1. Prehistoric Era
1.1. The Stone Age (2.5 Million B.C. to 3000 B.C.)
Since humans emerged as a species, we have continuously advanced exponentially throughout the centuries, both physically and mentally. Our human blueprint consisting of genomes once resembled an almost identical variant in the primate family. Our genetic blueprint started alternating in later centuries. The shift in our cognition is the determining variable that separates us from the primates. The human DNA is 98.8% identical to Neanderthals and Homo Erectus. Our lucrative 1.2% difference transformed humans into an intelligent life form. It is a granular difference.
Our intricate human cells form immaculately. It permits our bodies to have anatomy and mental cognition. Each cell has approximately three billion double nucleobases. That equates to 35 million differences between us and our closest primate relatives. Humans have about 90 myoglobin insertions and deletions that differentiate us from the primate family. The gene activity in the human brain is turned up immensely compared to that of a Neanderthal. The human brain region consists of thousands of brain cell activities that behave differently.
Homo sapiens have evolved throughout the centuries due to genetic mutation. Human anatomy is self-explanatory. One must understand the ancient anatomy of our human cartilage to grasp the advancements in modern human biology. In between our buttocks lies the tailbone. It once served a function as our bodies had a tail. Tails helped us balance and navigate ourselves while walking (Verhaegen, 2015) . It once assisted humans with their dominance and built unspoken relations with other species. Human evolution meant this feature was no longer required. It is a part of our genetic mutation process. It is now a useless bodily function. It is not the only example. Our manual dexterity fingers used to be webbed. We have shredded this undesirable trait. Occasionally, anatomy anomalies occur. There have been instances where individuals are born with webbed hands/feet or a tail (Verhaegen, 2015) . There are scientific procedures that can remove these undesired characteristics. Humans are the first known literate species in the entire universe. Humans exacerbated their intellectual capabilities from the Ice Age. We have an in-depth understanding of biology.
Biologists learned about deoxyribonucleic acid sequencing in humans and other animals. We now possess knowledge of living bio-organisms’ genetic blueprints. That education equipped biologists to determine our countless similarities with those in the primate family. We cannot rationally compare ourselves to the primate family due to our intellectual prowess. It is incomparable. We have superseded the capabilities we were supposed to possess. This miraculous accident has made us the strongest predator on Earth. Humans are constantly facing existential crises. Survival is critical to understanding the universe further. When we lived in the jungle, we were a diminutive species compared to the top predators. Lions! Our intelligence superseded their strength. It enabled us to surpass all the other animals in the animal kingdom since the Ice Age. Humans gradually learned to harness the elements to our benefit. It gave homo sapiens leverage to become the top of the food chain.
We thrived due to our cognitive capabilities. Other animals used their primal skill sets to kill potential predators. Homo sapiens have proved that intelligence is more powerful than physical strength. We morphed stones into hand axes and stone axes. We turned wood and stone into spears. Humans carved them into sharp weapons. Those creations enabled us to kill the top predators. Archeologists can verify this through various excavation sites. Some of these notable weapons came from Great Britain (McKim, 2022) .
Idyllically, archeology becomes taught in more post-secondary institution programs. It stimulates students to analyze these prehistoric eras. It is the continuum of great minds studying to advance this field. These crafted weapons are on display in museums. Humans are a sponge of knowledge of their environment. We are constantly accumulating knowledge by absorbing information taken from our surroundings. We visually get bombarded with ancient architecture, churches, and the aroma of a location. A city typically enables an individual to take in visuals from multiple centuries. Our absorption of knowledge contributed tremendously to the expansion of our mental cognition.
Humans learn from doing. It is non-formal learning. We thrive living similarly to that of our original habitat. We were always a social species. Humans learn best from assisting each other to resolve problems. Many issues humans deal with are more nuanced now than during the Ice Age. The threats we faced during the Ice Age were direct. Homo sapiens faced an immediate danger and had to eliminate the threat. Not all homo sapiens were able to accomplish this. They sadly perished in the process. We have come an astronomically long way since then.
Homo sapiens had cognitive capabilities similar to other intelligent undomesticated animals. Humans created proto-writing. Homo species have used elements; clay and charcoal and added their spit. They drew symbols onto rock formations. Scientists have identified 26 distinct symbolism used for communication. It is undetermined whether more visual graphic symbols existed. Archaeologists continuously uncover unsolved answers about history through archaeological excavation sites (D’Arcy, 2017) .
1.2. The Bronze Age (3000 B.C. to 1300 B.C.)
Homo sapiens built on Stone Age proto-writing techniques. The proto-writing is an informal communication system. Innovative homo sapiens newfangled this communicative system (D’Arcy, 2017) . Humans began making monumental leaps in their mental cognition. It led to human advancement as a species. Humans began designing more sophisticated communicative methodologies and expressions through drawing symbols. Homo sapiens added substance symbols, both qualitative and quantitative. The expressive imagery of these symbols served homo sapiens in that era with multiple purposes (Molloy, 2018) .
