1. What were the periods in the history of human development?
The first stage in the development of mankind - the primitive communal system - takes a huge period of time from the moment people were separated from the animal kingdom (about 3-5 million years ago) until the formation of class societies in various regions of the planet (about 4000 BC. ). Its periodization is based on differences in the material and technique of making tools (archaeological periodization). In accordance with it, 3 periods are distinguished in the most ancient era:
1) stone Age(from the emergence of man to the III millennium BC);
2) bronze age(from the end of IV to the beginning of I millennium BC);
3) iron age(from the 1st millennium BC).
In turn, the Stone Age is subdivided into the Old Stone Age (Paleolithic), the Middle Stone Age (Mesolithic), the New Stone Age (Neolithic) and the Medio-Stone Age transitional to Bronze Age (Eneolithic).
2. What were the life and occupations of primitive people?
First views modern man appeared 90 thousand years ago in the Middle East and North Africa. For a long time they coexisted with the last Neanderthals, who gradually disappeared from the face of the Earth.
More than 30 thousand years ago, primitive art appeared and flourished, testifying to the developed figurative thinking and artistic feeling of the ancients.
The hunting people of the Upper Paleolithic lived during the period of the last glaciation, called in Europe the Wurm. They quickly adapted to the changing climatic conditions, began to populate new territories, reaching the glacial and arctic regions.
One of the characteristics of the Upper Paleolithic is the improved technology of making tools. A man who lived 35-9 thousand years BC. e., he himself crushed stones into thin plates and strips. They became the basis for a variety of weapons - light and effective. Bone tools were also made, constantly changing for 25 millennia.
The hunters of the Upper Paleolithic were carriers of the experience of previous generations and already knew perfectly well what their territory was rich in and what was the way of life of game, herbivores (living both in herds and alone), carnivores, small mammals, birds. People adapted to the seasonal migrations of the reindeer, the hunting of which fully satisfied their need for meat food.
Prehistoric people also used the fur skins of predators, mammoth tusks and the teeth of various animals to make art and jewelry. On occasion, hunters were engaged in fishing, which became a valuable help in certain months, as well as gathering, which played an equally important role in the warm season.
During the nomads, people also found other natural materials, primarily various types of stone, necessary for turning tools. The primitive man knew where the deposits of flint were located, where he systematically visited to select and carry away the best pieces that were not subjected to glaciation, from which he cut the plates.
Still people picked up stones of soft breeds for sculptural products and engravings. They found shells of marine animals, fossil bones, and sometimes they followed them hundreds of kilometers from their place of stay. The nomadic way of life of the hunters of the Upper Paleolithic assumed a fair distribution of duties and cooperation of all members of the community.
Everywhere, wherever people went, they sought to protect themselves from cold, wind, dampness and dangerous animals. The housing model depended on the type of activity, the type of social organization and the level of culture of primitive people. Certain requirements were imposed on the shelter: a convenient approach, the proximity of the river, an elevated location above the valley with animals grazing above it. The dwelling was insulated: a “double roof” was erected. But more often they still settled in the valleys, on the plains or plateaus, where they built huts and tents. In this case, a variety of materials were used, sometimes even mammoth bones.
The term "Paleolithic art" combines works of very different artistic styles and techniques. rock painting is the art of drawing stone walls, which, starting from Gravettian time conquers the depths of the dungeons and turns them into sanctuaries. Every corner in the more than a hundred caves of the Centabrian Mountains is covered with masterpieces of Madeleine culture.
The artistic technique of that time was very diverse: drawing lines with fingers on clay, carving on various supports, painting itself, carried out by the most different ways- spraying liquid paint, applying it with a brush, combining paint and carving on the same image.
Until the 8th millennium BC. e. in the Middle East and until the 6th millennium in Europe, man lived by hunting, fishing and gathering. In the Neolithic era, his way of life changed radically: by raising livestock and cultivating the land, he himself began to produce food for himself. Thanks to pastoralism, people provided themselves with food supplies that were constantly at their disposal; in addition to meat, domestic animals gave milk, wool, and skin. The emergence of villages preceded the development of cattle breeding and agriculture.
Neolithic meant a new socio-economic organization of life. But this era brought with it a number of major technical innovations: pottery, stone grinding, weaving.
