Dig it. I was delighted to hear about the vicissitudes of bonobo behavior, for
it is a refreshing contrast to the forced sex and gratuitous violence so often
encountered in (other) chimps. Our nearest evolutionary relatives thus have
two greatly contrasting behavior patterns with respect to sex and social
organization. This isn't so far off topic, after all: archaeologists could
learn tolerance from the bonobo, and learn to quit making assumptions about
human culture based on outmoded paternalistic Victorian-era theories.
In other words, I have always been extremely suspicious about the unquestioned
assumption of archaeologists that tyrannical authoritarianism was strictly
essential for the advancement of high culture in the human. If it ain't true
that male dominant intimidation is needed to stabilize the social structure of
primates, maybe human cultures can also organize themselves to produce public
works without the necessity of bosses and enforcers. That's another refreshing
thought.
In anarchist solidarity,
Johnny Thunderbird
heavyLight Books http://www.oocities.org/~jthunderbird
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Communication is only possible between equals -- Aleister Crowley
Re: Bonobo - Evolutionary Enigma sci.archaeology 980526