Archaeologies of Consciousness — new book by Gyrus

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gyrus G
gyrus Jan 22, 2008 21:36:08
Replying to StoneGloves

StoneGloves wrote:
Hmm - looks like I've got some reading to catch up on. I follow the Australian aborigines in the newspapers and am informed by that.
The "take away" important point on that from the piece I linked to is that evidence of behaviour in contemporary indigenous cultures can't really be used to extrapolate about what they were like pre-colonialism (and even less so about what prehistoric cultures were like). Without getting into white guilt, it's common sense that cultures that have experience near- or as-good-as-genocide will be a bit more screwy and violent than those who haven't!

(Even as I write that, I think - good point, but what's our excuse? ;-)

S StoneGloves
StoneGloves Jan 23, 2008 12:13:41
Replying to gyrus

Well, it's worse than genocide, really - it's more agents of extinction - and I'll cite the Lesser butterfly orchid as an example. Calcareous Pennine meadows, in the damper, shaded spots. Nearly all gone now!

I have a carved stone from a probably Copper Age tomb. It's been buried and then 'unearthed' and the carvings, where undamaged, are fresh. One of the motifs, or objects, is unknown to date. Nobody wants to see it - which is a curious state. I wonder whether you could discuss that at the meetings. Thre rock is called Blackstone - about the size of a decent Wharfedale speaker box. I guard it!