In the Neolithic era in Western Europe, giant stone monuments appear - megaliths. It is believed that by building a megalith, the peasant community declared the establishment of its control over a certain territory.
Society gradually changed. And although the tribal group still produced everything it needed for life, along with the peasants, miners, bronze craftsmen, and small merchants began to appear. The need to protect mines and trade routes led to the emergence of a special estate - warriors. If in the Neolithic era people lived in relative equality, then the Bronze Age is already marked by the emergence of a social hierarchy.
3. What were the stages of decomposition of the primitive communal system?
Approximately at V-IV millennium BC. uh. the disintegration of primitive society began. Among the factors contributing to this, an important role was played by agriculture, the development of specialized cattle breeding, the emergence of metallurgy, the formation of a specialized craft, and the development of trade.
With the development of plow agriculture, agricultural labor passed from women's hands to men's, and the male farmer became the head of the family. Accumulation in different families was created differently. The product gradually ceases to be shared among the members of the community, and property begins to pass from father to children, the foundations of private ownership of the means of production are laid.
From the account of kinship on the maternal side, they pass to the account of kinship on the father's side - a patriarchy is formed. Accordingly, the form of family relations is changing, a patriarchal family based on private property arises.
The growth of labor productivity, increased exchange, constant wars - all this led to the emergence of property stratification among the tribes. Property inequality gave rise to social inequality. The tops of the tribal aristocracy were formed, in fact, in charge of all affairs. Noble community members sat in the tribal council, were in charge of the cult of the gods, singled out military leaders and priests from their midst. Along with property and social differentiation within the tribal community, there is also differentiation within the tribe between individual clans. On the one hand, strong and wealthy clans stand out, and on the other, weakened and impoverished ones.
So, the signs of the collapse of the tribal system were the emergence of property inequality, the concentration of wealth and power in the hands of the leaders of the tribes, the increase in armed clashes, the condemnation of prisoners into slaves, the transformation of the clan from a consanguineous collective into a territorial community.
Destruction in various parts of the world primitive communal relations happened at different times, the models of transition to a higher formation were also diverse: some peoples formed early class states, others - slave-owning, many peoples bypassed the slave-owning system and went straight to feudalism, and some - to colonial capitalism (the peoples of America, Australia).
Thus, the growth of productive forces created the prerequisites for strengthening ties between social organizations, the development of a system of gift-exchange relations. With the transition from the first marriage to the patriarchal, and later monogamous, the family is strengthened, which is isolated within the community. Community property is complemented by personal property. With the development of productive forces and the strengthening of territorial ties between families, the early primitive community is replaced by a primitive neighborhood community, and later by an agricultural community. It is characterized by a combination of individual parcel production with common ownership of land, private ownership and communal principles. The development of this internal contradiction created the conditions for the emergence of class society and the state.
The period of existence of primitive society in time was the longest in the history of mankind. According to the latest data, it originates at least one and a half million years ago. In Asia and Africa, the first civilizations arose at the turn of the 4th-3rd millennium AD. e., in Europe and America - in i thousand k. e. The periodization of the history of primitive society is a complex scientific problem that has not yet been solved.
In modern science, there are several periodizations of primitive society: general (historical), archaeological, anthropological, etc. Of the special periodizations of primitive history, the most important is archaeological, which is based on differences in the material and technique of making tools. According to this, the history of primitive society is divided into three periods - stone, bronze and early iron.
The Stone Age (approximately 2 million - 6 thousand years ago) is divided into the Old Stone Age, or Paleolithic, and the New Stone Age, or Neolithic. Between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic, a transitional era is distinguished - the Mesolithic.
The Paleolithic is divided into the early (lower, ancient) Paleolithic (1.5-1 million years ago) and the late (upper) Paleolithic (40-12 thousand years ago). The Mesolithic dates back to approximately XII-VI millennium BC, e. The Neolithic monuments of Europe and Asia date mainly from the 8th-5th millennium BC. e. The end of the Neolithic era, when the first copper tools appeared, is called the Eneolithic.
Archaeological periodization makes it possible to draw up a general periodization of the culture of primitive society: 1) the formation of primitive society; 2) the flourishing of primitive society; 3) the decomposition of primitive society.
