The Genius of Ancient Man
When you think of ancient mankind, how do you picture him/her? Is it like cavemen dressed in animal skins with an unshaven, dumb look? Do you think that most people have this picture of ancient man?
Upon spending some time reading on this issue, I respectfully 100% disagree. There are many archaeological discoveries that are evidence of an intelligent ancient man that don’t fit the evolutionary caveman paradigm. What if man didn’t evolve slowly out of Darwin’s “warm little pond” but was created in God’s image with an intellect right from the very beginning? If mankind descended from the Tower of Babel, there should be similar building styles and cultural practices all over the world. If man was made in God’s image, like Genesis 1:26 says, then he was created with intelligence. If man was scattered at the Tower of Babel, then cultural commonalities will be found all over the world. And this is exactly what we find.
According to the bible, ancient man was very smart. In a very short period of time, they built a city (Genesis 4:17), raised livestock (Genesis 4:20), played music with stringed instruments and pipes (Genesis 4:21) and started making iron & steel (Genesis 4:22). I have always wondered how brutish, ignorant cavemen could have taken a certain type of dirt from the ground and turned it into iron and steel. The process is not a simple one. Ancient man must have had some intelligence to discover these and other practices.
Creation Legends:
As nations spread out from Babel, they took the creation story with them. Over time, this story was corrupted and distorted. Steven Langdon, of Oxford University, said in 1931 that the oldest civilizations were monotheistic. Over the years, they declined into polytheism. But all the major ancient cultures held a belief that a Supreme Being created the universe.
Flood Legends:
There are more than 270 flood legends around the globe. In all of them, one man or one family go into a boat while the global flood kills every person except him/them. Of all the flood accounts, the bible is the most realistic.
Babel Legends:
People all over the world have similar stories about building a structure to reach the heavens. This angered God/gods who came down and confused their languages. Those who spoke the same language left together. They then went and built their own towers. And these towers look very similar to each other. But again, over time, the structures changed a little.
Ice Age Legends:
Many people groups like the Toba Indians of South America, the Mayans, the Incas, the Tarahumara of New Mexico, the Araucarans of Chili, the Mataco of Argentina, etc., have legends of “The Great Cold” or “The Evil Winters”. They also associate the flood with a subsequent period of cold, volcanism, mountain shaping, periods of darkness and cloud coverings (so the Sun was unable to warm the Earth). The Mayans said that sunlight did not return until the 26th year after the flood. They associate the flood with much hail, black rain, mist and indescribable cold.
Music and Art:
Genesis 4:21 records the first musical instruments being made. The production of these instruments proves a sophisticated culture existed that was advanced enough to spend time in the arts rather than just farming and hunting. Similar instruments were used in cultures around the world. For example, the aulos pipe has been found in Greece, Bolivia and Peru. The bagpipes of Scotland & Ireland are forms of the aulos. The bullroarer instrument has been found in Australia, Egypt, the British Isles, New Guinea, the Inuit of Northern Canada, the Dogon in Africa, the Maori and most of the North American Indian tribes. The same can be said about ancient art, from the Stone Lion sculpture in southeastern Turkey 3,000 years ago to Mayan art to the Clauvet caves in France.
Giants:
There are several scriptures that refer to giants or Rephaim…1st Chronicles 11:3 5 cubits = 7.5 feet tall, 1st Samuel 17:4 Goliath 6 cubits and a span = about 9.5 feet tall, Deuteronomy 3:11 Og, King of Bashan bed size is 9 cubits long x 4 cubits wide = 13.5 feet long x 6 feet wide. In the Golan Heights there is a giants tomb, rumored to be that of Og.
Dragons:
There are legends around the globe describing large, terrifying creatures unlike any we see today. Their pictures are displayed on flags, shields, armor and buildings from Europe to East Asia. The bible speaks of large creatures in Job 40:15-18 & 41:18-20. Job’s time is thought to be around the time of Genesis, around 2000-1800 B.C. It’s possible Job could have been describing dinosaurs before they died out. But dinosaurs died out millions of years ago you say. North Carolina State University paleontologist Mary Schweitzer has rocked her professional world by finding blood vessels and whole cells inside a supposedly 68 million year old T-Rex from Montana. When an animal dies, soft tissue (blood vessels, muscle, etc.) decays and disappears over a short period of time. Hard tissue (bone) turns into fossils. Several paleontologists have come out in support of her findings. Schweitzer and a colleague have since found blood vessels in another T-Rex from Argentina and a 300,000 year old woolley mammoth fossil. We’ll have to wait for further developments to confirm her findings but it is very interesting. A good introductory article on dragons and dinosaurs is at https://creation.com/dinosaurs-and-dragons-stamping-on-the-legends.
Here are some pictures of towers, mounds, etc. from all over the world. Notice how similar they are.
I realize that all of the above things are not proof that ancient man was intelligent but these facts lean strongly in that direction. They should not so easily be dismissed. They should give us pause to reconsider our theory of the brutish, dumb caveman scenario. We need much more evidence and artifacts of ancient man before pronouncing what is “fact”.
For His Kingdom,
Dave Maynard
http://BSSSB-LLC.com