For those of us who have taken a gander at either the Torah, the Bible, or the Quran, you may have noticed that somewhere within its contents, it claims to have recorded a lineage of people who have lived for what appears to be an absurd number of years.
According to Biblical scholars, Noah himself apparently boarded the ark when he was 600-years-old.
If you were to refer to these religious texts, then the oldest person who has ever lived was Methuselah.
Also spelled as Methushael, he has recognised in tradition and legend as having lived up to 969 years – nearly a full millennium!
Of course, there is no actual proof that this mythical figure existed, and if he truly did live to that age.
At least, none that exist as of the present that can be cross-referenced and confirmed via archeology outside of religious texts.
But the idea of being able to survive that long as an event worthy of celebration and respect is certainly hard-coded into our cultural and social memory.
Just take a look at ancient and modern media – across all mediums, modern stories, folklore, and myths, you will see the archetype of a wizened old mentor figure.
Often, this figure is undeniably ancient and full of wisdom, ready to pass it on down to the younger generation – usually the heroes.
Looking at history, we can certainly see why that is the case. Although we are used to seeing plenty of elderly people these days, in the past this was not quite the case.
A lack of effective medication, unhygienic living standards, and a hard lifestyle made it so that not many people would live to see old age.
As such, these elderly people in a community or society gained a status of reverence befitting the knowledge and history they have surely accumulated over the decades.
They often end up being celebrated historians and storytellers!
Thanks to modern medicine and better nutrition, humanity’s expected lifespan is longer than it has ever been.
Even so, we still can’t help celebrate those among us who are older than the elderly – after all, to live past a century is certainly no mean feat!
As such, it is no wonder that the entire country of Bolivia came out to celebrate Julia Flores Colque’s 118th birthday.
Born in 1900, Flores is not the only centurion in the country. She has company in another man named Zenon Villca Flores, who is also of the same age.
However, where Flores sticks to the same simple diet he has eaten most of his life, only switching from quinoa to ground wheat juice as he aged, Colque clearly knows how to live her life.
Not only did she enjoy cake on her birthday, she also spent her special day playing the charango and celebrating with friends and family.
As she should! She may not be the oldest living person in the world, but she certainly is one of the oldest there is.
Hopefully she will continue to stay healthy and strong in her old age!
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