During the formation of primitive society, the initial forms of its organization arose, both material and spiritual culture began to emerge. The initial form of the organization of society is called the primitive human herd or proto-community, the beginning of which probably coincides with the separation of man from the animal world and the formation of society, with the manufacture and use of tools. The end of the period of existence of the fore-community coincides with the transition from the early to the middle or late Paleolithic.
The basis of the life of ancient people was gathering and hunting, the ratio of which in various historical eras and in different geographical conditions was not the same. However, there is no doubt that hunting, as a more progressive branch of the economy, to a large extent determined the development of primitive human groups, because this form labor activity forced the members of the fore-community to unite more and more closely in the labor process.
The transition to even the simplest labor operations could only take place in a team, following herd norms of behavior.
The emergence of the first tools of labor is associated with the era of the fore-community. The oldest expediently designed stone tools were pebbles chipped with several rough chips at one end, as well as flakes chipped from such pebbles. They also used the so-called hand axes made of flint, various pointed points, side-scrapers.
A hand ax and other tools were used for digging up roots, butchering the carcasses of dead animals, and the like. Hunting was predominantly dead.
Wooden tools were also used, but they have not survived to our times.
A huge role in the life of primitive man was played by fire, the use of which testified to the mastery of people by an extremely powerful force of nature. The fire gave heat, was used for cooking, burning the working parts of wooden tools, during downhill hunting, and the like.
For a long time it was believed that caves were the only human habitation in the era of the fore-community. However, several settlements with built housing have been found. So, in Ukraine, at the site of Molodov, the remains of housing made of mammoth bones were found.
The emergence of modern humans was closely linked to the rise of productive activity during the transition from the early to late Paleolithic. This was manifested primarily in the emergence of a new stone processing technique, which made it possible to create special tools - scrapers, chisels, points with a blunt edge, knives, sharp and light spearheads. Many stone tools of the late Paleolithic were already with wooden and bone handles. Together with the stone, bone and horn were widely used, from which awls, needles, hoes, spears, and the like were made.
Significant shifts in the development of production have also changed the organization of society. The growth of man's technical equipment in his struggle for survival has created the conditions for the existence of sufficiently stable economic collectives. In contrast to the fore-community, the clan was already a fully formed human collective. The rudiments of primitive collectivism, close cooperation and solidarity of the members of the genus reached their highest development in it. At the same time, kinship relations were perceived as economic.
Recognition of tribal ties acquired social significance, became the main feature of the new production team - the tribal community, which replaced the human herd (great-community).
rise in production, Better conditions the existence of people contributed to the growth of the population, which was accompanied by a decrease in game near the settlements. Late Paleolithic hunters began to gradually move from previously developed places to the previously deserted northern regions of Europe and Asia. Moving from Asia through the Bering Strait, people first settled America.
Findings of skulls of Late Paleolithic people indicate that the main racial features that exist today were formed already in the Late Paleolithic era. These features more or less exactly coincided with the boundaries of the continents.
The Caucasoid race was formed mainly in Europe, the Mongoloid - in Asia, representatives of the Negroid race inhabited Africa and Australia.
An important milestone in the development of mankind was the transition from the consumption of finished products of nature to their production, that is, from an input economy to a reproducing management. For the existence of early tribal development, hunting and gathering communities distinguish two stages of reproductive activity: archaic and economy. The boundary between them is the use of a new, effective hunting tool - bows with arrows.
The Neolithic was the highest and last stage of the rich thousand-year Stone Age. At this time, ruble services were more widely used, the quality of which increased due to surface grinding. A characteristic tool was an ax, which facilitated the clearing of forest areas for agriculture, and later - the processing of wood for buildings, the manufacture of boats from wood, and the like.
The most important sign of the Neolithic era was ceramics and earthenware. That is why it is sometimes called the ceramic age. Weaving has received significant development, on the basis of which weaving has developed. However, the most important were the changes in the economy associated with the improvement of agriculture and animal husbandry.
Neolithic culture developed most rapidly in the Middle East. It was there that agriculture arose and began to breed domestic animals. It was from the Middle East that the most important cultivated plants and some types of pets. About V millennium to n. e. copper tools appeared in the Middle East. In the IV millennium to n. e. began to cast copper products. At the same time and at the beginning of the III millennium to n. e. the inhabitants of Mesopotamia were already building from raw brick not only houses, but also large public buildings and temples, construction began irrigation systems, invented the potter's wheel and wheeled vehicles.
