9781422276600

Even nomadic people (people who travel constantly instead of settling down in one place) kept track of signs that the resources in a particular area might be running out or that the seasons were changing. For example, if the animals they depended on for food migrated (moved from one place or region to another), they followed them. These early communities were so in tune with the natural world that they first measured time by seasonal changes. In ancient Egypt, for example, they used to recognize three seasons—one when the Nile River flooded, one when the seeds were planted, and a third when the plants were harvested. Although basing a year on the changing of the seasons is a solar-based (Sun-based) way to track time, it is not as reliable as following a solar calendar. One reason is that the start and end dates of seasons have always been variable, depending on the location and that year’s climate. In addition natural events such as migrations or the date when a particular plant blooms vary from year to year. A community that based the beginning of spring on the arrival of certain migrating birds could not be sure that the birds would migrate on the same day every year. Within one community or a few communities that shared the same geographical and weather conditions, these seasonal variations in earlier civilizations did not cause much conflict. Practical decisions, such as when they should harvest the corn, did not require precision. In societies in which everyone made decisions together, the group usually shared kinship, that is, everyone in the group was related to someone else within the group. Peace and order were maintained by customs and codes of behavior. Joined together by their identity as a group, each person also shared the same way of looking at time, which made it easy for them to communicate with each other. In other early societies, a leader or leaders were given the job of making decisions that were important to the tribe. ■ Defining Time by the Phases of the Moon It is only recently that most people on the planet have been able to own clocks and other mechanical devices for measuring time. In ancient times, people in each region matched their celebrations and rituals to seasonal changes that were important to them. They named divisions of time based on festivals and tasks to be performed. Gradually, however, the idea of defining a specific time period for a year began to take shape. It is likely that the development of a standard calendar was motivated by economic change. When a tribe produced everything it needed, but no more, it did not need to interact extensively with people outside the tribe. Once the group wanted to be able to trade food or objects for something belonging to an outside group, each group needed to be able

Ringing in the Western & Chinese New Year

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