Re: CPTBIL's mention of Aztec pictographs in SE Arizona
“Do you believe that a Neanderthal man could assemble a bicycle on a Christmas morning?”
In all honesty it would be unlikely that he could have. However we have to take into account that a bicycle would have been something alien to Neanderthal man.
I remember watching a documentary a few years back now, entitled Baca ? People of the rain forest. I recall these people who had no contact with the world beyond their own. The documentary maker had with him a razor and mirror to shave and these people were intrigued and watched in awe as the man shaved whilst looking at the image of himself in the mirror.
To say these people were/are living a primitive life would be an understatement, however we must also consider that although they were/are living such a primitive existence that they are also modern human beings.
I would venture a guess that a package containing all the parts needed to assemble a bicycle would remain a package of parts given to these people to assemble.
That in no way detracts from the fact that they had indeed used their brain power in other ways. I seem to recall them mashing the roots of a plant that grew by the river and placing the mash into woven baskets which they dipped in to the river upstream of where the women would be waiting in the water to catch the fish that had surfaced as the water had been depleted of its oxygen content, sure beats a rod and line.
I guess their lives have now been influenced in ways that will further change the way they live, if I recall correctly the producer gave these people Manchester United football shirts which they eagerly wore, prior to that they were completely naked.
( I guess if they knew who Manchester United are they would remove them with equal vigour)
On the note of the apes and building rockets and moon landings we should consider that not so far back in our own history (lets say stone age man), we did no more than look up at the sky at night and only boggled at the big ball that changed shape.
A few thousand years later and APEollo lands on the moon.
How exactly did our “stone age past” begin ? Did we pick up a rock and whack a nut shell to get to the contents inside ?
For if that was our stone age beginning then I believe we are witnessing our own past in the behaviour of some of our ape cousins. Stone tools being used by chimpanzees dates back over 4000 years. More recently a remote troop of chimpanzees has been discovered using many tools which include stones, straws, clubs and spears. These tools have also been used by other chimpanzees remote from each other.
We are looking at relatively modern history and I would guess that the modern chimp although not as closely related to our ancient ancestors as we are, exhibits much more of the same behaviours of our ancestors than we do today.
Evolution could one day put the chimpanzee on the moon in his own rocket, in much the same way as we evolved from cracking nuts with rocks.
It would appear to me that the branch from our common ancestor Hominini, has put the chimpanzee in a kind of “retardation phase” of its technological advancement.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimpanzees#Evolutionary_relationships
“A University of Chicago Medical Centre study has found significant genetic differences between chimpanzee populations.”
“Different groups of chimpanzees also have different cultural behaviour with preferences for types of tools.”
“Chimpanzees make tools and use them to acquire foods and for social displays; they have sophisticated hunting strategies requiring cooperation, influence and rank; they are status conscious, manipulative and capable of deception; they can learn to use symbols and understand aspects of human language including some relational syntax, concepts of number and numerical sequence; and they are capable of spontaneous planning for a future state or event”
“One of the most significant discoveries was in October 1960 when Jane Goodall observed the use of tools among chimpanzees. Recent research indicates that chimpanzee stone tool use dates to at least 4300 years ago. A recent study revealed the use of such advanced tools as spears, which common chimpanzees in Senegal sharpen with their teeth, being used to spear Senegal Bushbabies out of small holes in trees. Before the discovery of tool use in chimps, it was believed that humans were the only species to make and use tools”
“Recent studies have shown that chimpanzees engage in apparently altruistic behaviour within groups, but are indifferent to the welfare of unrelated group members.
Evidence for "Cimpanzee spirituality" includes display of mourning, "incipient romantic love", "rain dance", appreciation of natural beauty such as a sunset over a lake, curiosity and respect towards wildlife (such as the python, which is neither a threat nor a food source to chimpanzees), empathy toward other species (such as feeding turtles) and even "animism" or "pretend play" in chimps cradling and grooming rocks or sticks”
“Chimps communicate in a manner similar to human non-verbal communication, using vocalizations, hand gestures, and facial expressions. Research into the chimpanzee brain has revealed that chimp communication activates an area of the chimp brain that is in the same position as Broca‘s area, the language center in the human brain”
heh heh>
