| 
|
Page: Profile: Wren's Nest News Local
| Total Views: 4,940,094
|
Article: 16793
[Archaeology]
Date Posted:
12/8/2006
10:30:00 am EST
Wvox Stats
Views: 6,805
RSS: 17,973
Comments: 8
|
Buried Babies Suggest Prehistoric Compassion
Author: Heather Whipps Source: LiveScience.com
Title: BURIED BABIES SUGGEST PREHISTORIC COMPASSION
Infants may have been considered equal members of prehistoric society, according to an analysis of burial pits found in Austria.
Two separate pits, one containing the remains of two infants and the other of a single baby, were discovered at the same Stone Age camp of Krems-Wachtberg in Lower Austria. Both graves were decorated with beads and covered in red ochre, a pigment commonly used by prehistoric peoples as a grave offering when they buried adults.
The discovery could challenge the long-held belief that—since child burials seem to be so rare—infants in this period were treated with a degree of indifference, the researchers said.
| Options: [Read Full Story] [Comments Locked]
[Email to a Friend]
|
|
Community Thoughts: There are 8 comments posted | Reverse Sort |
| Unwanted Twins | Dec 9th. at 2:36:12 pm EST
|
Rev. Mother Jaws (Scottsville, Virginia) - Email Me
Long ago and far away when I was an anthropology/archeology student I learned about an African tribe that used to act on their belief that twins meant the mother had lain with two men and therefore had committed adultery by killiing both the twins and the mother. I wonder just how old it is estimated that those babies were. If they were neonates it is possible that they were killed for being twins.
|
| The More Things Change.... | Dec 9th. at 9:35:48 am EST
|
bigcat (peoria, Illinois) - Email Me
A child was an investment to an entire clan and to lose one was devastating.Certainly the wanted ones got buried. Those with deformities or weakness didn't often last too long anyway as life was harsh back then. But it was nature, and not so much the tribe that determined it and they were sometimes buried like the others.
It was only when rules became more established did caring for infants change accordingly, and children soon fell prey to and became pawns and victims to the rule's fashion, just like their Elders.
|
| Oh, This Is A No-brainer. | Dec 8th. at 3:35:37 pm EST
|
Lora (Leominster, Massachusetts) - Email Me
Go into any boneyard of your choosing, so long as it contains both antiquated and modern graves. Count number of kids vs. number of adults buried therein. Realize that most women, pre-birth control, had anywhere from 10-15 pregnancies in their lifetimes, most of which did not survive past toddlerhood. There are still not many children's graves compared to the number of children that died.
Even in very modern times, when the child mortality rate is low, and you would expect to find fewer children's graves, think of all the women who deliberately abandon their kids to the elements--it's enough unwanted kids that some states have been forced to enact "safe haven" laws to make sure those kids don't get killed by the parent who doesn't want them. Not to mention the fates of girl children in rural China and rural India.
I would hazard a guess that just like modern humans, some kids are wanted and others are not. The wanted ones get fancy burials, the unwanted ones get thrown to the wolves. Why do archaeologists assume we have become so different due to the invention of the microwave and the iPod?
|
| Compassion...... | Dec 8th. at 2:18:10 pm EST
|
Ardeith Carter (Zephyrhills, Florida) - Email Me
I suspect that human babies have been treated with compassion since we came down from the trees. How else could an infant have survived in those early years? Human babies did not get up and walk quickly, as the babies of deer, goats, giraffes, and elephants must. Human babies had to be carried in arms for months, and even after they learned to walk on their own, they had to be carried when the mother had to walk long distances.
Human babies, today, do not have the ability to cling to their mothers as do baby sloths, baby monkeys, baby chimpanzees, and baby gorillas. When early humans lost their ape-like hair, the babies lost the instinct to cling. Then the human mothers had to be constantly aware of where the baby was, and had to be prepared to carry the baby away from danger if necessary.
There could be many reasons the bones of human infants and young children of thirty thousand years ago have not been found - not all that many bones of adults have been found either. The children who could not run as fast as adults might have been snatched by predators, thus no bodies were buried. Perhaps some bodies were left to the elements instead of buried. If the early clan was on a trek when a baby died, it was probably left beneath a tree or bush, and scavengers dealt with it.
But I think it is equally likely that children were so valued by the early clans that many of them survived to reach adulthood. A breeding female who nursed her babies two to five years might not have had more than four or five babies in her life and, I believe, her clan would have regarded each baby as something precious, as the future of the clan.
Only a male anthropologist could have come up with the notion that the early clans did not have much compassion for infants. Remember, male anthropologists wrote most of the books on anthropology in the last century, which is one reason so much emphasis was placed on the hunting side of the hunter/gatherer life-style. Studies done toward the end of the last century showed that the early clans could have eated well on what could be gathered . . . if/when the hunters returned with prey, that was the icing on the cake, but the cake was pretty nourishing without it.
Ardy
|
Disclaimer: The Witches' Voice inc does not verify the accuracy of the details stated in this listing, nor do we vouch for the value of the goods or services presented here... As with all contacts and financial dealings in cyberspace, we encourage you to use caution and wisdom in your dealings with strangers.
Political Statements: Any and all personal political opinions expressed in the public listing sections (including, but not restricted to, personals, events, groups, shops, Wren's Nest, etc.) are solely those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinion of The Witches' Voice, Inc. TWV is a non-profit, non-partisan educational organization.
|
State/Country flags created by 3dflags.com and are used with permission
Web Site Content (including: text - graphics - html - look & feel)
Copyright 1997-2009 The Witches' Voice Inc. All rights reserved
Note: Authors & Artists retain the copyright for their work(s) on this website.
Unauthorized reproduction without prior permission is a violation of copyright laws.
Website structure, evolution and php coding by Fritz Jung on a Macintosh G5.
Any and all personal political opinions expressed in the public listing sections (including, but not restricted to, personals, events, groups, shops, Wren’s Nest, etc.) are solely those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinion of The Witches’ Voice, Inc. TWV is a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational organization.
Sponsorship: Visit the Witches' Voice Sponsor Page for info on how you
can help support this Community Resource. Donations ARE Tax Deductible.
The Witches' Voice carries a 501(c)(3) certificate and a Federal Tax ID.
Mail Us: The Witches' Voice Inc., P.O. Box 341018, Tampa, Florida 33694-1018 U.S.A.
| |
