As the Syfy channel ramps up for its new show called Opposite Worlds, I must confess, I’m intrigued. Not by the premise that the audience determines the fate of the players as that reeks too much of a psychological test gone horribly awry, but from the idea that we will compare modern civilization to the Stone Age – or as it is more appropriately called, the Neolithic period.
Not only am I a geek for history, I’m also a geek for the latest in archaeological finds. In fact, once upon a time, in a land far, far away, I was going to be an archaeologist. Okay, the faraway land was only Florida and it wasn't that long ago, all things considered. I feed my love of archaeology by subscribing to newsletters and blogs that talk about the latest in interesting "digs". "Digs" is the bland term archaeologists use to describe excavating ancient dead people . . . and this “digging” is the prime reason I changed my major. I’m not squeamish, but to me, as a storyteller, the writing and reading about ancient peoples is more intriguing then the digging up. Watching what the Syfy channel will call the Stone Age is even more fascinating.
New Stones and the Origins of Family
In a recent research “dig” archaeologists uncovered a European Neolithic family grave among four burial sites. Neolithic is a two part Greek word- “neo” meaning new and “lithic” meaning stone. Together it’s “new stone”, as in New Stone Age, a time we recognize from cartoons and movies and what we are about to see in a reality TV show. The first evidence for a Neolithic culture is about 10,500 years ago in the Middle East. This period marks a change from a hunter gatherer lifestyle to an agriculturally based life style. The dig mentioned in the article reveals a settlement 6000 years ago. Based on a DNA analysis of the remains, the archaeologists realized the skeletons belonged to a mother, father, and two sons. The other three graves also contained members of single family groupings. This information was revealed through the female DNA. The article said that this discovery suggested that biological relationship was the focus of social organization during Neolithic times. Nothing surprising there, as we know the evidence for the family model we use today had to be somewhere.
Designer Teeth Atoms and Powerful Women
The next bit is what got me thinking about the magnificence of Neolithic women. The researchers analyzed the strontium isotopes (designer atoms) in the teeth. The strontium from food accumulates in your teeth over time. This is a way an archaeologist five hundred years from now will be able to tell if you ate primarily at a local pastry shop in the Pacific Northwest, or visited one in New England on a regular basis – it’s in your teeth. The results of the analysis showed that the women grew up in markedly different regions from the men and children. The women came from a land far, far away from the grave site. One suggestion for how this happened is that women were expected to marry out of their clan. This would cement kinship bonds with other communities. Another, less happy scenario, is the women were the spoils of inter-tribal warfare. Either way, these women would have had to be truly remarkable. Imagine growing up in one clan and learning all the secrets of pottery making, animal husbandry, farming, and the sacred knowledge of your blossoming civilization. Then, at the annual gathering of the clans, you are bonded to a young man who hailed from the other side of the "beyond", or worse, under a full moon, your camp is raided and you are taken prisoner. You are forced to learn a whole new set of skills in order to survive in the new clan.
Portland Maine and Portland Oregon
Think of the difference between Portland, Maine and Portland, Oregon. Different plants, different geography, different colloquialisms. If you moved, you would have to master new tools, new animals, new sacred symbols, new EVERYTHING. And the Neolithic women did this. Again and again. They learned the new ways but still shared their knowledge with the new tribe. Which brings me to why I find this discovery so marvelous and relevant to our century. Because of the courage of our New Stone Age foremothers, we females have successfully been "marrying out of our clan" for over 6000 years. 6 Thousand years! No wonder we are friggin' better at multi-tasking, creating community, seeing the BIG picture, and adapting to change. And, no offense intended, but as far as I can tell, the biggest social and cultural challenge facing Neolithic men was learning to hunt, and, ahem, learning how to correctly use their own "spear".
Hot Water Indeed
Neolithic women could have coined the phrase: Women are like tea bags. You don't know how strong they are until you drop 'em in "new-clan" hot water.
Despite audience feedback, or maybe in spite of audience feedback, I’m guessing the women on the Stone Age part of the show will reveal more grit. I’m lifting my glass in cyber toast to those women and to our rock-solid -- pun intended-- Stone Age foremothers. Thank you for laying the groundwork for us to survive in our own challenging times – including fabricated reality shows.
