Some people think that human history has been a journey from ignorance to knowledge. Others argue that this underestimates the achievements of ancient cultures and overvalues our achievements. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

Within the span of a few thousand years, humans have gone from using tools made of rocks to living in the skyscrapers. It is often debated whether our accomplishments are more valuable than those of our ancestors. In my opinion, they certainly are. The truth is in the

last

fifty years alone, humans achieved a lot more than what our ancestors achieved in 5000 years. The ancient man lived in the caves and had little understanding of the world outside. They used rocks to hunt animals. It took them centuries to learn the practice of farming.

However

, once they had enough to eat and a safe place to live in humans started making tremendous progress. Even today, many things that they achieved remain a mystery to us.

For example

, we still do not know how the great pyramids of Egypt were built with the minimal tools available during that era.

Furthermore

, prehistoric humans managed to travel the globe without access to modern navigation systems

such

as GPS and state-of-the-art ships. To illustrate, early humans relied solely on the stars to guide them in their travel and they shaped tree trunks to produce vessels to carry them across the oceans. Of course, their achievements cannot be undervalued. Yet, we have ample reasons to believe that the modern man has achieved a lot more. Today, the modern technology enables us to live a life better than what our forefathers lived. With the invention of the internet, we can now communicate with anyone, regardless of their geographical location.

For example

, Skype enables families to have a live video conference call that feels like everyone is in the same room.

This

was not possible ten or fifteen years ago.

Moreover

, in the past, humans rarely managed to live past 30 or 40 years, but today the average life expectancy in the developing and developed world is 70 years or above. People are now able to live much longer and healthier due to modern medicines and the knowledge of a better lifestyle. Obviously, modern technology enables us to enjoy many things that were not possible in the past. In conclusion, even though some achievements of our forefathers remain a mystery even today due to our lack of understanding of the early humans and their know-how, I strongly believe that today’s technology and our achievements are more valuable than what our ancestors achieved.