Re: The mistake of agriculture (was: evolution and diet)

From: Anders Sandberg (asa@nada.kth.se)
Date: Sat May 24 2003 - 09:24:39 MDT

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    On Sat, May 24, 2003 at 09:05:51PM +1000, Damien Broderick wrote:
    > At 10:27 AM 5/24/03 +0200, Anders wrote:
    >
    > >to my knowledge no
    > >hunter-gatherer societies did use writing until very recently, if at
    > >all.
    >
    > HG Australian aborigines (or Kooris) used what they now call `message
    > sticks', or tharunkas. I don't know more than that, but they were engraved
    > with what looks like code, but perhaps were sacred iconographic images or
    > maps passed along a liturgical `dreaming' track, rather than messages as
    > we'd understand them.

    Interesting reference. According to
    http://apc-online.com/twa/communications.shtml "They used message
    sticks carved with illustrations that reminded the carrier of the
    content of the message, and showed the recipient that the message
    was genuine. " They seem to have acted both as a memory aid,
    passport and authentification:

    http://www.culturelanguage.com.au/aborigines/signs_signals_and
    barter_ch30/

    "Message sticks were also very commonly used between tribes.
    Every tribe had its messenger, whose life was held sacred by the
    neighbouring tribe when in the performance of his duties, which
    were the conveyance of messages from the tribe to its neighbours
    concerning arrangements for places of meeting, either for fight
    or corroboree. And most of these messengers would carry with them
    message sticks-carved pieces of wood, flat or round, from four to
    six inches long, an inch wide, and a third of an inch thick. The
    edges of the flat stick carried by a messenger would be notched,
    and the surface covered with indented lines or squares, and
    coloured with red ochre. For a long time the whites thought that
    the notches and carving themselves formed the message, but it was
    subsequently discovered that the sticks were simply passports
    ensuring the messenger's safety through territory perhaps of
    hostile tribes across which he would have to pass before reaching
    the tribes to whom he was carrying the message. The messenger
    would generally carry the stick in his head-band, and kept note
    of the time occupied by the journey by marking one of his arms
    with a stripe of clay for each day, another man in the tribe also
    keeping tally in a similar manner. On arriving at his
    destination, the messenger would deliver his message to the most
    important men of the tribe, who listened with great interest, and
    ordered the women to supply the messenger with food, after which
    he would return to the quarters occupied by the single men, and
    silently await the answer to his message, upon receiving which he
    would return.

    Messengers were sometimes sent to absent friends bearing a string
    saturated with the blood of the sender, as an intimation to come
    to him speedily."

    Fascinating. Doesn't seem to be writing, but an interesting
    social system for message handling.

    -- 
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Anders Sandberg                                      Towards Ascension!
    asa@nada.kth.se                            http://www.nada.kth.se/~asa/
    GCS/M/S/O d++ -p+ c++++ !l u+ e++ m++ s+/+ n--- h+/* f+ g+ w++ t+ r+ !y
    


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