science

The Raven and the First Men

The Raven and the First Men is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand The Raven and the First Men rather than just read about it. In short: The Raven and the First Men is a sculpture by Haida artist Bill Reid. It depicts the Haida creation myth.

Key takeaways

The Raven and the First Men belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect The Raven and the First Men to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of The Raven and the First Men from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Raven and the First Men is a sculpture by Haida artist Bill Reid. It depicts the Haida creation myth. It was carved from a single block of laminated yellow cedar, beginning in the fall of 1978, and took two years to complete, with work completing on April 1, 1980. Raven and the First Men is depicted on the reverse of the former Canadian twenty dollar bill of the Canadian Journey series.

Background

Raven and the First Men depicts the creation myth of the Haida people. According to the myth, the Raven, the Haida Trickster, wound up on Haida Gwaii's Rose Spit Beach. He was alerted by some sounds to a large clamshell that had little creatures dwelling inside, reluctant to emerge from their shell. With some coaxing from Raven using his beak, and their curiosity about the outside world, the beings emerged from the clamshell to become the first Haida people. Raven came to realize that the beings that emerged were only men. He grew bored of seeing them play and exploring the world. Raven attempted to find women for the men within the clam. Finding a chiton, he opened one up and found little women living within them. He brought the women to the men, and enjoyed watching them and their behavior. They began to elope and move across to the other parts of the island. Raven never grew bored again with the humans and their families around.

Creation While living in Montreal, Reid began the sculpture with a miniature carving made of boxwood. The piece was inspired by the works of Haida artist Charles Edenshaw. The piece was entitled The Raven Discovering Mankind in a Clamshell, and was carved in 1970. Businessman Walter Koerner noticed the miniature and commissioned Reid to create a larger version for the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia. Reid travelled from Montreal to Vancouver in 1972 to start the commission. Another scale version of the sculpture made in onyx exists and both carvings are held in the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art. A miniature cast in gold was later auctioned off in 2005 for over $100,000. Work proved difficult, as a singular block of red cedar log was difficult to find without imperfection. 2.1 meter blocks were difficult to find because of the presence of rot and defects. A donation by Rayonier Canada of multiple yellow cedar beams which were laminated together with the assistance of Koppers International became the final medium for the sculpture. Carving began in the fall of 1978, the initial roughing of the shape was done with the assistance of Gidansda Guujaaw and George A. Norris. The men within the clamshell were carved by George Rammell and the final tool finishing being done by Reg Davidson and Jim Hart.

Reception Charles, Prince of Wales unveiled the Raven and the First Men on April 1, 1980. The sculpture was celebrated by the Haida people and their guests on June 5, 1980. It has since become a popular attraction to the visitors of the museum. Raven and the First Men was featured on the Canadian twenty-dollar bill in the Canadian Journey series of bills from 2004 to 2011. Reception has been positive, with one critic remarking that Reid combines European sculpture tradition with native Haida art.

Many experience delight while others are awed by the hovering supernatural Raven. Their responses affirm the power of Northwest Coast art to touch the emotions of people from different cultures.

Gallery

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with The Raven and the First Men

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what The Raven and the First Men claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to The Raven and the First Men before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about The Raven and the First Men ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of The Raven and the First Men

In research: The Raven and the First Men appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses The Raven and the First Men in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: The Raven and the First Men is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Colossal statues, Corvids in art, First Nations culture in Canada, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for The Raven and the First Men outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “The Raven and the First Men” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study The Raven and the First Men in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what The Raven and the First Men means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain The Raven and the First Men out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is The Raven and the First Men in simple terms?

The Raven and the First Men is a sculpture by Haida artist Bill Reid. It depicts the Haida creation myth.

Why does The Raven and the First Men matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study The Raven and the First Men?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on The Raven and the First Men.