Archive for April, 2008

Scientists believe that early humans crossed the Bering Straits into what is now called Alaska about 20,000 years ago. Somewhat taller and more robust than their earlier counterparts, these humans had to concern themselves with keeping warm. They built sturdy huts (from animal hides wrapped around strong posts, bound together with sinew) with central hearths for winter quarters, made innovations in stitching their garments (bone needles with eyes in them, for instance) from animal skin and developed new methods of weaving cloth and better methods of tanning skins. In the summer, they followed the
herds and lived in easily moved tents.

As with their predecessors, the daily life of the Ice Age human centered primarily around the hunt. Game was plentiful and varied - large game birds, mammoths, caribou and bison flourished. It was at about this time that the bow and arrow was developed, allowing for greater flexibility in the hunt.

A more socialized tribal structure was developing. Art and story telling are said to have flourished, and items such as beads, shells and small carvings were used to barter for items, much in the manner
of modern currency. Based on some artifacts found, it seems religion also began to develop - carved female figurines known as “Venus figures” hint at Earth or Goddess worship.

The Ice Age human’s day began before sun-up. As with his predecessors, he shared hunting responsibilities with others of his tribe. The few not out hunting for the day would remain behind to
help protect the women and children from predators (bears and saber-toothed cats chief among them), to tan hides, cure meat, and assist in repairing huts. Others were responsible for making tools, spears, bows and arrows.

While the men were out hunting, women foraged for wild grains (such as wheat and barley), root vegetables (such as yams and wild potatoes) and assorted berries and nuts. They were also responsible for catching small animals (squirrels and hares) to help supplement the diet of the tribe. Like the men, they divided the labor - some women would forage, others would see to catching small prey, others would remain behind to mind the children and dogs (who were becoming domesticated around this time), grind flour for unleavened bread, cook, weave cloth from plants such as nettles, and sew garments and boots. Evidence indicates that nets and ropes were also made, to aid in the capture of small prey and in the catching of fish in coastal communities.

Tasks alternated daily to help provide a fair division of labor.

The hunters typically returned shortly before sundown with their catches, which were immediately skinned and cleaned, and portioned out for curing or cooking. Meals were communal, and consisted of that day’s kill, as well as the nuts, fruits and vegetables gathered that day.

In the evenings, those skilled at carving would take up their tools to create beads, decorative carvings, and figurines. Evidence points to some worship rituals that included the entire tribe, perhaps a collective giving of thanks. Most members of the tribe retired to sleep shortly after sundown, exhausted by the day’s strenuous activity. Bedding consisted of furs and skins, and exhibits at Chicago’s Field Museum indicate that sleeping arrangements began including raised beds fashioned from wood and rope at about this time.

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Police in Congo have arrested 13 suspected sorcerers accused of using black magic to steal or shrink men’s penises after a wave of panic and attempted lynchings triggered by the alleged witchcraft.

Reports of so-called penis snatching are not uncommon in West Africa, where belief in traditional religions and witchcraft remains widespread, and where ritual killings to obtain blood or body parts still occur.

Purported victims, 14 of whom were also detained by police, claimed that sorcerers simply touched them to make their genitals shrink or disappear, in what some residents said was an attempt to extort cash with the promise of a cure.

“I’m tempted to say it’s one huge joke,” Oleko said.

“But when you try to tell the victims that their penises are still there, they tell you that it’s become tiny or that they’ve become impotent.

“It’s real. Just yesterday here, there was a man who was a victim. We saw. What was left was tiny,” said 29-year-old Alain Kalala, who sells phone credits near a Kinshasa police station.

40,000 years ago
Somewhere in what is now called Europe
Spring

Dear Diary,

I rose shortly before the sun today to prepare for the hunt. It was very cool last night, still a little wintery, so I had to push several furs off to get up. Quietly, so as not to wake the rest of the tribe,
I pulled my fur raiments over my head, slipped into my tanned hide and fur foot coverings, and slipped out of the cave into the still morning air. It’s still too chilly to wear the woven material the women have been sewing garments from, even though the woven material is more comfortable and smells better.

My brother waits for me by a small fire. He has brought water from the stream to drink and there is dried meat and freshly caught fish for breakfast. I am famished, and eat quickly. My brother tells me
he has seen the large, fluffy creature again - a “bear”, he calls it. We have seen this creature attack the Horned Ones and eat them.

He is very frightening, this “bear”, so we must be extra vigilant. This creature may also hunt our own young. I do not know, I’ve only recently seen it about. He seems to fear the fire, I will remind my
wife to keep it burning. Perhaps we will eventually capture one of these ourselves - his fur appears thick and warm, and he is very large. He would yield enough meat for the entire tribe!