Archaeologists have assessed the interpretation of the representation of these prehistoric symbols. A circle with a line through it both vertically and horizontally represented a sun cross. These symbols had different representations: demons, symbolic animals, and abstract symbols (Molloy, 2018) . Countries across the world engaged in these writing practices. The methodology varied throughout the globe. In Iraq, they were known for their cuneiform writing. In Egypt, Greece, and Mexico, they made Hieroglyphs. In China, they created Logographs, and in India, they formed the Indus script. The development of writing remained a sign of a significant shift in human intelligence.
1.3. The Iron Age (1300 B.C. to 600 B.C.)
Fun Fact: The human brain adapted due to an effect known as evolutionary psychology. Human adaptability is at play. It enabled humans to turn the Indus script into a basic alphabet, Proto-Canaanite. It is the evolutionary change seen in animals. Evolution is hereditary and not because of the expected projection of living beings. This effect occurs through natural selection. The mating practices change the species’s evolution. It happens throughout the centuries. The Iron Age is a critical era for writing. This golden age is responsible for creating the Proto-Canaanite alphabet. The Iron Age was the building block that enabled upcoming civilizations to advance the alphabet in further eras. Later on, the Greek and Aramaic alphabet took inspiration from the Proto-Canaanite alphabet. Humans have continuously built upon other academic pioneers. It is a common theme as eras progress. The entire linguistic system could have been different had the homo sapiens not developed this alphabet. It was a critical innovation. Humans did not create the first form of the alphabet. Society could have fallen behind. It could have also progressed further than it has. It would have perhaps resulted in the adoption of a more sophisticated alphabet. The third possibility is that our academics could have turned out identical. We could have gotten the same result in a roundabout way. It will forever remain indeterminable.
2. Classical Era (600 B.C.-A.D. 476)
Fun Fact: Humans started altering their archaic lifestyles and started shifting into a civilization into a semi-sophisticated environment. Humans began exposing themselves to more nuanced stimuli than any animal in the animal kingdom. It set off the jukebox model of the brain. It is responsible for human pre-pro- grammed behaviors. It is the result of humans changing their lifestyles. It bombarded humans with different stimuli. It enhances their brain capacities.
2.1. Ancient Greece (600 B.C. to A.D. 600)
It is an iconic time for literature. The Greeks invented a writing system. Ancient Greek academics had an understanding of the Proto-Canaanite alphabet. The Greeks built upon literacy from different eras. They utilized this education. It helped them to exponentially expand into developing the first concrete and comprehensive alphabet. The Greeks took symbolisms from the writing system developed by the Phoenicians. They made their contributions by adding different symbols to represent vowel sounds. It is an impactful development in historical writing (Ceccarelli, 2013) .
2.2. Ancient Rome (753 B.C. to A.D. 476)
The Romans focused on improving writing techniques. They used sophisticated methods to write. The general public wrote on wax tablets or Vindolanda tablets. Italian citizens had a different writing method for administrative affairs: Legal contract documents and academic books were written in ink pen and on papyrus. Occasionally, authors wrote their books on parchment paper (History.com Editors, 2023) .
The Roman script became based on the cataloged Carolingian dynasty. They were mighty Frankish aristocrats. The Italian humanist mistook it for an ancient Roman script. They believed it was invented in the 1st century B.C. when the Italian constitutionalist Cicero rose to power (History.com Editors, 2023) .
2.3. Persian Empire (550 B.C. to 330 B.C.)
Before the invention of the telephone, people needed to communicate with people from foreign lands. The distance left people in limbo with no form of communication. In 5 B.C., an empire leader decided to set a ploy in motion that would change far-reaching communication. Cyrus the Great, an ancient empire leader, thought of a clever yet impractical way to deliver messages from Assyria to Persia. It is the development he believed would change the methodology to transport messages. Carry pigeons!
It is a notable message-transporting tactic to deliver messages across the two countries. Cyprus the Great decided to send a fleet of pigeons from Assyria to Persia. It was a hit-and-miss method. Citizens of higher status used this form of communication. It was commonly utilized until the beginning of the 19th century. It was not a reliable method. They needed to send people to deliver messages. Officials got sent on behalf of royalty or leaders of an empire to deliver messages to other regions. The Persian Empire consisted of literacy written in cuneiform.
The development occurred during the Persian Achaemenid Empire. It developed under Darius I. It is a sophisticated cuneiform method. It is a mixture of syllabic, alphabetic, and logograms. They are symbols that represent words. It is a strong indicator that the citizens had attempted to develop a concrete alphabet. Inquisition into education has propelled humans further since the beginning of time.
