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27 votes
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What does the word 'civilized' mean to you? Can it be used to compare and contrast societies and cultures?
Do you believe that some cultures/societies are more 'civilized' than others? What is your definition of 'civilized' / what does it mean to be 'civilized'? ~ If you've studied history and/or...
Do you believe that some cultures/societies are more 'civilized' than others? What is your definition of 'civilized' / what does it mean to be 'civilized'?
~
If you've studied history and/or anthropology then surely you've heard many uses of the term "savages" to describe groups of people that were considered to be less 'civilized' than whomever was writing that piece.
I was also just reading a book that described in detail some of the really horrible war crimes committed by both sides in the Sri Lankan civil war including but not limited to: raging mobs burning people alive, murder and rape of civilians, use of child soldiers, suicide bombers, etc. Please note that in no way am I considering the people of Sri Lanka as 'uncivilized', just using an example of what seems to be 'uncivilized' behavior.An initial thought that I had was "huh, I'm glad I don't currently live somewhere where I could be burned alive based on my ethnicity/religion/beliefs by a rage fueled mob of people", but then the history of the western world came to mind - some of those exact same thing happened less than 100 years ago to many non-white groups of people in America, including some things even worse (read: human slavery). From here came a flood of other thoughts poking holes in whatever my initial definition of 'civilized' was. Plenty of things in present-day United States could be considered uncivilized. Yet one could make an argument that a more 'civilized' civilization might be one that allows many personal freedoms.
So, I want to ask all of you what you think of the concept of being 'civilized'. Is it a colonialistic-type term used to promote a higher sense of placement in the world that should be abolished. Does it have any merit in its use? If so, what do you think makes a civilized group of people and does one exist?
16 votes -
Many prehistoric handprints show a finger missing. Canadian scientists say evidence shows digits may have been ritually removed to appease deities or aid social cohesion.
26 votes -
Human ancestors nearly went extinct 900,000 years ago
51 votes -
Memetics—A growth industry in US Military operations
13 votes -
Ancient Sahul's submerged landscapes reveal a mosaic of human habitation
17 votes -
Psychohistory
9 votes -
Why Runa Indigenous people find 'natural parenting' troubling
13 votes -
Human history gets a rewrite
13 votes -
The most popular songs today are sadder than they were fifty years ago: can cultural evolution explain this negative turn?
11 votes -
Ancient girl's parents were two different human species
16 votes -
When did humans start settling down? In Israel, new discoveries at one of the world’s oldest villages are upending the debate about when we stopped wandering
21 votes -
Dogs have been our best friends for at least 23,000 years
13 votes -
Hey, that's our stuff: Masaai tribespeople tackle Oxford's Pitt Rivers museum
14 votes -
'Ghost' DNA from unknown ancestors found in West Africans
9 votes -
Coffee: The muslim drink
12 votes -
Four days trapped at sea with crypto’s nouveau riche
16 votes -
A discovery among the mummies reveals a sick, sad truth. Parasitic worms plagued these ancient Egyptian Pharaohs.
8 votes -
Mysticism’s function
4 votes -
How our ancestors used to sleep can help the sleep-deprived today
7 votes -
The Skeleton Lake - Genetic analysis of human remains found in the Himalayas has raised baffling questions about who these people were and why they were there
11 votes -
Why are we in the West so weird? A theory
6 votes -
New species of ancient human discovered in Philippines cave
15 votes -
Modern Viking music: Tragedy of a misunderstood art
8 votes -
Ancient Beat - A weekly newsletter about developments in the study of the ancient world
9 votes -
The history of Yellowstone: Debunking the myth that the great national park was a wilderness untouched by humans
5 votes -
David Graeber has died
16 votes -
Why we buy weird things in times of crisis
10 votes -
Remembering the forgotten Chinese railroad workers
8 votes -
How modern life is transforming the human skeleton
16 votes -
Big gods came after the rise of civilisations, not before, finds study using huge historical database
15 votes -
North Sentinel Island: Uncontacted tribes’ ‘right to be left alone’ doesn’t gel with broader human rights
9 votes -
Neanderthals could make fire – just like our modern ancestors
7 votes -
Ancient Beat - the newsletter of ancient history - celebrates its 100th Issue
6 votes -
What happened to David Graeber?
6 votes -
Lisica - Weekly episodes of a scientist soap opera
6 votes -
Mysteries of Neolithic Europe
11 votes -
The Anthropocene Explosion - Essay by Koert van Mensvoort (2014)
9 votes -
Searching for Maura
9 votes -
The expanding dark forest and generative AI
6 votes -
Is today a special day in your culture? Can you tell us about it?
The internet is a very diverse place but sometimes with the "default" north american skew, it may not seem like it. If your culture or people or faith group or spiritual practice is celebrating...
The internet is a very diverse place but sometimes with the "default" north american skew, it may not seem like it.
If your culture or people or faith group or spiritual practice is celebrating something today or soon, would you care to share?
Many of us used to have smaller groups on another site to celebrate things together or hold rememberances, and perhaps tildes being a together kind of community can celebrate and learn together instead of segregating into silos.
Some suggestions:
- today's date please
- what cultures and groups celebrate or commemorate this day or period?
- what is the celebration's origins and purpose?
- how does one celebrate?
- how has it changed over the years or stayed the same?
- is it reoccurring and on what calendar system?
Looking forward to learning more from other traditions and groups!
13 votes -
Warrior skeletons reveal Bronze Age Europeans couldn't drink milk
8 votes -
Book review: The Dawn Of Everything
2 votes -
Promethean beasts - Far from being hardwired to flee fire, some animals use it to their own ends, helping us understand our own pyrocognition
8 votes -
Picture Book Lust - Vanishing Asia by Kevin Kelly
5 votes -
Videos on anthropology?
A friend of mine asked me for good videos on anthropology. I'm at a complete loss. I have several good youtube channels for history, but finding anthropology-related content is surprisingly...
A friend of mine asked me for good videos on anthropology. I'm at a complete loss. I have several good youtube channels for history, but finding anthropology-related content is surprisingly difficult.
Any recommendations?
6 votes -
Who invented the wheel? And how did they do it?
13 votes -
"Humans were not centre stage": How ancient cave art puts us in our place
13 votes -
New species of ancient human discovered in the Philippines
7 votes -
The hidden resilience of “food desert” neighborhoods
9 votes