My brother has been up for quite some time, creating our spear heads from stone. He is adept at chipping bits of stone away with a larger stone to create sharp edges - he has made about a dozen new spearheads for us just this morning! I help him fasten these to sturdy shafts with lengths of sinew, then follow him into the woods as the sun rises. It is our task today to hunt a Horned One to feed the tribe.

We conceal ourselves silently in the brush, waiting for one of the many Horned Ones that live in the woods to come past. They are interesting creatures - nimble and graceful, a rich brown color, with
large, liquid eyes. The younglings have white spots on their backs that seem to vanish as they grow older. They are plentiful and keep our tribe well fed and warmly clothed. Presently, my brother spots a
large male ambling calmly along. He seems to be headed for the stream, so we follow silently, and dash ahead quickly and quietly as we are able.

My brother and I take up positions on either side of the animal,darting quietly forward, and we both strike at the same time. Success! The animal is quickly felled, and my brother and I each grasp a pair of legs and begin to drag him home. He is very heavy and the work is tiring, but we have a responsibility to the tribe to bring meat, so we continue in spite of our weariness and ease our growing
hunger with berries and leaves along the way.

When we return to the tribe just before dusk, the women are out with the children. Some are weaving plants into baskets to hold berries, nuts, and tools. Others are working with sharpened stones to carve shells and bits of tusk for adornments. An elder is seated near the fire, carefully grinding herbs for medicines - some in the tribe occasionally fall ill, and the elders have found plants that help ease
their discomfort. They spend a considerable amount of time searching for these plants, and have found that they work just as well when dried, which means we will have medicine during the winter months as well.

The children run in happy circles, their mothers ever mindful of them, and raise a great cry when they see us approach. They rush to us, all wanting to inspect our catch, all wanting to touch the fur. A small one cries out that the Horned One is still warm and jumps back in startlement.

It falls to us to skin and clean the Horned One. We attack the task quickly, removing the entrails and handing the hide off to the women to be cleaned and tanned. It will serve us well for sleeping furs or
raiments - which will depend on what we are in need of.

Other women come to take portions of the meat away to prepare for drying. Although the Horned Ones do not leave or hide in the winter months, they are less easy to hunt. We have no cover in those months, and often depend on the stores of dried food we have built up to survive the harsh winter. A little of each kill is set aside for this.

There is still much meat left, and my brother and I cut it into portions for cooking. The heads of each family within the tribe come for their share, and head off to begin preparing the evening meal. Each will roast his share of meat, and we will gather together to eat. The young ones cry out to hear the tale of the hunt, and my brother obliges them, regaling them in great detail with the story of our day’s task. The little ones are wide eyed and fascinated - I must interrupt my brother several times as he tries to insert a “bear” sighting into the story. We didn’t see a bear on the hunt!

He motions for me to be silent, and winks at the young ones who are watching him. He’s quite a story teller! I am not given to such antics, however. I prefer to draw. I retire to the cave, where many
of our tribe have already slipped into their sleeping furs - they are the ones charged with the hunt tomorrow, so they are sleeping early. Along one side, I have a small cache of stones and minerals, a few pigments. I take these to the Secret Place, well to the back of the cave, and through a treacherous tunnel. On a wall, I carefully sketch out the details of our hunt with my fingers, showing my brother and me with our spears at the moment we fell upon the Horned One. The Horned One is somewhat difficult to draw, but I am satisfied with my work and color him in.

It is late and I am tired. More and more of the tribe come into the cave to sleep. My wife and children have already nestled into their furs, spent from the day’s chores. I clean my hands on my garments,
creep back through the tunnel, and crawl under my sleeping furs. It has been a very good day, and I look forward to my rest.

The following information is being brought to you as a PSA from the WVb.

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“…If ever chased by a snake, which I find very hard to believe, run in a zig-zag pattern…”

http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/9003/dangers.htm

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“…There’s a little myth that snakes can outrun humans. If you are unlucky enough to be chased by a snake, the myth claims than you should run straight up the nearest hill, because snakes can’t go straight up, but have to weave back and forth across the track…”

http://www.abc.net.au/science/k2/moments/s641636.htm

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“…My mother would warn me that if I was ever chased by a snake I should run in a straight line, since snakes slithered from side to side — unless, of course, I happened to be running downhill. Then I should weave from side to side because a determined serpent would turn itself into a hoop by taking its tail in its mouth and roll down after me…”

http://www.endicott-studio.com/rdrm/forbiser.html

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If the tactics listed above do not work, you can always run around in circles and flail your arms about wildly. You may just scare the snake off, or convince him to bite you…. one or the other.