On 18/04/2006, at 11:59 PM, Deborah Harrell wrote:
That is extemely interesting. For whatever reason,
I never thought of it.
Well, it's not exactly my original thinking; 'be the
leader' is the big theme in current horsemanship
training, and has been important in dog training for a
while. I'm fairly sure I read it during the past ten
years, in books on animal behavior; IIRC, it was
articulated at least partially in _Guns, Germs And
Steel_ also.
It was commonly articulated around ethnology groups when I was doing
zoology too. It's not a new thought, it's just one of those kind-of-
obvious-ones that takes a while to trickle into common sense.
In one sentence: domesticated animals were bred
from
those with a strong social hierarchy or family
structure which humans could usurp, with an
emphasis
on juvenile (and therefore dependent) as well as
territorial behaviors, in breeding programs, in
addition to the desired characteristics of
milk/meat
production, strength, swiftness etc.
That whole posting helps make sense of the
pre-industrial, agricultural world -- it is
terrific (and
terrifying).
With attacks this week by a bear (Tenn., fatal
outcome) and a cougar (here, child survived), we are
reminded of why our far ancestors were so afraid of
and awed by Nature, and the creatures therein.
And people ask why I chose Australia for my big solo trip... no large
terrestrial maneaters is a good reason I feel! (shhhh about the crocs
and sharks... ;) )
"Familiarity breeds contempt" -- in myth, the Hound is
a near-sacred partner of the Hunter, and the Bull
sacrifices his great strength to humanity's survival.
Now, 'cur,' 'cow,' 'bitch,' and 'bullshit' are terms
of scorn; our foreparents would find our use of them
blasphemous. I think one of the reasons some people
have gotten on a Native American kick (or DownUnder,
an aboriginal kick) is to recapture that sense of
wonder at the creatures that, at one time, meant Life
or Death. I can see why a God or Goddess would appear
as Cow or Wolf or Ram...
Nice. :)
Charlie
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