Changes Over Time

During class on Thursday, we were put into groups to discuss certain parts of our reading assignment. My group talked about the anthropology part, and I found how our main topic of discussion really effects the outcome of future generations. Many people lived together, as a whole unit, having equal roles, for the most part, because all roles were important. Food was retrieved by the men, and while women stayed close to the home, taking care of the children as well as tending to some of the farming chores. This seemed like a good way of living, it was much like a hunter/gather style of living. Then when the concept of owning property came to be, things changed. Owning property was a big deal, because the parents wanted to pass their land down to their own kin, and not have other families children own the land. Along with owning property, brought about more tension in the "whole unit." It wasn't everyone helping everyone else anymore, it was everyone for themselves now. It's amazing what small changes can be put on a group, and how the dynamic changes so much. This kind of reminds me of when a third grade teacher decided to split her third graders into two groups, a group of blue eyes and brown eyes. This was to show the third graders about discrimination and racism, but it kind of has the same outcome. The third graders really started to turn against each other, and here the people are starting to turn against each other in the way that only their children can own their land. I am sure there are similar to this one as well, but as I said before, I found it interesting how much a difference can effect a group of people.