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Transformational Narrative:
History of Storytelling
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HISTORY OF STORYTELLING

Storytelling, intertwined with the development of mythologies,[2] predates writing. The earliest forms of storytelling were usually oral, combined with gestures and expressions.[citation needed] Some archaeologists[which?] believe that rock art, in addition to a role in religious rituals, may have served as a form of storytelling for many[quantify] ancient cultures.[3] The Australian aboriginal people painted symbols which also appear in stories on cave walls as a means of helping the storyteller remember the story. The story was then told using a combination of oral narrative, music, rock art and dance, which bring understanding and meaning to human existence through the remembrance and enactment of stories.[4][page needed]

Groups of originally oral tales can coalesce over time into story cycles (like the Arabian Nights), cluster around mythic heroes (like King Arthur), and develop into the narratives of the deeds of the gods and saints of various religions.[6] The results can be episodic (like the stories about Anansi), epic (as with Homeric tales), inspirational (note the tradition of vitae) and/or instructive (as in many Buddhist or Christian scriptures).

With the advent of writing and the use of stable, portable media, storytellers recorded, transcribed and continued to share stories over wide regions of the world. Stories have been carved, scratched, painted, printed or inked onto wood or bamboo, ivory and other bones, pottery, clay tablets, stone, palm-leaf books, skins (parchment), bark cloth, paper, silk, canvas and other textiles, recorded on film and stored electronically in digital form.
DATABASES
Storytelling, intertwined with the development of mythologies,[2] predates writing. The earliest forms of storytelling were usually oral, combined with gestures and expressions.[citation needed] Some archaeologists[which?] believe that rock art, in addition to a role in religious rituals, may have served as a form of storytelling for many[quantify] ancient cultures.[3] The Australian aboriginal people painted symbols which also appear in stories on cave walls as a means of helping the storyteller remember the story. The story was then told using a combination of oral narrative, music, rock art and dance, which bring understanding and meaning to human existence through the remembrance and enactment of stories.[4][page needed] Groups of originally oral tales can coalesce over time into story cycles (like the Arabian Nights), cluster around mythic heroes (like King Arthur), and develop into the narratives of the deeds of the gods and saints of various religions.[6] The results can be episodic (like the stories about Anansi), epic (as with Homeric tales), inspirational (note the tradition of vitae) and/or instructive (as in many Buddhist or Christian scriptures). With the advent of writing and the use of stable, portable media, storytellers recorded, transcribed and continued to share stories over wide regions of the world. Stories have been carved, scratched, painted, printed or inked onto wood or bamboo, ivory and other bones, pottery, clay tablets, stone, palm-leaf books, skins (parchment), bark cloth, paper, silk, canvas and other textiles, recorded on film and stored electronically in digital form.
The evolution of storytelling in reflects how people learn and communicate. Through oral storytelling or written storytelling, the voice of narration will always have a way place and a purpose. Though the mediums have changed, the core concept of using a sequence of events in an exciting narrative has remained the same. Traditional Storytelling is how history was created and how it was developed. In the new generation of VR, we are taking bigger steps into the modern world and are creating a social aspect of storytelling. In some ways with the advent of VR in the modern era, we have circled back to visual storytelling as brands strive to find their narrative.
It is in our nature to tell stories and inform others of our life events. Storytelling, whether factual or fictional, is an intrinsic human characteristic. However, the way we communicate with others has changed drastically over time. Storytelling originated with visual stories, such as cave drawings, and then shifted to oral traditions, in which stories were passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth. There was then a shift to words formed into narratives, including written, printed and typed stories. Due to the use of advancing technologies such as the printing press, the camera and the internet and its social media platforms, the way we tell others stories and keep ourselves informed about current topics has shifted to a more all-encompassing experience. Technology has allowed humans to utilize all forms of storytelling through the years: visual stories in photographs, spoken stories in videos and recordings and written words on blogs and statuses.
When investigators looked at family groups within the 18 camps, they found that skilled storytellers had, on average, .53 more living children than other people. One reason for that is obvious: if you’re popular — and storytellers are — you’re more likely to have a partner. Another potential explanation is that the rest of the community is inclined to look favorably on the storyteller’s family and extend help when needed in the form of childcare, pitching in to look after a sick family member, or even offering financial or material support when necessary. Significantly, in the resource sharing game, it was storytellers who were likeliest to be recipients of rice. In the real world, all of this community support gives the children of the storyteller a small but real survival edge.
We do know that all cultures have told stories. Some of the earliest evidence of stories comes from the cave drawings in Lascaux and Chavaux, France. The drawings, which date as far back as 30,000 years ago, depict animals, humans, and other objects. Some of them appear to represent visual stories. It is even possible that the scenes depicted on those cave walls were associated with some kind of oral storytelling. Oral storytelling is telling a story through voice and gestures. Like storytelling itself, the tradition of oral storytelling is ancient and crosses cultures. The oral tradition can take many forms: epic poems, chants, rhymes, songs, and more. It can encompass myths, legends, fables, religion, prayers, proverbs, and instructions. Epic poems, like the Greek The Iliad and the Sumerian The Tale of Gilgamesh, were first recited and passed down by word of mouth, and only later written down. Similarly, Aesop—who, if he existed at all, hailed from around the sixth century B.C.E.—was probably a teller of tales. Later Greek writers mention him and his animal fables, but they originally belonged to the oral tradition. Other peoples, such as the Native American Choctaw, similarly have animal fables that were traditionally passed down orally. Like those of Aesop, the Choctaw animal fables are used to impart lessons. The Choctaw also historically told religious tales, like their creation stories, via the oral tradition. Today, of course, stories can be told orally, in printed or handwritten text, and via recorded sound and images. Regardless of the media, we are all consumers of story and always have been.
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