Chapter 1 Cave Dwellers And A Really Big Flood

Part 1: The First Humans What is the first glimpse we have of humans?

According to our National Museum of Natural History….

Man is seen as a Vicious, Club-Wielding Caveman But is this an accurate picture?

Chauvet Cave in Southern France- Believed to hold the oldest signs of human existence

They are paintings of animals- not being eaten, but being appreciated

There is no difference in intelligence between prehistoric humans and us. They simply lacked our technology.

Part 2: Occidental Civilization? Occidental (Western) Civilization includes the cultures of the Fertile Crescent, moving westward. For the most part, it is the Middle East, the northern edge of Africa, Russia, Europe and the Americas when they were colonized by Europeans The opposite is Oriental, which includes most of Asia

The word “Civilization” is closely related to the word for city. Civilizations grew up around rivers. A river flows out of a garden, watering it, and from there it divides into four rivers. The first is named Pishon; it flows through Havilah, where there is gold. Besides gold, the land there is also known for sweet-scented resin and onyx. The second river is named Gihon; it flows through the land of Cush. The third river is named Hiddekel (or Tigris) and flows east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.

The garden was called Eden, and it was in a place known today as the Fertile Crescent, due to the crescent shape formed by its two main rivers. It was here, the Bible says, God first placed man.

Part 3: The World’s Greatest Flood From the beginning, people have experienced a need to be close to rivers, a great source of freshwater. Rivers flow from high areas to mix with the saltwater of the oceans.

The rivers provided the two essential materials for building houses: 1) Reeds

…and 2) MUD!

It also supplied fish and other animals drawn to the water

For people who relied on water, there was also fear and stories of a large flood

Although you may know the story of Noah’s Ark, you may not know that hundreds of cultures have their own version of a flood story As you’re doing your reading this week, I want you to think about what these flood stories have in common