We live in a world where we are surrounded by information. The knowledge that is available in this world is available to us readily, in a useable form, and timely. Information is available to us in more books than we can read, in more online databases that we can count, and in highly powerful and efficient search engines than we could have ever imagined. However, knowledge was not always passed down through print as we do today.
For many years, our ancestors passed down knowledge and information orally, through speech. Memorization of history, and legends was vital into preserving and transmitting this knowledge from one generation to the next. As humans developed more tactile methods of recording and preserving information, they began drawing symbols and pictures on caves, and tree bark. These forms were one of the earliest methods of recording history and knowledge that humans engaged; papyrus, clay tablets, parchment leaves and paper soon followed after.
The creation of early records were done so with the purpose of preserving and keeping track of government records, religious records, business records and household records. More specifically, what was recorded were the laws of the land, military information, population censuses, sacred laws, songs and rituals, Creation stories, legends of Gods and Goddesses, trade routes, goods and sales, inventions, formulas, trade secrets, genealogy trees, marriage information, property records, family recipes, history and literature.
Although the oral tradition has been very powerful, what is written down based on the oral tradition, and preserved in a sustainable form is what has survived the test of time. Writing down information is vital to its preservation, it must be written in a form that stands the test of time before it can be converted in a new medium.
Today much of our information is accessed online in digital formats, including online databases, blogs such as this one and social media.
Knowledge has always been created and preserved by humans for the purposes of sharing it, the history of our ancestors; our cultural legends have all been passed down through different forms. Without preserving information, our succeeding generations will have a harder time accessing this information. Although we think of the day and age we live in as modern, there will come a time when we too will be part of history – and the part of us that will remain for future generations to learn about, and learn from, are dependent on the knowledge and information we leave for them.
