That's true Foxy, David does lift the tone of any discussion. Then we have a dickens of a time getting it back down into the gutter where it belongs! Seriously, thanks David for your wisdom and knowledge, and you to Foxy, you are both a couple of roses amoung thorns. Ten bucks each should cover that endorsement, for twenty I'll lay it on thick, out to 350 words.

david f,

I've never really liked the term 'pre-literate culture' since it implies a culture that will become literate at some time in the (near?) future. But the fact is that in 1492 (the year Europeans started out on their 300 year world-discovery tour) the stone age peoples in Australia, north America and throughout the Pacific were no closer to gaining writing than they were 1000, 10000 or 60000 years earlier.

In a post I wrote earlier in this thread (it was totally ignored by those who prefer the Disneyfied world of kumbaya stone-age life) I pointed out that writing follows as a natural outgrowth of domestication of grains. Every civilisation that has domesticate grains (be it wheat in the Levantine and Egypt, rice in east Asia or maize in the Americas) fairly quickly developed some form of writing. Cuneiform in the levant, hieroglyphs in Egypt etc. Additionally as domestication of grains and animals increased the sophistication of society and trade, equally writing became more sophisticated. It is thought that the alphabet (an invention on a par with the wheel as among the most important in history) began in the region of Philistine and Judah to facilitate trade and the Greek alphabet which begat our's was most certain an outgrowth of trade.

Prior to the domestication of grain, the whole world was pre-historic. But those societies that gained writing became 'historic' in that they could record the present and the past for the benefit of the future. What you call pre-literate societies never gained that benefit and showed no indication of ever doing so.

In answer to the question of thread, those societies have nothing, absolutely nothing, to offer the modern world.

mhaze,

Do you really believe what you've just posted?

They say - "Silence is golden..."

But in your case:

"Duct tape is silver!"

suits better.

Foxy asked me if I "really believe what you've just posted?"

Answer....Yes. At least until someone with the historic knowledge and intellectual wherewithal to offer a compelling and historically accurate critique comes along.

Foxy, do you know anyone like that?

Clearly those who just say its not true because I don't want it to be true don't qualify. Sorry!

mhaze,

In history's epic sweep we find all the magical
elements that make humanity what it is. History
has it all. When we look into the past, we find
profound insights into the nature of the human race
only by looking at what has come before can we
understand who we are.

But history is more than a way to absolve oneself of
responsibility for the ills of one's own generation.
The past also provides a signpost to the future.
It is said that those who do not understand history
are doomed to repeat it.

It is not true that what you call primitive societies
have absolutely nothing to contribute. You have not
looked very far.

We live with billions of fellow human beings on a
small, warming planet. The cosmopolitan impulse that
draws on our common humanity is no longer a luxury.
It has become a necessity.

The Roman playwright Publius Terentius Afar aka Terence -
who was brought from Africa as a slave and became a
playwright said:

"Homo sum humani nihil a me alienum puto"
"I an human, I think nothing human alien to me."

Maya Angelou, American author and poet tells us that -
if we can internalize at least a portion of that, just
think what you can do about the positive.

If a human being dares to dream, to be a Nelson Mandela,
Mahatma Gandhi, or a Vincent Lingiari. If a human being
dares to be bigger than the condition into which he
or she was born - it means so can you. All you have to
do is stretch yourself so you can internalize. Visit a
museum, read up on the history of our Indigenous people,
stretch, stretch, stretch yourself and you too will
be able to internalize:

"Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto..."

mhaze,

There are plenty of historically accurate accounts
in our museums, libraries, and universities for
you to be able to learn about our Indigenous peoples
history in this country and the reasons for their
lack of so called "contribution" to our society.
Despite the odds they still manage to rise above
what's expected and continue to fight for their
rights:

http://welcometocountry.org/australias-brutal-treatment-of-aboriginal-people/

http://australianstogether.org.au/discover/australian-history/breaking-the-myth-of-peaceful-settlement/