Relevant Information: The Quran is a religious text on parchment paper made from calfskin. The prehistoric Arabic script, “Ma’il,” became utilized when Muhammad wrote the Quran. The direct transition means sloping. It falls under a scope of Arabic scripts known as Hijazi; the Gulf was notorious for this style at the time. The Quran scriptures are notable for the diacritical marks and spelling symbolism. When writing the Quran, Prophet Muhammad used symbols to distinguish letters into similar shapes. In the Quran, there are no vowel signs or pronunciation aids. Readers indicate when the verse has ended. Muhummad placed six small dashes at the end of the scriptural verse. The constructional religious text is in two columns of three. The Quran has chapter headings highlighted in red ink. The additions got added on when it got audited in the Naskhi script.
Islam has changed literacy. It is an overlapped theme seen in all religions. The overlapping cultural similarities are not a coincidence. Muhamad was an intellect. Muhamad knew how to write in his local language script. It enabled him to create a holy book that would attract people from Far East Asia. It caused a stir in the Altai. They believed in Muhamad after they read the Quran. He was the messenger of god. The message of Islam spread across the Middle East. Islam once flourished in all realms of academia. Later, this changed when the European countries began reading the bible. The bible enabled Europe to take the reins in all respects of academic innovation.
2.4. Byzantine Empire (A.D. 285 to A.D. 1453)
The Byzantine script did not have indigenous roots. The Byzantine Empire piggybacked on prior literacy advancements. The region did not have a systemic alphabet dictated to them by a form of government. The Byzantine Empire writing system derived from utilizing past literacy inventions using the alphabet the ancient Greeks developed. The Byzantines adopted the archaic Greek language. The dialect the Greeks once used is beyond decipherable to the dialect they now speak. The Greeks invented an ancient alphabet. The literacy invention served in the administration of the Byzantine Empire until the siege of Constantinople to the Turks in 1453.
3. The Middle Ages (A.D. 476-A.D. 1450)
3.1. Early Middle Ages (A.D. 476 to A.D. 1000)
World Affairs: History has gotten whitewashed. Europeans often got the credit for inventions created by countries foreign to the region. It needs to be corrected by people who care about the validity of these statements. In China, woodblock printing began in the 9th century. The Korean bookmakers used movable metal type to print.
3.2. Late Middle Ages (A.D. 1250 to A.D. 1450)
World Affairs: History has given credit to a man named Johannes Gutenberg. He is a German goldsmith who European historians labeled as the inventor of the printing press in 1436. It is an ingenious invention he created. He should get listed as a part of the printing invention. Gutenberg contributed to its historical progression. He cannot be considered the first inventor. Gutenberg’s contribution needs to be recognized. Liberal historians need to audit the information to ensure it gets told correctly (Mark, 2022) .
3.3. Early Modern Era (A.D. 1450-A.D. 1750)
World Affairs: Many tribes once resided in North America. North American tribes had their linguistic dialects. It prevented the leaders from communicating with each other. The Far East Asians indigenous to North America developed hand talk. It became utilized when North American tribal leaders met in a teepee to discuss political affairs. The leaders discussed important political matters through hand talk. When Europeans arrived in North America, they had an interest in learning about those living in the region. The scholars analyzed and observed the behaviors of Far East Asians. Coronado is a prehistoric yet notable European scholar. He documented a hand-talk interaction in 1540. It is the first documented invention recorded at the time.
3.4. Protestant Reformation (A.D. 1517 to A.D. 1648)
Religiosity has contributed exponentially to literacy rates in humans. In the Protestant Reformation era, they heavily used the previous invention of the printing press to make the Bible accessible to those across the globe. The Protestant Reformation era made positive endorsements of the Bible. It was well-received by the Europeans. I have a quip for this era. It enlightened the population to adhere to Biblical texts. In the Protestant Reformation era, Europeans started to become well-educated. It is a monumental cultural shift. It favored Europe over the Middle East and North Africa. Europeans began taking the lead in all aspects of academics. The Europeans took control over academics. Previously, the Mamluk Empire had dominated academia.
3.5. The Enlightenment (A.D. 1650 to A.D. 1800)
In the Enlightenment era, writers got notoriety for their hostility against the scientific rationalization of nature. It was a revolution against the aristocratic socialization and political norms prevalent in the Age of Enlightenment. Romanticism revolved around the escapism of social realities.
3.6. Modern Era (A.D. 1750-Present)
World Affairs: In 1760, the French claimed to invent a system, Langue des Signes Française (LSF). The claim gets fabricated. It is a plagiarized system. It now gets referred to as the sign language system that targets assisting those with auditory impairments. In 1835, the American Sign Language (ASL) claimed ownership from the French. It has become the standard form of communication for the deaf and hard of hearing. White Americans managed to claim the invention from the French. It is a tone-deaf claim. This invention predates this time era. The credit is to the Far East Asians indigenous to America. The creation gets looked down upon (Open Culture, 2022) . The form of communication changed the way disabled people get represented with their communication skills.
