ZAMAN BATU: SATU PEMBOHONGAN SEJARAH (2)

PENGENALAN

Seperti mana yang telah dilakukan dalam evolusi manusia, perspektif sejarah evolusionis juga mengkaji sejarah manusia dengan membahagikannya kepada beberapa jangka waktu. Konsep rekaan seperti Zaman Batu, Zaman Gangsa dan Zaman Besi merupakan bahagian penting kronologi evolusionis. Oleh kerana gambar khayalan ini dipaparkan di sekolah, surat khabar dan televisyen, kebanyakan orang menerima rekaan ini tanpa soal dan membayangkan manusia dulu kala hidup dengan hanya menggunakan peralatan batu purba dan ketiadaan teknologi.

Tetapi gambaran sebenar muncul apabila penemuan arkeologi dan fakta-fakta saintifik dikaji. Kesan dan tinggalan yang ada sehingga kini - peralatan, jarum, serpihan seruling, dekorasi dan hiasan peribadi - menunjukkan dari segi budaya dan sosial bahawa manusia sememangnya telah menjalani kehidupan bertamadun sepanjang sejarah.

THERE NEVER WAS A STONE AGE In the supposed period described by evolutionists as the stone age, people worshipped, listened to the message preached by the envoys sent to them, constructed buildings, cooked food in their kitchens, chatted with their families, visited their neighbors, had tailors sew clothes for them, were treated by doctors, took an interest in music, painted, made statues and, in short, lived perfectly normal lives. As the archaeological findings show, there have been changes in technology and accumulated knowledge over the course of history, but human beings have always lived as human beings. This Late Neolithic necklace of stones and shells reveals not only the artistry and tastes of the people of the time, but also that they possessed the necessary technology to produce such decorative objects. Pots, a model table, and a spoon dating to between 7,000 and 11,000 BCE provide important information about the living standards of people of the time. According to evolutionists, people of that age had only recently adopted a settled lifestyle and were only just becoming civilized. Yet these materials show that there was nothing lacking from these people's culture, and that they lived a fully civilized existence. Just as we do today, they sat at tables, ate using plates, knives, spoons and forks, played host to their guests, offered them refreshments-and in short, lived regular lives. When the findings are examined as a whole, we see that with their artistic understanding, medical knowledge, technical means and daily lives, Neolithic people lived fully human lives just like those before and after them. 12,000-YEAR-OLD BEADS According to archaeologists, these stones, dating back to around 10,000 BCE, were used as beads. The perfectly regular holes in such hard stones are particularly noteworthy, since tools made out of steel or iron must have been used to drill them. A 12,000-YEAR-OLD BUTTON Left: These bone buttons, used around 10,000 BCE, show that the people of the time had clothing with fasteners. A society that uses buttons must also be familiar with sewing, cloth making, and weaving. The flutes in the picture are an average of 95,000 years old. People who lived tens of thousands of years ago possessed a taste for musical culture. A 12,000-YEAR-OLD COPPER AWL This copper awl, dating back to around 10,000 BCE, is evidence that metals were known about and mined, and shaped during the period in question. Copper ore, typically found in crystal or powder form, appears in the form of seams in old, hard rocks. Any society that made a copper awl must have recognized copper ore, managed to extract it from inside the rock and have had the technological means with which to work it. This shows that they had not just recently been primitive, as evolutionists maintain. 9 TO 10,000-YEAR-OLD NEEDLES AND AWL These needles and awl, which date back to around 7,000 to 8,000 BCE, offer important evidence of the cultural lives of the people of the time. People who use awls and needles clearly led fully human lives, and not an animalistic existence, as evolutionists maintain.

Ribuan tahun dahulu, manusia tinggal di rumah, terlibat dengan pertanian, bertukar barangan, menghasilkan tekstil, makan, melawat kenalan, meminati muzik, membuat lukisan, merawat orang sakit, melakukan penyembahan - ringkasnya, mereka menjalani kehidupan normal seperti mana hari ini. Golongan yang memberi perhatian kepada ajaran nabi-nabi utusan Allah telah mengimani-Nya, Tuhan yang Satu, manakala golongan yang lain menyembah berhala. Orang beriman berpaut pada nilai moral seperti yang dikehendaki oleh Allah, sementara pihak lain terlibat dengan pelbagai amalan karut dan upacara menyimpang. Sepanjang sejarah, seperti mana hari ini, terdapat golongan yang percaya dengan kewujudan Allah, dan juga golongan pagan dan ateis.

Sejak dulu lagi, tentunya ada di antara manusia yang hidup serba ringkas dan dalam keadaan primitif, dan ada juga masyarakat yang hidup lebih maju. Tetapi ini sama sekali tidak membuktikan evolusi sejarah, kerana sementara satu bahagian dunia melancarkan kapal ke angkasa, masyarakat di satu bahagian lagi masih tidak dilengkapi dengan kemudahan elektrik. Walau bagaimanapun, ini tidak bermaksud bahawa mereka yang membina kapal angkasa adalah lebih maju secara mental atau fizikal - dan berkembang jauh dan lebih berbudaya - tidak juga bermakna golongan yang satu lagi hampir kepada manusia beruk khayalan. Semua ini sekadar menunjukkan perbezaan dalam budaya dan tamadun.