The Tides of Culture
In almost every branch of this fascinating science, archeology has been
the handmaid of revelation. Even more, it has acted as a beacon to
illuminate the pathway to God, which men call the Bible. The problem of
the antiquity and culture of man was the battleground of infidelity
which the skeptical chose to demonstrate the fallacy of the Bible’s
claims to supernatural origin.
If it can be proved by the aid of science that the human race is older
than is implied by the Genesis account of creation, and if it can be
shown that man has ascended from a dim and brutish ancestry, instead of
being created perfect by the hand of God, the foundation would
admittedly be swept from beneath the Scripture, and the entire structure
of revelation collapses. However, this unwarranted attempt to confuse
the issue and refute the Scripture, is manifestly unfair to science. It
is not too much to say that this is a debasing of the highest labors of
human mentality. Research, in the exact sense of the word, cannot be
used legitimately to establish a pet theory to which the advocate clings
without regard to evidence in the case. The attempt to demonstrate the
organic evolution of man belongs in the realm of philosophy and not of
science. The work of science is the correlation of facts. The sphere of
philosophy is the interpretation of facts. In all of this controversy,
we are not debating the facts of humanity, but are at odds concerning
the application of those facts. The real issue then is not the
_antiquity_ of man, but the _origin_ of man!
In the hope of obscuring the manner of origin, the enemy of our faith
has sought to raise the dust storm of antiquity. It is here more than
anywhere else, that archeology has been such a tremendous aid to the
establishment of the truth. This science has demonstrated the premise of
the Scripture, namely, the fixity and origin of our species. As far back
as the spade has been able to thrust the history of humanity, we find
the same types and varieties of the human family that exist upon the
earth today. Since we are covering this problem of antiquity and origin
in the sixth volume of this series, we will hasten on with this brief
statement of the issue involved. We will later show that all of the
statements made in the text of the Scripture concerning the degeneration
and moral collapse of humanity have been abundantly demonstrated in the
realm of archeology. Further, the claims that we make as to the
historicity of the Bible can be demonstrated satisfactorily in one
single field; namely, the recording of the story of man and the care
used by the Scripture writers in the exactness of their statements. In
this display of historical accuracy, the writers of the Bible have
incidentally repudiated the entire philosophy of organic evolution. It
is not too much to say that no single evidence derived in the entire
realm and history of archeology has sustained the theory of organic
evolution. Remember that we are dealing specifically with evidence. If
the evidence is rightly interpreted and honestly implied, item by item
and in the aggregate mass, it refutes the entire fallacy of this weird
philosophy.
Since it deals with the realm of human history, archeology is the final
voice as to the antiquity and culture of man. No race of man has ever
lived upon the face of this earth and failed to leave some relics or
evidences of its existence and culture.
The science of anthropology postulates the beginning of the human family
somewhere in Mesopotamia. The Bible is a little more specific, in that
it states that it was in that portion of Mesopotamia which lies between
the two rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates. The oldest relics of man,
however, are not found in Mesopotamia. This is due to the climatic
conditions in certain parts of that ancient land. The rainfall is heavy.
We have ourselves suffered great inconvenience, delay, and loss by being
isolated from our objective in Mesopotamia by floods that filled the
wadies and gullies and made travel impossible. Also, the outlying
country is underlaid to a great extent by water. When excavators dig but
a short way into the strata of that land, they are handicapped and
hindered by seepage. Because of this excess moisture, some of the oldest
relics of our race have been destroyed by the ravages of time and the
power of the elements.
The situation in Egypt, however, is quite the opposite. In most of that
land there is no rain and in no part of that bleak country do we
experience frost. The climate is dry to the utmost extreme, and the soil
is largely sand. Due to this natural condition, the oldest records of
the human race are found in Egypt. The oldest records of man and the
most complete records so far recovered of his early existence have been
preserved for us by this combination of climate and soil. Since the
Egyptians buried in sand or in stone tombs, the deposits being protected
from the elements, man was the only destroyer. Even though there has
been a sad record of vandalism, as ruthless hands of the ignorant have
despoiled magnificent tombs of priceless records and information, there
is much that remained undisturbed. The people of Egypt built for
endurance. The mighty pyramids, from Sakkara to the Great Pyramid; the
Colossi at Luxor and the awe-inspiring ruins of Karnak, are present
evidences of the durability of their labors. (See plates 2, 3 and 4.)
