There is a conventional view of human history that sees a stuttering but relentless path of progress towards greater knowledge and progress. By this account, humans moved from a hunter-gatherer way of life to agriculture when they learned to cultivate plants and domesticate animals. By the same token, it was the invention of the steam engine and other technologies that made industrialisation possible.
There is no doubt that the accumulation of knowledge and technologies has been important but human beings have also made adaptive responses in the light of ecological pressures. Resource depletion and the need to find new ways to survive and flourish, in the context of a human growing population, were also key drivers of development. Technology supported these changes.
The point is that new circumstances challenged the established collective worldview. Substantial changes to social and economic structures result in changes to existing belief and value systems, and also changes in population health and well-being. Such changes are also reflected in changes in our sense of self and purpose in life, our individual consciousness. To help explain this we consider five different ages in human history, illuminated through the lives of five women living in Scotland, blending narrative with such evidence as is available.
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