In the 5th-4th millennium to n. e. Neolithic agricultural tribes also inhabited Egypt. The processing of flint by retouching has reached here superbly! skill. Magnificent ceramics were produced with white painting on a red background, and later - with red painting on a white background. A variety of copper products were produced - flat axes, daggers, knives, needles and other things.
In the 5th millennium to n. That is, in the southeast of Europe, a large cultural and historical area of settlement of agricultural and pastoral tribes arose, which extended to Ukraine. In Central Europe, there was an agricultural culture with characteristic ceramics, decorated with a linear ribbon ornament. The basis of the economy of the tribes of linear-band ceramics was the cultivation of barley, wheat, beans, peas and flax in small plots cultivated with a hoe. Few cattle were kept. The plots around the village were used until they stopped giving birth, and then people moved to a new place.
Very close in type of economy to the culture of banded ceramics was the archaeological culture - Tripolye (named after the first place of its discovery near the village of Trypillya, 50 km from Kyiv). The Tripoli settlement consisted of dozens of houses located in a circle, with a square in the middle. The houses had several living quarters, as well as storerooms. Each room had a stove, large containers for storing grain. At the back of the room was an altar with statuettes of female deities. The main occupation of the Trypillians was motichno agriculture with subsidiary cattle breeding, hunting and fishing.
The era of metals is divided into the bronze and iron ages. The Bronze Age is a period in the history of mankind, when tools and weapons made of bronze were widely used, which were used along with stone ones or instead of them.
Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin, sometimes antimony, lead or zinc in various proportions. Bronze is not only harder and sharper than copper, but is also easier to make because bronze melts at a lower temperature. However, both copper and bronze tools did not displace stone ones.
The earliest metal tools are similar in shape to stone ones. Subsequently, the production of tools began, in which the properties of the new material were most appropriately used (axes, hammers, hoes, sickles, knives, etc.).
Accurate chronological framework Bronze Age is difficult to determine. Earlier, in the middle of the III millennium AD. e., bronze became known in southern Iran, Mesopotamia and Southeast Asia. In Egypt and India, the oldest bronze tools date back to the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. e. For most European countries, the Bronze Age covers mainly the 2nd millennium AD. e.
The Early Iron Age is chronologically very short compared to previous archaeological epochs. Despite the fact that iron is the most common metal in the world, man mastered it rather late due to the fact that it is almost never found in nature in its pure form. In addition, it is difficult to process.
In the Neolithic and Eneolithic, the development of agriculture was hampered by limited technical capabilities stone tools. Deforestation with a stone ax required incredible effort and time. The use of a copper ax reduced labor costs by a factor of three. Bronze axes further facilitated the work and made it possible to clear for agriculture large areas. The need for better cultivation of depleted old plots eventually led to the transition from hand tools to tillage.
In the Bronze and Early Iron Ages, semi-nomadic and nomadic cattle breeding spread in the steppe regions.
The first social division of labor in the history of mankind took place - the separation of predominantly cattle-breeding, first shepherd, and later nomadic tribes from farmers-pastoralists.
The use of bronze and iron gave a powerful impetus to the development of handicrafts. A variety of tools, household items, jewelry, and weapons were produced from metal. In the Bronze Age, a sword and a war chariot appeared, and protective equipment improved. From metal, primarily iron, new tools were made for processing wood and bone. The invention of the loom in the Bronze Age contributed to the development of weaving, the potter's wheel - further development pottery production. Not only metallurgy, but also other types of handicraft activities required more and more skills and experience. Particularly skilled craftsmen began to stand out from among the community members.
The second major social division of labor in the history of mankind began - the separation of handicrafts from agriculture.
The exchange became more active, which began to be carried out regularly both within the community and outside it. The means of communication improved. Wheeled carts appeared, ships with oars and sails, tracks were built. From the middle of the II millennium to n. e. how to harness the animal began to use the horse.
The schedule of the primitive communal system among the pastoralists was a natural result of the Neolithic revolution that took place in the economy. Various signs of such a disposition already existed in the newborn community of farmers-pastoralists. However, it took time for these trends to manifest themselves in full force. New, more advanced labor skills should have developed, the population should have grown, the most important component of productive
forces - means of labor. Therefore, the discovery and development of useful properties metals. This was the impetus for cultural and social shifts in the history of mankind.
