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RE: Gunpowder and Cannons at the Castle of Silves? LMAC #29
I recently read somewhere (I have no idea how you guys come up with quotes so easily) that some band of humans somewhere south of Europe had a DNA makeup that made them more war-like, less chimp-like, and that their murderousness spread first to Europe and then to the rest of the world as they murdered, raped and procreated their way into power, spreading that murderous DNA everywhere they went. Contrast this with images of quiet nature loving natives in all other parts of the world, and we can see where it all went wrong. Are we sunk?
Oh! I am interested in looking into this info a little further @owasco. Many, many things came to mind as I read your comment. As far as I understand chimps are incredibly violent and war-oriented. Please see J. Diamond & J. Goodall. Goodall for example, has written many accounts of chimps killing off individuals of their neighboring territory to usurp their land (her work mainly results from studies conducted through naturalistic observations).
Also, based on research I've conducted for my work, I have come across studies that challenges the view "images of quiet nature loving natives in all other parts of the world". There are anthropological studies suggesting that the migration of the ancestors of today's American Indians - 11.000 years ago to what is now 'the Americas' - was followed by the extinction of the big mammals (e.g. mastodonts, tapirs, mammoths) of North and South America within only a few centuries. This is accepted to be a cause-consequence phenomenon by some.
This is a compelling notion which contradicts that which suggests that those big mammals went extinct as a consequence of climate change. Many oppose to it. But, evidence supporting it becomes stronger and stronger over the years as they proceed to scrutinize it (e.g. excavation of Clovis's sites). This is not to say, of course, that native peoples don't have greater respect for nature than white European men. Still, the history of humans is one that is deeply intertwined with the history of destruction, especially the destruction of nature. No matter the their socio-demographic origins.
Are we sunk? No at all, we are, as a race, more peaceful and tolerant towards one another, as hard as that might sound (please, see S. Pinker's The better angels of our nature).
Ok @owasco, see how you get me going?? :D My goodness.
I better stop here.
Much love to you from across the ocean :*
Bye for now!!
Well that was my pleasure!!!
Perhaps I romanticize "native" persons. It's easy to discount nature and become inured to its destruction if you have little experience with it, just as it's easy to dehumanize people of a certain creed or persuasion if you have no contact with them.
I'll try to find the article I referred to.
This is true!! :)
All right it's Friday night!!
Off from social-media until Monday now :*