Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

In 3000 BC, artists, thinkers, lawyers, doctors and engineers (to what extent they existed) were all part of one (mostly parasitic, but in some ways quite useful) caste: priests.

People tend to think of ancient priests as charlatans, but they were also the people who held onto all the knowledge: that if you chew these "magical" leaves while tilling the fields, you don't get tired; if you plant when this "divine" star is rising, you get the best results. The emergence of artists, engineers, et al, apart from a priesthood didn't emerge until the birth of philosophy in the first millennium BC.



Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: