A recent school assignment brought to my attention how important humor is to my identity; it seems a good indicator of a person’s views, and is pretty essential to being human. So that got me thinking: if humor is such an integral part of my life and others today, what were tastes like hundreds or thousands of years ago?
What is the oldest piece of literature you guys can find with a joke or two mentioned?Well, I’m pretty sure there were some belly laffs in some of the ancient Greek playwrights’ work Was Aristophanes a writer of comedy? I can never keep those wacky Greeks straight…
Yes, Wargamer, he was. One of his most famous works is Lysistrata which is a story of how Athenian women stopped a war with Sparta by refusing to have sex with their husbands. It was written around 411 BC. Anyone got an older story? I seem to remember some rather humorous norse myths. When were those written?
I still think my contribution was the definitive answer. 
Agreed!
A recent article in Smithsonian by Judith Stone lists this Egyptian gem from 2600 B.C.:
Cecil did a question on jokes in the Bible a while back:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_244.html
Some of the Old Testament stuff could date to before the first millennium BC. I’m glad to say I think humour’s evolved bit since then…
Is it fair to say humour is stronger or more evolved than ever? If so, will we as a species just get funnier and funnier or will we reach some sort of humour saturation level?
Close, but the oldest known humor is where one says “I’m gonna get you!” as you tickle a baby. Baby laughs. Humor works. It’s the original giggle.
Something tells you they hadn’t quite gotten the idea of a “punchline” together yet.
Who cares? Women in fishnets! They had the important things figured out.
“Stand back! I don’t know how big this thing gets!”
“Walk this way.”
A Cromagnon and a Neanderthal walk into a cave …
“Is that a club under your bearskin or are you just pleased to see me?”
Me wife so fat when she sits around the cave she sit AROUND the cave. Me be here all hunting season. Good night.
Try the mammoth…
“Pull my finger…”
“I see the snake in the tree, Adam, but what’s that under your figleaf…?”
UG! UG! BANG BANG! UG UG!
(penis ensues…)