The Age of the Gods

IV. Asia and the Origins of the Higher Civilisation

46 iv Asia and the Origins of the Higher Civilisation i. the beginnings of culture in asia While europe was passing through the stages of culture which were described in the first chapter, what was happening in asia? There can be no question of the importance of the asiatic developments, for there is every reason to think that the traditional belief in asia as the original cradle of the human race is true, but the study of asiatic prehistory is in its infancy, and the whole course of palæolithic development is still obscure. There is no doubt that the palæolithic cultures were widely spread in asia. Industries corresponding to those of the older palæolithic cultures of europe have been found in connection with remains of the Pleistocene period, not only in the Near east, but in India and farther India, in siberia to the north of the altai Mountains, and quite recently in Western China. Later palæolithic types are less fully known, but the Capsian Culture , which is parallel to the aurignacian, embraced practically the whole Mediterranean basin and a similar type of culture seems to have extended to India, where there exist interesting rock paintings of hunting scenes, perhaps of similar date to our Magdalenian cave art. But there is an almost complete lack of human remains. apart from the skulls found at Wadjak in Java, and the Neanderthal man just discovered in galilee, there is practically nothing of palæolithic date, and this is especially unfortunate not only in view of the problems of early human evolution, but also because asia was certainly the scene of most important developments during the glacial age itself. Origins of Civilisation in Asia 47 at that time the position that europe now occupies was held by the great region to the south-east, the land that lies between the Mediterranean and the Iranian plateau, and between the Caspian and the Indian ocean. for in the glacial age the geographical and climatic conditions of this region were totally different from what they are at present and had more resemblance to those of modern europe. The Black sea and the Caspian were probably united in a great inland sea, which extended north-eastward to the sea of aral and far beyond. The Persian gulf was much larger than at present, and this, together with the glaciation of the Lebanon, the armenian, and West Iranian highlands, as well as the great mountain mass of Central asia, caused the climate of the whole area to be cooler and moister. on the other hand, the Black sea, and probably at times also the Red sea and the Persian gulf, were inland seas, and communications were consequently easy between Western asia and africa, as well as between asia Minor and the Balkans. The whole of this Western asiatic region, in fact, was a great land bridge between asia and africa on the one hand and asia and europe on the other, and the manifold variety of sea and mountain , of forest and steppe, of high plateau and alluvial valley, made it possible for the different regions to develop a corresponding variety of human and cultural types which were afterwards brought into fruitful contact with one another by the gradual change in climatic conditions and the development of new channels of communication and mutual influence. We can divide the whole area into three main regions, each of which possessed its own human type. first of all there is the great highland bridge itself, the main mass of which runs east and west from the highlands of asia Minor through armenia to Persia with a northeastern extension in the Caucasus and a south-western one in syria and Palestine. for the most part this region must have been uninhabitable in the glacial epoch, but in post-glacial times it has been the home and centre of diffusion of alpine man—the tall, muscular, broad-headed type which has been so important in history. secondly, there is the great region of desert and steppe which lies to the south of the highlands, and is connected with a similar region in North africa. This is the home of the long-headed, brown-skinned, 48 The Age of the Gods dark-haired semitic race, which closely resembles the hamitic race of North-eastern africa. Thirdly, there is the great lowland region to the north of the highlands...