ADJUS-120 Lecture Notes - Lecture 26: Mesopotamia, Epicurus, Paleozoic
25 Jul 2020
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Document Summary
History of the earth: 4. 6 billion years old, cambrian explosion sudden presence of fossils, presented as beginning of real life. Paleozoic era (540-250 million) emergence of fish, plants, reptiles, amphibians; ended with massive extinction. Mesozoic era (250-66 million) - era of dinosaurs and emergence of birds, mammals, flowers; ended with massive extinction as well. Cenozoic era (66 million until now) expansion of mammals which grew larger. Skills based on practical rules of thumb without theoretical understanding of the underlying principles. Oral tradition of skills fluidity of knowledge. Animism explanation of the world and universe by means of myths and spirits: first writing systems (6k bce in china) Phonograms (signs representing sound of spoken language; led to alphabetic writing system: written documents as external memory. Accumulation of knowledge important basis for science. Oral tradition is not reliable; stories are changed and do most likely not survive: reading. Majority of population was unable to read. Nearly all read out loud while reading.
