The Start of Civilization

Welcome to Tuesday Everyone!

Over the past few days, I have been thinking about helping others - finding ways amid this crisis to do things for others - and how when we help others it makes our own days and weeks brighter.  This past weekend, I spent all of Saturday and most of Sunday making masks for my family and a few close friends who needed them.  The project kept me busy, and it felt good to know that I was doing what I could to help the effort, with the resources I had to hand. 

Yesterday my daily question in my Google Classroom was, "describe something you did this past weekend that was helpful to someone," and I was happy to hear from so many students who took the time to support others in their free time.  I started really thinking about how helping others helps us after twice hearing a story about Margaret Mead, an American cultural anthropologist.  I went digging a bit deeper and found an article written by Remy Blumenfeld on March 21st.  Entitled, How A 15,000-year-old Human Bone Could Help You Through The Coronacrisis.

In the article, Blumenfeld is describing what I just described to you - that we feel better as humans when we help others.  He discusses Mead's understanding of the beginnings of civilized cultures.  The following is an excerpt from the article... 

"Years ago, the anthropologist Margaret Mead was asked by a student what she considered to be the first sign of civilization in a culture. The student expected Mead to talk about clay pots, tools for hunting, grinding-stones, or religious artifacts.

But no. Mead said that the first evidence of civilization was a 15,000 years old fractured femur found in an archaeological site. A femur is the longest bone in the body, linking hip to knee. In societies without the benefits of modern medicine, it takes about six weeks of rest for a fractured femur to heal. This particular bone had been broken and had healed.

Mead explained that in the animal kingdom if you break your leg, you die. You cannot run from danger, you cannot drink or hunt for food. Wounded in this way, you are meat for your predators. No creature survives a broken leg long enough for the bone to heal. You are eaten first.

A broken femur that has healed is evidence that another person has taken time to stay with the fallen, has bound up the wound, has carried the person to safety and has tended them through recovery. A healed femur indicates that someone has helped a fellow human, rather than abandoning them to save their own life.  'Helping someone else through difficulty is where civilization starts,' Margaret Mead said, 'Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can’t change the world; For, indeed, that's all who ever have.'"

When you help someone, you help yourself.  Helping someone in their time of need connects you both to each other and allows you to share your burdens.  Walking the path with someone else, either physically or metaphorically, can help us feel less alone.  So I encourage you to get out there and keep helping, CBMS Students!   Stay connected, support one another, and keep those feel-good vibes flowing! 

Be well today!
Mrs. Hempey