Primeval times
Primeval or prehistoric times denote very distant and elusive developmental periods of time for matter , the world and living beings . Primeval times is a common but unspecific term that is used primarily in popular science publications , but also in poetry and mythology . The word has been attested since the 17th century and appears more frequently from the 18th century, often with prepositions such as B. since ancient times.
The branch of science that also deals with the primeval times of the universe is cosmology . The earth and evolutionary history describe the long periods in which the planet Earth and its creatures developed their present form. The early days of man can be described as prehistory , with the development of anatomically modern man ( Homo sapiens) , among others, are concerned. a. the human history and human evolution .
An example of prehistoric times in mythology is the dream time of the Australian Aborigines .
The third stanza from Völuspá (German: The Seer's Face ), which is considered the most important poem of the Nordic Middle Ages and depicts the entire mythological world history from creation to fall, describes the original state of the world:
It was prehistoric times
when Ymir lived: there was
no sand, nor lake,
nor salt waves, neither
earth below
nor sky above,
yawning for no reason,
but nowhere was grass.
literature
- Primeval times. In: Jacob Grimm , Wilhelm Grimm (Hrsg.): German dictionary . tape 24 : U – Uzvogel - (XI, 3rd section). S. Hirzel, Leipzig 1936, Sp. 2613 ( woerterbuchnetz.de ).
Web links
- Germany in prehistoric times. On: planet-wissen.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ Primeval times. In: Jacob Grimm , Wilhelm Grimm (Hrsg.): German dictionary . tape 24 : U – Uzvogel - (XI, 3rd section). S. Hirzel, Leipzig 1936, Sp. 2613 ( woerterbuchnetz.de ).
- ↑ cf. z. B. Zdeněk Špinar, Zdeněk Burian: Life in prehistoric times. Urania, Leipzig 1975 or Dausien, Hanau 1976 (4th edition).
- ↑ 3rd stanza from The Seherin Face , from The Edda , transferred by Felix Genzmer. Volume 2: poetry of gods and poetry. New edition. Eugen Diederichs Verlag, Düsseldorf / Cologne 1963, p. 35.