Because of the strange beliefs concerning the life after death, these
people also buried for eternity. We shall later consider, in the light
of their customs and religious practices, the tremendous value that
modern civilization has derived from this ancient fact. We have
mentioned this fact now merely to note that the greatest treasure trove
of preserved antiquity is found in the land of Egypt.
Plate 2
[Illustration: Magnificent example of embellished statue, conveying
the name, hopes, and some of the record of an early ruler]
[Illustration: Colossi at Luxor]
[Illustration: The Sheltered Wife]
Strangely, in view of the consistent demands of the evolutionary school,
we find no evidence of human evolution in the land of Egypt. More than
this, the doctrine that man began with a brutish intellect and gradually
developed his high and peculiar culture, is refuted by the evidences
from this country. In fact, the contrary is strikingly the case. Instead
of proving a process of evolution, the history of man as found in the
archeology of Egypt is a consistent record of degeneration.
The eminent Sayce, one of the ablest archeologists in the whole history
of that great science, expressed his wonder and amazement at the high
stage of culture met with in the very earliest records of the Egyptian
people. Other authorities, such as Baikie, have written voluminously
upon this subject. It had been hoped that when excavators finally
reached undisturbed tombs of the first dynasty, they would find
themselves in the dawn of Egyptian culture. It was our fortunate
privilege to be at Sakkara a year ago when the first complete and
unmolested tombs of the first dynasty were uncovered. It was our
privilege to keep a close check and watch upon all that was done at that
time, and the conclusions and postulations of hopeful theorists were
utterly shattered in such discoveries as were made.
Indeed, we can no longer start Egyptian culture with the beginning of
the dynastic ages. Through the first tombs, we peer back into an older
preceding culture that dazzles and amazes the human understanding.
Instead of finding the dawn of a developing humanity, we see mankind
already in the high noon of cultural accomplishments. Instead of nomadic
dwellers in shaggy tents, we look upon works of enduring stone. Instead
of brutish, Egyptian ancestral artifacts, we find a pottery culture that
is really superb. It almost seems that the farther back we go into
Egyptian antiquity, the more perfect was their culture and learning. The
art of writing was the common possession of the Egyptian in the
pre-dynastic period.
It is true that there was a so-called stone age in Egypt, which preceded
the first dynasty. We are showing here, however, a photograph of one of
the most ancient open burials ever discovered in Egypt. This is
accompanied by various heads of mummies, to show the state of
preservation. (See Plate 5.) Before the art of embalming was invented
and the dead were mummified, they were buried by intrusion in the dry
sands. You will note the perfection of the culture of this people as
depicted by the pottery undisturbed in this grave. In contrast to this
type of burial, the mummies shown in this same plate are no better
preserved than the earlier burial. Indeed, there is no evidence to show
that these cultures were consecutive rather than contemporary. In
various sections of Egypt it is quite probable that different burial
customs prevailed simultaneously, and it is a pure speculation to say
that the more primitive type of burial is ages older than the advanced
style.
There are many anomalies and mysteries in this so-called stone age in
Egypt. In the museum at Cairo there will be found some of the most
remarkable specimens of stone flaking to be seen on the face of this
earth. Others may be seen in the British Museum, in the various exhibits
of Egyptian culture. One of these knives is equipped with two points,
and all of them are equally sharpened on both edges. In the author’s own
gatherings from the various stone cultures of mankind, there are
something over 25,000 artifacts. We have seen every important collection
of stone implements in the present world, but these specimens from
ancient Egypt are unquestionably the most magnificent types of stone
culture we have ever been privileged to observe.
The significant and startling fact is that these stone knives have
handles of beaten gold. At once we are impressed with the anomalous fact
that the stone age was thus synonymous with an age of metal.
Furthermore, it was an artistic age. The golden handles on these stone
weapons are engraved with scenes common to the life of the people. On
one side of the stone dagger with the double points, there is a sailing
vessel typical of the pleasure craft that were common to all ages of
Egyptian life. On the raised deck of this boat, dancing maidens were
entertaining the circle of spectators. This work was not crude and
brutish, but showed a high development of the engraver’s art. The
reverse side of the handle was even more interesting in that it
contained, in beautifully incised characters, the cult sign of the
owner.
