Paleolithic culture, drawings in chauvet cave located in the ardche, the invention of the potter's wheel, bronze tools, the domestication of animals

The paper “ The Rise of Civilization – from Paleolithic Culture to the Domestication of Plants and Animals” is a meaningful example of a term paper on culture. The Paleolithic culture was deemed to be primitive whose knowledge was only limited to the use of fire to cook their food, hunting, and gathering.  Their artwork was also considered to be primitive which were primarily done in the caves.

The Paleolithic people may have existed more than a million ago but this does not mean that their artworks were as primitive as their time.  In a recent discovery in Chauvet Cave located in the Ardèche region of south-central France, it was proven to be wrong to the point that it may change the dating of artworks.  Chauvet Cave is situated next to the famous Pont d’Arc above the old river bed which the Ardèche flowed before the archway and contained artworks in its wall panels that were not only beautiful, complex and sophisticated but has also sparked a controversy with a potential of ending the stylistic method of dating.

The painting inside the Chauvet cave consists of the mural after mural of bold lions, leaping horses, pensive owls and charging rhinoceroses that together make up a veritable Louvre of Paleolithic art.   There are other images of animals such as the ibex, mammoth, and bears that were rendered as if it was just created yesterday, but in fact, thousands if not a million year ago.

The Rise of Civilization
The rise of civilization was the phase in human development where man has begun to discover techniques to improve his lot.  During this stage, he made technological advances in inventing the potter’s the wheel, bronze tools, and other implements to improve his productivity, particularly in agriculture.  This resulted in the relative abundance of food where man started to grow his crops instead of wandering around to look for food.

Recently, similar discovery had made that had a similar effect of enhancing productivity particularly in enhancing agricultural productivity.  This was the invention of the Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) technology that multiplied the yield of crops by altering its genetic makeup of plants to become more bigger, more productive, grow faster and more resistive to pests.  Although this invention had controversy, it cannot be denied that it multiplied agricultural output and made food relatively cheaper due to its relative abundance.

The Domestication of Plants and Animals
After the stage of the invention, the man realized that it is better to grow his own food and domesticate his own animals than to wander around to look for food.  In a way, he settled and begun to form communities which eventually evolved into society.  Relative sufficiency in food was achieved due to the efficiency in production which enabled man to look for other endeavors other than worrying about food.

This can be likened today to the factorization of food today where food can now be produced in large quantity at lesser cost and time.  The fast-food chains pioneered by McDonald’s revolutionized commercial food preparation where it made the production very efficient that resulted in selling the food cheaper and can be delivered in record time.