ABSTRACT
Human beings are restless, striving creatures whose activities over the past 5,000 years
have altered the shape of the planet. Evidence of these changes, this reconstruction of the
environment, can be seen almost everywhere. Many factors-economic, political, social,
personal-have motivated these human efforts and creations, not the least of which is an
awareness of personal impermanence and the associated fear of death. Perhaps it is for
this reason that inventiveness and creativity seem to flourish during war, political
upheavals, and other periods of social unrest and insecurity.
