Recently the materials, which have been dug out of caves, tell 0.1 million year-back history of human civilisation. The recent discoveries show that the human beings were not in the form in which they are seen today one lakh years ago. It is found that, in that time, they generally used to be small and little bit fat. Their legs were small, heavy, long and stout. Their bodies were covered with dense hairs. They had only axe and knife, which they used to make from glittering stones. It is also found that at that time they were learning the art of keeping the caves warm and they also began to speak at that time.
Some years ago a group of scientists found a cave named "Shanidar Gufa" in the mountains of Iraq, which disclosed the systematic history of the evolution of human beings from the rock age to the present. In this cave, Kurd farmers live nowadays. It is a great surprise that human beings have been living in this cave for 0.1 million (1.0 lakh) years.
Scientists were fortunate that the people who lived there were not fond of living neat and clean. They used to engrave their waste things in the caves. These things have been piled one after another. Therefore, the scientists have become successful in finding out the history of human civilisation of different epochs. It is close to the age of which we have come to know about the long history of the earth from the fossils found in crusts of rocks. There are four layers of dusts, soil and sand in that cave. Each layer tells the history of a definite epoch of evolution of human beings.
The outermost layer tells us about the present age from seven thousand years back. Pieces of soil utensils, stone grinder of grains, bones of tamed animals' show that the people of that time knew about cultivation and taming the animals. The second layer seems to be twelve thousand years old. This layer doesn't give any evidence of cultivation and taming animals. The third layer seems to be forty thousands years old. There was a gap of thirty thousand years between these two layers.
There was found a trace of progress in human civilisation at that time. At last, the fourth layer of Shanidar Cave takes us 0.1 million (1.0 lakh) years back about the history of human beings. It gives a glimpse of primary age of human race in ancient times on the basis of these evidences. There are some drawings of human beings found in the caves which are supposed to be twenty-five thousands years old. Some craved figures, probably of Stone Age, are also found in the cave. Though the discovery has revealed much information on human evolution, yet there are still some unsolved questions. We hope that further investigation will reveal the missing links.
(The writer is a member of Nepal Students' Society, Dhaka. He may be reached at e-mail:)
IN the ancient age of human civilisation, men used to live in hilly caves that protected them from hot and cold weather, wild animals and other dangers.
We know from various researches and anthropological discoveries that the history of human beings started 0.5 million (5.0 lakh) years ago. Recently the materials, which have been dug out of caves, tell 0.1 million year-back history of human civilisation. The recent discoveries show that the human beings were not in the form in which they are seen today one lakh years ago. It is found that, in that time, they generally used to be small and little bit fat. Their legs were small, heavy, long and stout. Their bodies were covered with dense hairs. They had only axe and knife, which they used to make from glittering stones. It is also found that at that time they were learning the art of keeping the caves warm and they also began to speak at that time.
Some years ago a group of scientists found a cave named "Shanidar Gufa" in the mountains of Iraq, which disclosed the systematic history of the evolution of human beings from the rock age to the present. In this cave, Kurd farmers live nowadays. It is a great surprise that human beings have been living in this cave for 0.1 million (1.0 lakh) years.
Scientists were fortunate that the people who lived there were not fond of living neat and clean. They used to engrave their waste things in the caves. These things have been piled one after another. Therefore, the scientists have become successful in finding out the history of human civilisation of different epochs. It is close to the age of which we have come to know about the long history of the earth from the fossils found in crusts of rocks. There are four layers of dusts, soil and sand in that cave. Each layer tells the history of a definite epoch of evolution of human beings.
The outermost layer tells us about the present age from seven thousand years back. Pieces of soil utensils, stone grinder of grains, bones of tamed animals' show that the people of that time knew about cultivation and taming the animals. The second layer seems to be twelve thousand years old. This layer doesn't give any evidence of cultivation and taming animals. The third layer seems to be forty thousands years old. There was a gap of thirty thousand years between these two layers.
There was found a trace of progress in human civilisation at that time. At last, the fourth layer of Shanidar Cave takes us 0.1 million (1.0 lakh) years back about the history of human beings. It gives a glimpse of primary age of human race in ancient times on the basis of these evidences. There are some drawings of human beings found in the caves which are supposed to be twenty-five thousands years old. Some craved figures, probably of Stone Age, are also found in the cave. Though the discovery has revealed much information on human evolution, yet there are still some unsolved questions. We hope that further investigation will reveal the missing links.
(The writer is a member of Nepal Students' Society, Dhaka. He may be reached at e-mail: