Paper 63 Overview: The First Human Family

This paper tells the story of Andon and Fonta, the first true human beings who lived about one million years ago. They were twins who decided to leave their animal-like tribe and start a new life. Their children and grandchildren formed the first human families on earth.

The paper also describes how early humans discovered fire, built shelters, and began to form communities. It explains how Onagar became the first spiritual teacher and helped the early human tribes to worship a single God whom they called the "Breath Giver."

Urantia became an officially inhabited world when the first two humans, Andon and Fonta, were eleven years old. An important message was sent announcing that human minds had appeared on earth. The names Andon and Fonta were special names that meant they were the first creatures to seek human perfection.

These names were given to them later when they received their Thought Adjusters, which are like spiritual guides. During their lives on earth, they called each other Sonta-an and Sonta-en, which meant "loved by mother" and "loved by father." These names showed how much they cared for each other.

Andon and Fonta were remarkable humans who were better than many of their descendants. They were very different from their ancestors and were the true parents of all mankind. They were superior to other humans in many ways.

Their parents were slightly more intelligent than average members of their tribe. Andon had learned to attach a sharp piece of flint to the end of a club, making a useful weapon. He used this weapon many times to save his life and his sister's life as they explored the world together.

Andon and Fonta decided to flee northward from their tribe because they felt they were different. They were afraid of making their father and family angry. They had built a separate tree home, which made them unpopular with their tribe of animal-like relatives.

One night during a storm, while holding each other in fear, they decided to leave their tribe. They had already prepared a hiding place half a day's journey away. They left at night, found their new home, and began their journey. Along the way, Andon discovered that flint stones could make sparks, which later helped them learn to make fire.

Almost two years after Andon and Fonta left home, their first child was born and was named Sontad. He was the first baby on earth to be wrapped in protective coverings at birth. This showed the beginning of human intelligence developing beyond animal instincts.

Andon and Fonta had nineteen children in all and lived to see almost fifty grandchildren and some great-grandchildren. Their family lived in four connected rock shelters. They were killed at age forty-two by a falling rock during an earthquake, along with five children and eleven grandchildren.

The early humans, called Andonites, had black eyes and dark skin. Their skin color was a mix of yellow and red, and they used animal skins for protection against the cold. They had about the same amount of body hair as modern humans.

The social organization of these early humans developed quickly as their brains and emotions grew. They were very loyal to their families and would die to protect their children. However, they did not understand the idea of making the world better for their grandchildren. They were emotional enough to develop religion but had not yet developed a sense of working for future generations.

The early Andon races did not travel far into Asia or Africa. Instead, they moved north as the ice from the third glacier slowly advanced. Before the ice sheet reached France and the British Isles, Andon's descendants had spread westward across Europe.

These early humans established more than one thousand settlements along the great rivers leading to the North Sea. The Andonic tribes lived along the Somme River in France for tens of thousands of years. They lived under cliffs along rivers and in hillside caves that gave them protection and a good view of approaching dangers.

As the Andonic peoples spread out, their cultural and spiritual status declined for nearly ten thousand years. Then Onagar became their leader, brought peace among the tribes, and led them in worshiping the "Breath Giver to men and animals."

Onagar was born 983,323 years ago and lived to be sixty-nine years old. He created a real tribal government, which was better than anything achieved for many thousands of years afterward. Under his leadership, these simple people developed a basic but real religion, which was later lost by their descendants.

Andon and Fonta, the founders of the human race, were recognized when the Planetary Prince arrived on earth. They eventually earned citizenship on Jerusem, a more advanced world. Although they have never been allowed to return to earth, they know about the history of the human race they started.

On Jerusem, both Andon and Fonta were joined with their Thought Adjusters, as were several of their children. They received permission to work on the first mansion world, where they welcome new arrivals from earth. They continue to serve in this role and wanted to send greetings to earth through this revelation.