MEdia: Origins of Media Essay

Origins of Media

The Media is a medium of human communication. Media are everywhere, and we are just starting to understand it. Media are archaic.

However, the oldest recorded history of media, based on science, technology, and evolution, begins about 4.6 billion years ago. Yet, according to the Bible media and human communication began about 6,000 years ago.

Old world versus new world is a very controversial topic, especially within the walls of Tower Hall at the College of St. Scholastica. It seems that the best option for this assignment would be to side with the concept of new world, which is what ¾ of our Media Literacy class decided on for the Origins of Media Group Presentations. The one group in our class that decided against going with the idea of the new world theory was my group. However, our group does not deny that the world was created by God, which just say that based on the research we did media begins long before the time frame placed with in the Bible.

THE archive is the only entity that reminds us where we come from. The origins of media began with word of mouth. Through storytelling and oral tradition and the passing down of history from generation to generation as stories became twisted and changed and methods changed, we learned our first lessons of:  truth and deception. “(You are) lied to a lot more then you imagined.” This tradition of deception in our media has always been present, in the Garden of Eden Eve was tempted by the words told to her by the Serpent which opened not only her eyes, but Adams eyes to a new view of the world as we know it. But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”.. Book of Genesis

 Based on our presentation the world’s first documented  archives begins in the cave walls of Chauvet France, 3300 BC, with paintings of buffalo, hand prints, and other events of importance. Each hand-crafted documentation is designed with black and red pigment made from charcoal and red ocher. What is really interesting about the black pigment is it can be specially dated through a method of radiocarbon dating. It is possible to directly date the organic compounds found with in the black pigments through a process that separates the samples inorganic carbon which comes from the limestone. This method can go back thousands of years ago with year variations that a very similar to each other when compared.

            Next came the Egyptian Hieroglyphics which is a system of about 5,000 different characters that represented letters, sounds and/or icons. Hieroglyphics come from Greek words which mean “The sacred engraved letters” Hieroglyphics were inscribed on papyrus and clay tablets. It took centuries for other cultures to be able to understand the meaning of the Hieroglyphics; the code was finally cracked after the finding of the Rosetta Stone- which had a Greek translation on it.

One of the next methods that was mentioned by a couple different groups, that I thought was interesting, was the Greek method of Beacons. Beacons are from around 1200 BC, Beacons where a method of using fire to either sending information or be a form of defense. These fire Beacons were able to send signals that could be seen up to about 600 km away (about 373 miles).

From there come different methods of that eventually lead to the invention of the printing press, which revolutionized how we spread media today. The first printing press what invented by the German Johann Guttenberg in 1440 AD. The Printing Press was a device that had inked stamps that could be transferred on to some form of paper, this process made it possible to print precisely and rapidly. The printing press made it possible for making most people literate and was the first form of mass communication that could be spread through books and newspapers, which are still used today.

But what it all comes down to is what matters most is THE archive I know best and what matters most: Memories. Memories are what we know best, and is the only evidence I know best; I know that today media is Television, Radio, Film, Photography, and Internet. In my life everyday life my main mediums for communication are my Twitter, Facebook, cellphone, Skype, DVDs, and the Hermantown Star (my sister rights for it). Media has come a great distance from back whenever Media started, and I am looking forward to experiencing the new advances and changes in the way media effects my daily life.