The history of mankind is divided into many periods. It is believed that this method allows you to better understand the past. The oldest periods in which humanity existed are called archaic. What this concept means and where it is used can be found in the article.
Translation and general meaning
The word comes from the Greek language and is translated into Russian as "ancient" or "ancient". What is the meaning of the word "archaic"? There are two of them in the dictionaries.
The first signifies an early stage in the historical formation of a phenomenon. The second meaning is described in more detail, since the so-called period in the art of Ancient Greece. That is, archaic is the period that preceded the classics.
Archaic period of Ancient Greece
The period was introduced by historians in the eighteenth century. It dates from 750-480 years BC. Such time frames were not taken in vain. The year 750 BC was the peak of a sharp increase in the Greek population and an improvement in its material well-being. The archaic period ended 480 BC, when Xerxes invaded Hellas.
Archaic is a concept about the culture of Ancient Greece. It arose as a result of the study of Greek art, namely, decorative and plastic.
Later, the concept spread to the whole history of art and the social life of Hellas. In the archaic period, there was a significant development of philosophy, political theory, poetry, theater, as well as the rise of democracy and the revival of writing.
Scientist Anthony Snodgrass criticizes the term "archaic" for the history of ancient Greece. For him, archaic is primitiveness, therefore it is unacceptable to apply such a concept to Hellas of that time. He considers this period the most fruitful in world history. What is this historical phenomenon in general terms?
Archaic culture
This period in its historical development precedes the civilized world. It is the earliest form of human collectivity with an appropriate culture and beliefs.
Archaic is a certain constant value, which guarantees a constant and stable reproduction of a sociocultural object. Time in this culture is an endless chain of return to the original sources. Thanks to this, the world never changes and remains at the stage of its appearance.
What is archaic for the spiritual world of man? It represents the absolute immutability of life. Its mechanisms protect a person from new patterns of behavior in the world. Sociocultural mechanisms impede the emergence of new desires.
The existing myth of a constant return to the roots gave a person of this period the opportunity to overcome the transience of his being. The world in this culture was distinguished by its orderliness. He remained the same as at the time of his creation from chaos.
The principles of archaic laid the foundation of ethnic cultures of human history. Archaic was finally introduced into the sphere of art during the New Age period.