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FROM PREHISTORIC
COMMUNICATIONS
TO NOWADAYS
We are presently
so much used to
television and
artificial
satellites that
it is somewhat
difficult to
imagine how life
was, at the very
beginning, in
the prehistory
of
communication.
Archeologists
found numerous
paintings on the
walls of caves,
such as the ones
in Altamira,
Spain. They were
reproductions of
ordinary scenes,
drawings of
hunters and the
animals known at
that time, as
well as the
different
activities
carried out by
the prehistoric
inhabitants. The
most remarkable
of these
pictures give
the impression
of being alive,
such strength of
every line and
the quality of
nature imitation.
Our illiterate,
barbarian
ancestors, just
starting to live
in groups, in a
sense practiced
journalism
because they
transmitted a
variety of news
to their
tribesmen and
interpreted this
with some
regularity. A
system of
signals and
sounds, orally
or otherwise,
was practiced by
the community.
Many musical
instruments had
their origin as
messengers, such
as the drum and
the horn.
The Greek used a
combination of
light signals (beacons)
to keep informed
on events which
took place at a
distance of
three or four
days travel.
Through the
description of
the First
Macedonic War,
we know that
Philip’s
soldiers were
guided by
torches placed
at Mount Tzé.
Despite the
darkness, the
torches
announced
special orders
to the Roman
Legions.
Among the
primitive means
of
communication,
there were also:
strings of
colorful knots,
used by the
Peruvians; belts
made of shells,
by the Iroquois;
the Egyptian
Hieroglyphs; the
Assirian
cuneiform signs;
Persian and
Aztecs
characters.
Before paper was
discovered,
elementary
information of
contemporary
events was
registered in
whatever
material the
natural
environment
provided: stone,
wood, clay,
fiber or animal
skin.
Nowadays, with
so many
resources, it is
really up to us
to make an
effort to
communicate well
in our everyday
life, taking
advantage of all
the available
help. Newspapers,
most specially,
and other
periodicals,
update
everyone’s
knowledge, along
with radio and
television
programs. There
is no publishing
house capable of
competing at the
same speed in
the presentation
of what goes on
in the world
today…. The pace
of modern life
is such, and the
progress of
science and
technology so
fast, that a
book may carry
outdated
information at
the very moment
it appears on
the market. At
the same time,
we all need a
certain amount
of data, though
we differ in our
specific needs.
When people are
limited by a
tight budget,
they still
should not
forget how
important it is
to grow
intellectually.
We should all
have the healthy
habit of
visiting the
local public
library on a
regular basis.
There, we may
enjoy the
privilege of an
exclusive,
personal
interview with
VIPs living
close or far
away. Ordinary
people will also
share their
experience and
ideas.
Due to the
progress of
communications,
all fields of
human knowledge
benefit at high
speed from any
development,
wherever it
takes place. An
advancement in
science,
registered in
one country,
when known by
researchers all
over the world,
gives immediate
answers or
alternative
solutions to
problems they
were
encountering.
Like a team,
scientists
unknown to each
other may work
together towards
the final
solution they
have been
seeking. And
their victory is
ours!
Theresa
Catharina de
Góes Campos
Charlottetown -
Prince Edward
Island, Canada (September,
1971) |
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