1. “The Supreme Io and the Creation of the World,” by Maori, and the “Yoruba Creation Narrative,” by the Yuraba people, are similar in the ways how societies believed in higher beings creating everything as well as the existence of something being present before the creation of humans such as bodies of water, higher beings, or land. In “The Supreme Io and the Creation of the World,” the start of the world began already having land, sky, and water. In the “Yoruba Creation Narrative,” the world started with the oceans and nothing else. The two stories differ in the sense of having different higher beings as well as different reasonings behind the creations of humanity and the lands. In “The Supreme Io and the Creation of the World,” states how the birth of human consciousness was created by accident. This accident caused every creation to have a consciousness, however, a wave from the goddess drowned most of the humans. This would explain, for them, why there aren’t so many people in that area. On the other hand, “The Supreme Io and the Creation of the World,” focuses on how the light was first given and humans were simply created. These two stories inform our understanding that humans from the past could think and wonder about the idea that nature was created from higher beings, which is complex thinking that is still done to this day.
2. In human development, many different cultural aspects popped out such as trade and dance. In the lecture video, “Trade and the Human Experience”, professor Herbst states how trade was an important part of human culture as it helped civilizations grow and connect with neighboring city-states. With this, the advancement of trading techniques and networking was provided. Dance was also a unique cultural aspect that is still past on to this day. Based on the video, “Dance and Human Sociability”, professor Herbst explains that dance was used to release stress and have stronger bonds with people living with each other. Dance was later used for almost any ritual such as to please higher beings. With dance being more used, it slowly intertwined with culture and is known as one of the most cultural aspects for certain groups of people. Based on current times, trade is more important for human development than dance. Dance created stronger bonds with fellow residents and was used to please higher beings. However, trade allowed neighboring city-states to create networks and spread their culture to other city-states. This led to more advancement in both lands and has been passed down to modern times where trade has been simplified into spending money to obtain products.
3. The agricultural revolution was more beneficial than consequential. In the lecture video, “Video: Agricultural Revolution,” professor Herbst states how there was a surplus of food, in which time was reduced working on food and instead put into the advancement and spread of culture and technology. With the additional advancement of culture, permanent settlements were created because people did not need to move across the lands to gather and hunt for food. However, due to the extensive cultivation of plants and the domestication of large groups of animals, greenhouse gases were being produced, as well as diseases from the cluster of animals. Although the consequences of global warming and the introduction of complex diseases are relevant to today, the agricultural revolution provides modern-day humans a place to call “home” with the inclusion of modern-day technology and diverse but intricate culture to represent who we are.
