Social Cuntstruction

h2origins:

The human species originated in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa. When we evolved there 200,000 years ago, the entire valley was flooded. Our natural habitats were wetlands, swamps, and inland seas. Today, there are still tribes who inhabit the cradle of humankind. Many of them live just as our early ancestors did 200,000 years ago. They can catch fish without hooks or nets. They rely more on their biology and not on technology.

[my embolding, for emphasis]

OH MY GOD NO.

Cultures are not static. They change according to environmental, social, political, economic, ideological, and population factors. Just like groups from any other part of the world, the societies of the Great Rift Valley have experienced change over time. Political organization, family structure, medical treatment, perceptions of time, and religious beliefs are just some of the non-material aspects of a society that shift over time. Simply because a group is using a seemingly similar subsistence strategy as their ancestors does not mean that they live “just as our early ancestors.”

It’s also demeaning to say that these groups rely more on biology than technology. Technology is the manufacture, use, or manipulation of a tool. A tool can be anything from a cooking utensil to a boat paddle, both of which I’m pretty sure are used on a daily basis in the Great Rift Valley. Societies in this region aren’t any less modern than their neighbors, they are simply using a different type of technology to fulfill social and biological needs. To say that they rely more on their biology is to diminish the complexity and imply that they are “primitive”.

Debbie Harry for Vogue Spain, May 2013

bluedodi:

Beaker Burial Mound Unovered in Scotland

Human remains and earthen vessels dating to the Bronze Age ‘Beaker’ settlers were uncovered at Duns Law, in southeast Scotland. The finds are estimated to be 4500 years old.
Simon Brassey, Scottish Water’s specialist engineer on their environment team said: “Whilst stripping back the topsoil to prepare the ground for the new water mains being laid, the team uncovered some significant archaeological findings adjacent and outside of the scheduled monument of Duns Law Fort and Camp, north of Duns in the Scottish Borders.”
The finds include the cremated bones of a woman and other fragments of human bone from at least two other adults and a juvenile. Up to seven earthen vessels from the Beaker era were revealed, each decorated with comb-impressions with different geometric patterns. A stone axe was also found.
The burial pit involved a complex construction process and probably encompasses several different periods. It was first dug, then two small shallow scoops excavated at the base of the pit where the vessels containing the possessions of the Beaker dead were placed and covered over. Large angular stones were also sunk into the pit. It is thought that when filled, the pit may have had a mound or cairn over the top to denote the burial ground.
Edited from The Berwickshire News (11 May 2013)