ROGER H. CLAPP
Through The Ages
Through the Ages is an abbreviated history of the world, starting with the formation of the universe and our planet earth and concluding with the 20th century.
With the exception of the first chapter that deals with unrecorded time, chapters are grouped by centuries and facts are arranged chronologically so that events occurring at the same time-throughout the earth – are covered at the same time.
This book is written to provide readers with a better understanding of the “Big Picture”, or broadest possible perspective of history. It fills a void left by all other history books, as it is relatively short in length and covers the beginning of time to present day in an easy-to-read format that is appealing to people of all ages. The result is a history book that is enjoyable to read for history buffs, one that can be read for pleasure or for reference in a novel –like format.
Roger Clapp was raised in New England and served as a radioman in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. Upon graduation from Amherst College cum laude with a degree in history in 1954, he spent 39 years in the advertising business.
He maintained his interest in history, however, with the impetus behind the writing of “Through the Ages” stemming from the author’s many years as a history buff trying to cope with the mass of information labeled “history.” This was especially true throughout his children’s education, where he witnessed the frustration that they faced as they progressed from high school to college history and had difficulty organizing the material chronologically and geographically. Roger Clapp now resides in Naples, Florida.
CHAPTER 1.
15 BILLION YEAR AGO - 5000 B.C.:
UNRECORDED TIME
Unrecorded time – or, prehistoric time – is that period for which no written records exist. Instead, our sources of information consist of fossil remains, tools, pottery, paintings, carbon dating of rocks, and scientific analysis of today’s physical universe. In this initial chapter, we will cover the formation of the world, the formation of the Earth, the evolution of life on Earth, and the ancestors of modern man.
Formation of the world (15 billion years ago)
According to the Bible, the world was created at one instant by a God who then went on to create the plants animals, and finally, man and woman. Over the course of history, virtually all religions perceived the universe as having been created by some comparable guiding force. A few examples include:
Mayan Indians: The Sun Father
Navajo Indians: Father Sky
Australian Aborigines: Great Father
Many scientists believe that the world was, in fact, created at one time, as a result of what has come to be called the “Big Bang”. This momentous event occurred approximately 15 billion years ago. How did scientists arrive at 15 billion years ago as the moment of creation?
Scientists have been aware for some time that the universe around us is expanding. The galaxies are moving farther apart from each other at great speeds. In effect, we are observing a universe that is “exploding”, the result of the so-called “Big Bang” referred to earlier.
By calculating the rate of speed in which the universe expands today, scientists have been able to pinpoint the approximate moment of creation.
This Big Bang explosion is believed to have generated tremendous amounts of heat. Given the evidence that the universe is getting progressively cooler, by calculating backwards in time from the current estimated background radiation temperature of the universe, astrophysicists estimate that the temperature of the universe was an inconceivable million billion degrees just a fraction of a second after creation. If we consider it hot when the temperature hits 100 degrees, just imagine how hot a million billion must have been! At that moment, there were no galaxies, stars or planets – just a giant fireball in space. The appropriate mixtures of hydrogen and helium simply could not exist at such extreme temperatures. When, however, the temperatures cooled, conditions favorable to the formation of these heavenly bodies slowly emerged.
The first galaxies appeared about 500,000 years after the Big Bang. Today, there are a hundred billion galaxies and a billion trillion stars. In our own Milky Way galaxy alone, there exist some 10 billion stars, of which our sun is an important member. As noted earlier, these galaxies are expanding farther and farther apart from their neighboring galaxies.
Formation of the earth (4 ½ billion years ago)
Among the many stars in the universe, of foremost importance to those of us on Earth, is our own sun. The sun dates from about five billion years ago, and the Earth and moon from about four and a half billion years ago. During the 500 million years that followed, the young Earth began to take shape, including the creation of numerous volcanoes, which emitted gas and clouds of steam into the sky. As these clouds condensed, rain fell upon the Earth in great torrents. This rain is estimated to have fallen for some 60,000 years. When the rains ceased, the seas had formed. Then around 4 billion years ago, the Earth cooled to the point that life in its most primitive forms could exist.
Evolution of life on earth (4 billion years ago)
First to appear were tiny single-celled plants such as seaweed. Over the ensuing centuries these plants became increasingly more complex, in accordance with what we commonly refer to today as the laws of natural selection, or simply “evolution”. By three billion years ago, a number of these one-celled plants had joined together and combined with other multi-celled plants to form the first multi-cellular organisms, such as sponges. Over the next two billion years, these forms developed until one billion years ago, when green plants completely populated the oceans. Then, approximately 600 million years ago, the evolution from simple algae to more varied forms of life occurred. This is referred to as the “Cambrian explosion”. By 500 million years ago, the first animals appears – although they were really nothing more than large sea insects.
Also making their appearance at this time were the first fish. Few of these fish were more than two or three feet long, although some reached twenty feet in length. Next, the movement to land began with the first plants appearing along the shores of the oceans about 450 million years ago. Then, about 350 million years ago, the first amphibians (organisms capable of living both in the seas and on the land) arrived. Next to arrive were the first reptiles, who made their appearance about 325 million years ago. These included large turtles, crocodiles, snakes and other lizards.
Probably the most fascinating of this latter group were the dinosaurs – giant land animals as large as present day whales. Dinosaurs measuring one hundred feet in length were not uncommon. These animals first appeared a little over 200 million years ago and existed for about another 100 million years – long before man appeared on earth, contrary to popular opinion. A dramatic shift in climatic conditions appears to have caused the extinction of these animals, who thrived in a warm, moist climate, but could not adapt to the much colder conditions that existed on earth during this time period.