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General history. Crib
Chapter 1
Primitive society
What were the periods in the history of human development?
The first stage in the development of mankind - the primitive communal system - takes a huge period of time from the moment people were separated from the animal kingdom (about 3-5 million years ago) until the formation of class societies in various regions of the planet (about 4000 BC. ). Its periodization is based on differences in the material and technique of making tools (archaeological periodization). In accordance with it, 3 periods are distinguished in the most ancient era:
1) stone Age(from the emergence of man to the III millennium BC);
2) bronze age(from the end of IV to the beginning of I millennium BC);
3) iron age(from the 1st millennium BC).
In turn, the Stone Age is subdivided into the Old Stone Age (Paleolithic), the Middle Stone Age (Mesolithic), the New Stone Age (Neolithic) and the Medio-Stone Age transitional to Bronze Age (Eneolithic).
What were the life and occupations of primitive people?
The first species of modern man appeared 90 thousand years ago in the Middle East and North Africa. For a long time they coexisted with the last Neanderthals, who gradually disappeared from the face of the Earth.
More than 30 thousand years ago, primitive art appeared and flourished, testifying to the developed figurative thinking and artistic feeling of the ancients.
The hunting people of the Upper Paleolithic lived during the period of the last glaciation, called in Europe the Wurm. They quickly adapted to the changing climatic conditions, began to populate new territories, reaching the glacial and arctic regions.
One of the characteristics of the Upper Paleolithic is the improved technology of making tools. A person who lived 35-9 thousand years BC. e., he himself crushed stones into thin plates and strips. They became the basis for a variety of weapons - light and effective. Bone tools were also made, constantly changing for 25 millennia.
The hunters of the Upper Paleolithic were carriers of the experience of previous generations and already knew perfectly well what their territory was rich in and what was the way of life of game, herbivores (living both in herds and alone), carnivores, small mammals, birds. People adapted to the seasonal migrations of the reindeer, the hunting of which fully satisfied their need for meat food.
Prehistoric people also used the fur skins of predators, mammoth tusks and the teeth of various animals to make art and jewelry. On occasion, hunters were engaged in fishing, which became a valuable help in certain months, as well as gathering, which played an equally important role in the warm season.
During the nomads, people also found other natural materials, primarily various types of stone, necessary for turning tools. The primitive man knew where the deposits of flint were located, where he systematically visited to select and carry away the best pieces that were not subjected to glaciation, from which he cut the plates.
Still people picked up stones of soft breeds for sculptural products and engravings. They found shells of marine animals, fossil bones, and sometimes they followed them hundreds of kilometers from their place of stay. The nomadic way of life of the hunters of the Upper Paleolithic assumed a fair distribution of duties and cooperation of all members of the community.
Everywhere, wherever people went, they sought to protect themselves from cold, wind, dampness and dangerous animals. The housing model depended on the type of activity, the type of social organization and the level of culture of primitive people. Certain requirements were imposed on the shelter: a convenient approach, the proximity of the river, an elevated location above the valley with animals grazing above it. The dwelling was insulated: a "double roof" was erected. But more often they still settled in the valleys, on the plains or plateaus, where they built huts and tents. In this case, a variety of materials were used, sometimes even mammoth bones.
The term "Paleolithic art" combines works of very different artistic styles and techniques. rock painting- this is the art of drawing on stone walls, which, starting from Gravettian time conquers the depths of the dungeons and turns them into sanctuaries. Every corner in the more than a hundred caves of the Centabrian Mountains is covered with masterpieces of Madeleine culture.
The artistic technique of that time was very diverse: drawing lines with fingers on clay, carving on various supports, actually painting, carried out in a variety of ways - spraying liquid paint, applying it with a brush, combining paint and carving on the same image.
Until the 8th millennium BC. e. in the Middle East and until the 6th millennium in Europe, man lived by hunting, fishing and gathering. In the Neolithic era, his way of life changed radically: by raising livestock and cultivating the land, he himself began to produce food for himself. Thanks to pastoralism, people provided themselves with food supplies that were constantly at their disposal; in addition to meat, domestic animals gave milk, wool, and skin. The emergence of villages preceded the development of cattle breeding and agriculture.
Neolithic meant a new socio-economic organization of life. But this era brought with it a number of major technical innovations: pottery, stone grinding, weaving.