Not only am I a geek for history, I’m also a geek for the latest in archaeological finds. In fact, once upon a time, in a land far, far away, I was going to be an archaeologist. Okay, the faraway land was only Florida and it wasn't that long ago, all things considered. I feed my love of archaeology by subscribing to newsletters and blogs that talk about the latest in interesting "digs". "Digs" is the bland term archaeologists use to describe excavating ancient dead people . . . and this “digging” is the prime reason I changed my major. I’m not squeamish, but to me, as a storyteller, the writing and reading about ancient peoples is more intriguing then the digging up. Watching what the Syfy channel will call the Stone Age is even more fascinating.
New Stones and the Origins of Family
In a recent research “dig” archaeologists uncovered a European Neolithic family grave among four burial sites. Neolithic is a two part Greek word- “neo” meaning new and “lithic” meaning stone. Together it’s “new stone”, as in New Stone Age, a time we recognize from cartoons and movies and what we are about to see in a reality TV show. The first evidence for a Neolithic culture is about 10,500 years ago in the Middle East. This period marks a change from a hunter gatherer lifestyle to an agriculturally based life style. The dig mentioned in the article reveals a settlement 6000 years ago. Based on a DNA analysis of the remains, the archaeologists realized the skeletons belonged to a mother, father, and two sons. The other three graves also contained members of single family groupings. This information was revealed through the female DNA. The article said that this discovery suggested that biological relationship was the focus of social organization during Neolithic times. Nothing surprising there, as we know the evidence for the family model we use today had to be somewhere.
Designer Teeth Atoms and Powerful Women
The next bit is what got me thinking about the magnificence of Neolithic women. The researchers analyzed the strontium isotopes (designer atoms) in the teeth. The strontium from food accumulates in your teeth over time. This is a way an archaeologist five hundred years from now will be able to tell if you ate primarily at a local pastry shop in the Pacific Northwest, or visited one in New England on a regular basis – it’s in your teeth. The results of the analysis showed that the women grew up in markedly different regions from the men and children. The women came from a land far, far away from the grave site. One suggestion for how this happened is that women were expected to marry out of their clan. This would cement kinship bonds with other communities. Another, less happy scenario, is the women were the spoils of inter-tribal warfare. Either way, these women would have had to be truly remarkable. Imagine growing up in one clan and learning all the secrets of pottery making, animal husbandry, farming, and the sacred knowledge of your blossoming civilization. Then, at the annual gathering of the clans, you are bonded to a young man who hailed from the other side of the "beyond", or worse, under a full moon, your camp is raided and you are taken prisoner. You are forced to learn a whole new set of skills in order to survive in the new clan.
Portland Maine and Portland Oregon
Think of the difference between Portland, Maine and Portland, Oregon. Different plants, different geography, different colloquialisms. If you moved, you would have to master new tools, new animals, new sacred symbols, new EVERYTHING. And the Neolithic women did this. Again and again. They learned the new ways but still shared their knowledge with the new tribe. Which brings me to why I find this discovery so marvelous and relevant to our century. Because of the courage of our New Stone Age foremothers, we females have successfully been "marrying out of our clan" for over 6000 years. 6 Thousand years! No wonder we are friggin' better at multi-tasking, creating community, seeing the BIG picture, and adapting to change. And, no offense intended, but as far as I can tell, the biggest social and cultural challenge facing Neolithic men was learning to hunt, and, ahem, learning how to correctly use their own "spear".
Hot Water Indeed
Neolithic women could have coined the phrase: Women are like tea bags. You don't know how strong they are until you drop 'em in "new-clan" hot water.
Despite audience feedback, or maybe in spite of audience feedback, I’m guessing the women on the Stone Age part of the show will reveal more grit. I’m lifting my glass in cyber toast to those women and to our rock-solid -- pun intended-- Stone Age foremothers. Thank you for laying the groundwork for us to survive in our own challenging times – including fabricated reality shows.