3.7. Victorian Era (A.D. 1837 to A.D. 1901)
The Victorian period (also referred to as the Industrial Revolution) was an era of gigantic change. No areas were left spared. The changes impacted social dynamics, political environments, and the economy. People react differently to change. Some people are immune to change. Others cannot fathom the growth of us as a species. Regardless, change is imperative to our growth as a species. We can always depend on the arts to react to the social changes occurring during the era. The Victorian era was no exception. Writers expressed various views about social changes occurring.
It took form in an explosion of literature: academic papers, books, journals, lyrics, and memoirs. The Industrial industry brought an influx of technological advancements. It caused a gravitational pull on the city of those who once resided in the country. This change caught the attention of notable writers at that time.
3.8. Second Industrial Revolution (A.D. 1869 to A.D. 1914)
It is life-changing for far-reaching communication. Our gratitude is indebted to Alexander Graham Bell, born in 1847. His ingenious inventions made a tremendous impact on the world. He created the telephone and contributed astronomically to the refinement of the phonograph. Other scientists piggybacked on these newfangled inventions. Guglielmo Marconi, born in 1894, utilized his cognitive capabilities to enhance the radio. He figured out how to transmit telegraphic signals through radio waves.
3.9. Great Depression (A.D. 1929 to A.D. 1939)
The economic downturn of the Great Depression was the most pitiful in all of the United States of America in all of history. It was the result of the stock market crash in October 1929. Mass unemployment had swept the nation. It catalyzed becoming critical for American literature. Writers became mobilized and wrote some of the most iconic written pieces that are recognized today.
3.10. World War II (A.D. 1939 to A.D. 1945)
Going into battle is difficult when the two countries have equitable strength in troops, machinery, and monetary access. War means there is a significant risk of casualties and fatalities. The two countries must find ways to underhand their opponent to reign supreme. War has been the direct result of advancing the radio communication system. The Americans used the SCR-300 using the portable radio transceiver dubbed “walkie-talkie.” World War II advanced electronic navigational aids in the telephone and telegraphs. They built upon previous inventions and kept some of the same creation methodologies, such as blinker-light signaling.
3.11. Contemporary Period (A.D. 1945 to Current)
Fun Fact: Digitalization has changed the methodology of how we receive information. It typically involves a multitude of subscriptions to media outlets and social media accounts. We must acknowledge that learning does not come from one source but from multiple. People can revert to this time era through television shows. The show creators have an obscene amount of power to display the persona that best fits their message. That message resonates with people.
Some may be opposed to the messaging.
Regions reflect on the television content getting produced. Turkey tends to make fantastic historical content on the Ottoman Empire. The Rise of Empires: Ottoman! The show highlights the leadership of the Ottoman Empire. The show has experts on the field reacting to brief film skits. Some background information: It is about the Oirat/Kazakhstan tribes that built ancient empires in Turkey. They are the descendants of those who rushed out of the Altai as Seljuks. They have widely reshaped the Middle East (Al Jazeera, 2020) .
The storyline is a realistic breakdown of previous events that reshaped the region. Turkish television gets motivation and inspiration from ancient empires in the country. Television is an influential methodology to help shape the general public views. It is not always an effective measure.
Humans shut out their metacognition and become a sponge to the content shown to them. It is an epidemic that is rotting our brains. Evidence is telling.
More time spent in front of a television screen lowers the volume of gray matter. Research from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore has documented a reduction of brain volume in the frontal and entorhinal cortices.
Contemporary Period: We advanced our methodologies and created industrialization. It led to the building of schools where children could learn literacy and mathematics. Our brains began comprehending more complex problems. Humans needed to find a way to adapt to people who struggled in academia. An example of this is conversations. Researchers caught on to the effectiveness of learning through having a two-sided conversation. Pedagogical educational experts implemented this teaching style into the classroom in the 1990s. It is called the Flipped Classroom Approach (Bhat & Bhat, 2018) .
It opens the learning discussion to permit a two-sided conversation. Classroom conversations become enhanced when there is a healthy confluence between the teacher and students. Conversations are a personalized way to build relationships while enabling both parties to learn new information. We advanced our methodologies and created industrialization. It is a double-edged sword as the shale formations, sandstone beds, and coal seams are constantly getting extracted for the effectiveness of natural gasses. This action changes the world’s biodiversity forever. It is contributing to our demise as a species. It also has a plethora of upsides.
4. Summary
Our communication has transformed from carrying pigeons to international connectivity via social media platforms. We have access to the world from our homes in an unprecedented way than it had centuries prior. Our advancements should not be underappreciated. The advantages will continue to propel us further.