In the Neolithic era in Western Europe, giant stone monuments appear - megaliths. It is believed that by building a megalith, the peasant community declared the establishment of its control over a certain territory.
Society gradually changed. And although the tribal group still produced everything it needed for life, along with the peasants, miners, bronze craftsmen, and small merchants began to appear. The need to protect mines and trade routes led to the emergence of a special estate - warriors. If in the Neolithic era people lived in relative equality, then the Bronze Age is already marked by the emergence of a social hierarchy.
Change on the map of Europe after World War 1
Culture and life of the inhabitants of Ancient Greece (education, art, everyday life)
Rise of Fascism in Italy
Ancient Rome - the capital of the empire
Revolution in 1918-1919 in Germany
Medieval French state. Charlemagne.
Roosevelt's New Deal
Medieval city - the center of crafts, trade
The rise of the Nazis to power in Germany. Nazi regime.
Crusades (goals, participants, results)
The liberation movement in India in the 20-30s.
Causes and origins of the French Revolution in the 18th century
International relationships on the eve of World War II
North American colonial struggle for independence
Anti-Hitler Coalition in World War 2
Industrial revolution in England (essence and consequences)
Change in Europe and the world after World War II
Congress of Vienna in 1814-1815. Holy Union.
Events of the late 80s - early 90s in Eastern Europe
Unification of Germany. O. Bismarck.
USA in the second half of the twentieth century Internal situation and foreign policy
Achievements in science and technology in the late XIX - early XX century.
Integration of Western European countries in the second half of the XX century.
Economic development leading countries of Europe in the late XIX - early XX centuries.
The liberation of the peoples of Asia and Africa in the 2nd half of the 20th century.
First World War(causes, participants, outcomes)
The development of science and technology in the 2nd half of the 20th century.
Ticket 1
Life and occupation of primitive people
The most ancient people lived in hot countries where there are no frosts and cold winters. For example, in East Africa. Scientists find here during excavations the remains of people who lived more than 2 million years ago. Based on these findings, it is possible to restore the appearance of our ancestors: they very much resembled a monkey; they had a rough face, with a wide flattened nose, protruding jaws, a forehead receding; above the eyebrows there was a roller, under which the eyes were hidden, as if under a canopy; their gait was still not quite straight, jumping; the arms were long and hung below the knees—in a word, bestial features predominated in the guise of the most ancient people. The most ancient people could not talk - they communicated with each other using a variety of sounds. The brain volume of the most ancient man was larger than that of a monkey, but much less than that of people of our time. The ability to make tools was the main difference between the most ancient people and animals.
The most ancient people lived not alone, but in groups that scientists call human herds.
All the people in the herd, young and old, spent the whole day gathering - they were looking for something to eat. Roots, fruits and berries, eggs of birds were suitable for food then.
Nowadays, the life of wild animals is being studied. Watching how a flock of small predators is trying to take away its prey from a large one, scientists suggest that ancient people could do the same.
Imagine the African steppes 2 million years ago. The lioness attacked the antelope, pulled it up and tries to drag it away. Noticing this, dozens of “primitive hunters” sneak up on the beast from all sides and start screaming deafeningly, brandishing clubs and throwing stones at the lioness. The predator in response to this growls, releases its claws, bares its fangs. But if she is tired of chasing the antelope and managed to get enough, then she will not accept a fight with people - leaving the carcass, she will hide in the steppe.
Let us give another example of the hunting of the most ancient people. Imagine: a large herd of zebras peacefully nibbling grass. People attack animals that are fleeing. Zebras rush like the wind, but there are already old animals in the herd, there are too young ones that do not keep up with the rest. If the hunters manage to “cut off” a zebra from the herd, they jam it with clubs, throw stones at it and kill it. These are the assumptions how the ancient people hunted.
In those days, the most ancient people faced many different dangers. One of the worst was fire. Imagine how in a thunderstorm, lightning lit bushes, trees, grass ... everything around flared up. The most ancient people, like all living things, were afraid of fire: birds flew away from the fire, animals and people ran away. How man mastered fire, no one knows for sure. There is an assumption that once, overcoming fear, the daredevils nevertheless approached the fire. It could be a tree or shrub lit by lightning, or it could be burning lava from a volcano. Perhaps then the great discovery was made.
