General perception of our ancestors--drives me batty!

[MorningGlow]

Okay, here's a rant: WHY do people nowadays assume that anyone who lived before us had the mental capacity of overcooked potatoes? It comes up again and again, every time there's another AMAZING discovery about what people were like thousands of years ago, as if our ancestors didn't have the ability to tie their own shoes.

An example--today's article (okay, it's the Daily Mail, but still) about how INCREDIBLE it is that ancient Egyptians used to use *gasp!* styling products on their hair, used to curl their hair with heated curing irons (oh, pardon me, the article says "TRIED TO"), and even *WOWZERS!* used hair extensions. (Link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2030384/The-yummy-mummies-How-Egyptians-used-gel-curling-tongs-look-best-3-500-years-ago.html)

Great googly moogly, do these researchers not understand that even though these people lived thousands of years ago, they actually had intelligence, and imagination, and creativity? That they actually had IQs comparable to ours?

Are we so mired in our deluded superiority that began in the Age of Enlightenment and was reinforced during the "greater living through chemicals" we-are-so-modern 1950s that we can't get our heads out of our self-obsessed asses to understand that we are not, in fact, the pinnacle of civilization? Do we not understand that our ancestors did not, in fact, sit around a fire drooling when they weren't apparently obsessed with procreation and killing animals and ripping them apart with their bare hands because they couldn't conceive of cooking, adding spices, or eating with utensils? Do we not see the advancements they had, the artwork they've left behind, the wisdom in their writings?

Sigh. Okay. I'm done. Just had to get that off my chest. ;) :rant:

[I Have A Dream]

1. I completely agree, MG.

I am so impressed with what they had to do to actually live. We have it so easy today as compared to what they went through.

It is because of them that we have what we have today. (Actually, it is because of other incarnations of us, in my belief system.)

:)

[MorningGlow]

2. I think what bugs me is the perception that they were rock-stupid

But they were HUMANS, just like us, with the same IQs, not drooling idiots. Plus there's all the evidence that they had a lot more leisure time than we think they did. We see them as struggling to survive, but they weren't--not as much as we like to think.

Maybe we think that just to make ourselves feel better? :shrug:

[I Have A Dream]

4. I know that my own ancestors had to struggle quite hard...

but that makes me respect them rather than think less of them. I am awestruck when I think of their strength and perseverance.

When you think about how many people aren't even able to understand what their fellow incarnate humans are going through, it's not surprising that they'd not even begin to be able to view those who incarnated before them as people just like them. People have a difficult time remembering that the old person who is across the table from them was once their very age and was going through many of the same things that they are currently going through.

I like to try to put myself back in time and try to experience what a person would have experienced then. It's almost as though I'm there. It almost always makes me thankful that I'm living today, not because I think that we're at all better than those who lived at that time but rather because we have it so much easier, at least in my opinion.

Oh, and right this very moment I'm listening to "Old Man", which seems related:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pHKkuK3mUU

"Old Man"

Old man look at my life,
I'm a lot like you were.
Old man look at my life,
I'm a lot like you were.

Old man look at my life,
Twenty four
and there's so much more
Live alone in a paradise
That makes me think of two.

Love lost, such a cost,
Give me things
that don't get lost.
Like a coin that won't get tossed
Rolling home to you.

Old man take a look at my life
I'm a lot like you
I need someone to love me
the whole day through
Ah, one look in my eyes
and you can tell that's true.

Lullabies, look in your eyes,
Run around the same old town.
Doesn't mean that much to me
To mean that much to you.

I've been first and last
Look at how the time goes past.
But I'm all alone at last.
Rolling home to you.

Old man take a look at my life
I'm a lot like you
I need someone to love me
the whole day through
Ah, one look in my eyes
and you can tell that's true.

Old man look at my life,
I'm a lot like you were.
Old man look at my life,
I'm a lot like you were.

Oh, and in my belief system, we're living all of these lives NOW anyway.

I love talking about things like this, MG. :)

[MorningGlow]

5. Agreed--but I'm not talking about our immediate ancestors

I'm talking about cultures from thousands of years ago. Like Celebration says below, I firmly believe we have been going backward a bit.

