Coach Floyd
AP World Period 1
18 August 2013
Change and Continuity over Time Essay: Ishmael
In breaking down the changes and continuities of how things came to be this way from 8000 B.C to present time in the novel Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, one can see these reasons include method of advancing agriculture (changes in agricultural technology, continuity in desire for unrestrained advancements), views on theology (changes in perspective of the gods’ authority, continuity of reliance on a higher power), and competition between species (changes in reason for hunting, continuity in urgency to feed a growing population).
Technology was one of the causes that changed agriculture in society. In the beginning, people started off as hunters and gatherers. The only way they were able to obtain their food was by hunting animals or gathering fruits and vegetables because of their lack of agricultural technology. Man’s pursuit of finding advancements in the farming industry led to discovering herding, or animal domestication. This method provided a wide variety of benefits to the society, such as milk, wool, fertilizer, and workforce. Keeping the animals in a controlled environment allowed the species to breed more often and maintain a steady population. As man’s desire for perfection increased, thus the Agricultural Revolution was born. Because of the steady income of food and water, the population was able to skyrocket, giving some civilians more free time to specialize in other tasks such as building insulated homes and tool manufacturing. Even with all of these improvements in agriculture, the mindset of humans remained intact, the desire for man to continue to grow. These changes impacted the lifestyle of humans by helping to fulfill their pursuit of perfection.
Another influence on how things came to be this way is humans’ change regarding their belief of theology. People used to be very religious. They believed that the gods were all powerful and ruled over all of them. Then they began to question the gods, asking why their lives weren’t anywhere near perfect. They thought if gods really ruled over them, they would have stable lives; however, some people still struggled with their life and soon stopped believing that gods controlled their lifestyle. The final result was that the people presumed they controlled their own lives and did not have to listen to everything the gods demanded. Even though people aren’t as religious as they used to be, people continue to believe in a higher power and are religious by going to church and at least