Here is, indeed, a weird super-imposition of ages and cultures. The body
of the weapon is of a stone age; the handle of the weapon is of an age
of metal; the engravings upon that metal show an age of art and the
possession of written characters. There is no comfort for the
evolutionary hypothesis in the antiquity of Egypt. The contrary rather
is the case. There is a strange tide sweeping through the record,
portraying an ebb and flow of culture that is fascinating to observe.
The culture of Egypt starts on a magnificently high level and is later
reduced to a tremendous degree by a consistent record of degeneration.
It might be said that by the end of the fourth dynasty, the people had
reached the high peak of Egyptian art and learning. But after the sixth
dynasty had well begun, a definite decline and retrogression had set in.
We find ourselves then groping in a dark age wherein were no arts and no
written history. No great monuments come from that period, and no great
buildings were begun, repaired, or finished. Writing became extremely
scarce and in many sections of the land the art seems to have been
completely forgotten. As in the dark ages of medieval Europe, learning
was in eclipse and the mental life of man degenerated. Just when the
renaissance began, it is impossible to say, but in the eleventh dynasty
we are suddenly back into the light again.
Egypt emerges from those dark ages, ruled by powerful feudal lords, with
the pharaohs appearing to be mere figure-heads. These great barons left
voluminous records, which depict their conquests and their powers, and
tell of their own individual greatness. They constructed magnificent
tombs for their eternal rest, and the land blossomed culturally under
their dominion.
These conditions prevailed until the coming of the Hyksos dynasty. These
conquering kings were of Semitic origin and they seem to have come from
the region of Ur. After this conquest, Egypt suddenly became an
unlimited monarchy. The great lords became landless, stripped of their
power and robbed of all authority. The people literally passed into the
possession of the crown, and Egypt became a nation of slaves who owed
their very existence to the royal head of the government. The reason for
this change will be made manifest later in this present work. We are now
interested only in presenting these strange cycles of culture as shown
by archeology.
It would take many volumes to give a detailed picture of the early
golden age in Egypt. As an illustration of the art and development of
that culture, we refer the reader to the tomb of a court official at the
dawn of the sixth dynasty. Buried with this minor official were certain
small wooden effigies depicting customs, trades, and tools of his day.
There were porters laden with their heavy burdens. There were scribes
bearing stylus and plaque. Certain tradesmen were found in these
brilliant statuettes, each man’s craft being shown by the tools that he
carried in his hand. Priests appeared clad in their pontifical robes.
Perhaps the most interesting of all were the statuettes of candy
vendors, each man equipped with his tray of sweets, and a horsehair tail
wherewith to fan the flies. Some of these statues were so perfect in
their execution that the eminent Phidias might well have envied their
perfection. When we compare this art and culture with the so-called
pictures of brutish cave-dwellers, we have one more failure in the
collapsing chain of evidences that was supposed to show man’s constantly
advancing culture.
We might also give, by way of illustration, the magnificent statue of
Kephren. This memorial was exquisitely carved from stone so hard that it
would blunt most modern tools. Kephren constructed one of the pyramids
at Giza. This latter work was notable in that there were evidences that
some of the stones had been cut with what appeared to be tubular drills.
Since this is possible in our modern culture with the use of
diamond-pointed instruments, there is food for considerable thought and
speculation as to the culture and learning of Kephren’s age! As a
general statement, it is not too much to say that the farther back we go
into Egyptian antiquity, the more perfect the arts and culture in
general seem to be.