[Celebration]

3. Didn't you know

That before gravity was discovered by us that objects used to fall UP? :eyes:

I mean, all you gotta do is realize that we can't duplicate the building of the great pyramids today to realize that we might actually have been going backwards for a bit.

[MorningGlow]

6. LOL!

Yes indeed, all of civilization can be traced back to the invention of the iPod. D'oh!

One of the first things I learned when I started studying esoteric subjects is that the generations of Ancient Egypt did indeed DEvolve. Up and down is the cycle, not a steady movement upward. Our most recent nadir was, I think, the "Dark Ages"--what people usually point to, to illustrate how "stupid" our ancestors were.

[Kind of Blue]

7. I'm surprised that this study had to

done or repeated. I just thought it's old information about what the AEs used on their hair, including cosmetics and cleansing creams, plant juices, honey, contraceptives, et cetera. It just doesn't make sense what the scientist was trying to discover This Time. It makes me think there's a point to the study that's not disclosed or somebody wants to keep us constantly surprised at what stupid ancient man could do and awed by the achievement of Western Civilization - that to me couldn't have happened in large part without the conglomeration of achievements taken from many civilizations.

[MorningGlow]

8. Good question

There is a tendency for discoveries to be "repeated" as if we'd never heard of them before, and it seems like if nothing new is discovered, they just talk about stuff they've talked about before.

Apparently this resurgence in breathless reporting of Ancient Egyptians' personal grooming habits stems from this (from an article on the same subject on PhysOrg.com): "The team studied hair samples from eighteen mummies, of both genders, encompassing a wide age range, and found that nine of them had a heretofore unknown gel-like substance coating their hair....The team plans to continue with the analysis in hopes of pinning down just exactly what type of fat was used to make the gel."

Ooookay then!

[Kind of Blue]

9. WOW!

Thanks for pointing out the reason for the study. I read that but totally thought there was more to it :rofl:

[MorningGlow]

10. I didn't pick that up from the DM article

I had to go to Google News and look up other versions of the story. Apparently the scientists are agog that they used a mix of palm fat and animal fat to create the hair product. Deeeeep stuff, maaannnn....

[Kind of Blue]

11. Sorry about that! I went searching too,

to make sure that I wasn't imagining information I thought we already know.

[MorningGlow]

12. No worries

I always end up going to another source after reading something on the DM, just to make more sense out of their hash!

[Why Syzygy]

13. It isn't the "official" line, no.

For some reason The Evil Doers believe it is in their own best interest to spin imaginary yarns. Not sure why.
Thankfully, and with much credit to the 'Net, we know about scholars who don't bow to Academia and "follow the Rules".
Some people say they want us stupid. I would have to say, if that is the case, they are trying to bring us down to
THEIR level.

Have you heard the radio news report that college teachers are being briefed on what terms their students are going
to assume meaning for. For example, the students (born in 1993) are going to think book-amazon rather than river-Amazon.
LBJ supposedly reminds them of Le Braun James (whatever) since they have probably never heard of LBJ!
There were another one or two that I can't think of right now. I find that interesting.

[Mist]

14. Our culture has always presented history as moving in a straight line, and pushes the idea that as

humans move forward through time, we automatically "progress," therefore ancient societies were "less progressive," by definition. If anything, history seems to move in cycles, or even spirals.

[NuttyFluffers]

15. it always cracked me up: evolution is slow in humans; our ancestors were ignorant barbarians.

and yet, no cognitive dissonance! :7

they may have been as corruptible and petty as we are now, but they were also as smart and creative.

humans have been as ambitious and exploitative of opportunity as we've ever been. we just have new toys and greater reach now.

[Why Syzygy]

16. The Huge difference

I've noticed .. the 'Ancients' built to last! They created great cities and works of wonder that still stand today.
OTOH - The Anglo Americans only DESTROY! We do not build to last. We have no great works of art that will last
centuries! No! Au contraire! 'We' are destroying what has stood for CENTURIES and MILLENNIUMS!

WHY? Why must they do this? Whatever posses them to do this is dark, ugly and scary.

[get the red out]

17. We have gone backward at times

The Romans were much more advanced than people became in Medieval times, for instance.

If these people were idiots in the past then why are Greek philosophers referred to today? The media doesn't even make sense, you can see the lack of any real curiosity and education in what they produce.