The Meeting-Place of Geology and HistoryDawson, John William, Sir
Religion
The Meeting-Place of Geology and History
Dawson, John William, Sir
Deluge; Prehistoric peoples
We have also in the description of one of the rivers of Eden a hint as
to a few of the wants of early man beyond mere food and shelter. We are
told that the district traversed by this river produced gold, bedolach,
and the shoham stone. I have elsewhere shown that this river must be the
Karun, draining the Luristan mountains, and that the productions
indicated must have been 'native gold and silver, wampum beads, and jade
and similar stones suitable for implements.'[35] Thus we have here a
picture which may well represent the origin and early condition of our
palæocosmic men. But the parallel does not end here.
[35] _Modern Science in Bible Lands._
According to the history, man falls, and is expelled from Eden, is
clothed with skins, and becomes an eater of animal food. Next we find
murderous violence, and a consequent separation of the primitive people
into two tribes, one of which migrates to a distance from the other and
adopts different modes of life. Finally, we have a mixture of the two
races, leading to a powerful and terrible race of half-breeds, or metis,
who filled the earth with violence.[36]
[36] Genesis vi. 1-6.
[Illustration: MAP SHOWING THE GEOGRAPHICAL AND GEOLOGICAL RELATIONS OF
THE SITE OF EDEN AS DESCRIBED IN GENESIS]
In one point only have we reason to doubt whether this old history
fairly represents the palanthropic age. It notes the invention of
musical instruments, the use of metals, the domestication of animals as
already existing in the antediluvian period. Of these we have little or
no archæological evidence. The only musical instrument of this period
known is a whistle made of one of the bones of a deer's foot, and
capable of sounding a tetrachord or four notes, and we have no certain
evidence of metals or domesticated animals. We must bear in mind that
there may have been more civilised races than those of the Cro-magnon
type, and that the latter evince an artistic skill which if it had any
scope for development may have led to great results. The native metals
must have been known to man from the first, though they must have been
rare or only locally common; and many semi-barbarous nations of later
times show us that it is only a short step from the knowledge of native
metals to the art of metallurgy, in so far as it consists in treating
those ores that in weight and metallic lustre most resemble the metals
themselves. It is also deserving of notice that no other hypothesis than
that of antediluvian civilisation can account for the fact that in the
dawn of postdiluvian history we find the dwellers by the Euphrates and
the Nile already practising so many of the arts of civilised life. In
connection with this we may place the early dawn of literature. Without
insisting on the documents which the Chaldean Noah, Hasisadra, is said
to have hid at Sippara before the Deluge, we have the known fact that in
the earliest dawn of postdiluvian history the art of writing was known
in Chaldea and in Egypt.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account