When we compare, for instance, the brilliant workmanship of the
priceless pectoral of the daughter of Usertesen (or Usertsen) with the
crude and amateurish workmanship of the jewelry of the later queen
Abhotep, it is evident that the centuries brought retrogression. The
reign of Usertesen may be correlated with the early period of the
patriarchal age, which fact has an important bearing upon our study. The
hopeful critics of the Book of Genesis have postulated for the age of
Abraham a barbaric lack of culture comparable to the nomadic tribes of
Arabia in the Middle Ages. We now see, however, that the entire age of
the patriarchs was a period of exquisite culture and high learning. To
refer again to Usertsen, he seems to have been a capable strategist, and
his system of working out his plan of battle was something like the game
of chess. His artists had made for him models of the various kinds of
soldiers that made up his variegated corps. The bowmen were armed with
exquisite miniature weapons that had, to our delight and wonder, been
preserved against all the passing centuries. The black troops that he
used, of whatever origin, were carved from a wood like our ebony, and
the tiny features were negroid in faithful representation of the
difference between the races of men employed in his army. These model
soldiers could be moved about a board which depicted the terrain of
battle, and his strategy thus wrought out. Our present point, however,
is the artistic perfection of the models of the soldiers that he used.
The art of his age was as nearly perfect as one could wish.
Then there came another cycle of retrogression and decay which climaxed
in a period of cultural darkness that reigned too long over that ancient
people. It is highly significant, for instance, that the best glass of
Egypt is dug from the more ancient sites. There came a time when the art
of making glass was forgotten by the people of Egypt and had later to be
rediscovered by other races.
If there is one voice that can be heard in archeology, and one lesson
that can be specifically learned, it is the certainty of the fallacy of
the theory of evolution. Egypt, as elsewhere, shows us no dim, brutish
beginning, but a startling emergence of this people in a high degree of
culture. No gradual ascent up the ladder of learning, but cycles of
retrogression and advancement, followed by decay: then a new dawning of
art and science. The entire record of archeology is thus a complete
vindication of the premise and basic contention of the inspired record
of God’s Word. No greater voice may be heard in our day than this
definite, adamant cry from Egypt, which depicts cycles of culture that
begin with a crest of learning. It must not be presumed that this
condition is unique in Egypt, or peculiar to any one race or country.
The same queer discrepancy between the fallacious theories of the
philosophy of organic evolution and the facts of human history is
observed wherever archeology has been able to hold the torch of
discovery over a given area.
We have illustrated, for instance, in Plates Number 6 and 7, one of the
most interesting of the exhibits in the British Museum. This is a stone
weapon from the archaic ages of the Chaldeans. It consists of a mace
head, made of limestone. Incidentally, this was a very common type of
weapon among those people in their warlike culture. The particular one
that is illustrated is typical of its time. Note that it is a STONE AGE
WEAPON.
A note of wonder is caused in our inquiring minds by the odd and utterly
incompatible fact that it is engraved clearly in high relief, thus
testifying to the fact that in the archaic stone age of Babylon, men who
wrought in a time when the evolutionary advocates demand a dim and
brutish stage of development were already gifted in the art of
sculpture!
To complicate the case still further, they were possessed as well with a
highly developed written language! Their stone implements are in some
instances crude, as they did not spend time polishing and decorating
rude tools that were used for a base purpose. Others of their artifacts,
like this stone mace head, are not only covered with finely sculptured
figures but are also inscribed with written characters that are clear
and well executed. A “stone age” with a written culture, scholars, and
books, is an anomaly, indeed!
Where, then, in the light of these archeological facts, is the evidence
of the slow development of the human mentality and the emergence of
primitive man from his “brutish” state? Unfortunately for the
high-priests of the dying sect of organic evolution, the science which
delineates the true condition of ancient races offers them no help or
proof whatever. The opposite is the case in archeology, as _all_ the
evidence that has come to us from the honest attempt to see man as he
was, and not as he was reported to have been, has proved conclusively
that organic evolution is a false religion. It is inevitable that this
fact should some day come to light; for although it may be that science
moves with leaden feet, when it does finally overtake error, it smites
with an iron fist!
Thus the false theory that man has struggled upward from a valley of
brutish darkness is refuted by archeology, and the premise of specific
creation, as set forth in the Bible, is established by the discoveries
in the realm of this science. In every land that man has occupied for a
long period of time, the tide of culture has ebbed and flowed from that
hour to this present moment of writing. Just as the night follows the
day, and the next day dawns only to be succeeded by the darkness in
turn, so the learning and progress of man has been a cycle, rather than
a steady climb up a ladder of learning, from level to level, until the
heights of present civilization were reached. The old error must now be
abandoned, or else we must close our eyes to the entire record of
archeological discovery, and frankly confess that we are not interested
in facts which refute erroneous, but accepted theories.