Ancient Man

Hendrik Willem Van Loon’s Ancient Man, subtitled The Beginning of Civilizations, has a dedication addressed to two boys that says the best compass is a thorough understanding of the growth and the experience of the human race. The text says early man was a miserable creature who lived in a world of fright and hunger, surrounded by a thousand enemies.

The text says that of the earliest history of this man we know nothing, and that we keep track of him through his bones, which tell us that he lived more than two thousand centuries ago. The text says that, contrary to the old tradition which made the Egyptians keep away from all things foreign, they allowed the exchange of Egyptian merchandise for goods which had been carried to their harbors from elsewhere. The text says that today more than half of the people of the world use this Asiatic alphabet to keep a record of their thoughts and to preserve a record of their knowledge for the benefit of their children and their grandchildren.