Electric Politics | As Are Angels

Exterminating Angel poster Somewhere between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries science blessed the notion that early pre-historical human communities developed as a result of the discovery of farming practices. According to this view, somewhat later on in social evolution, as a result of agricultural surplus, would-be social elites were able to seize political power and then reify it through various norms and institutions. Notably, to display their power elites began building extravagant monuments to themselves, a practice considered more or less normal even today.

In an interesting, non-trivial refutation of what I would call the "high materialist" theory of civilization a German archeologist, Professor Dr. Klaus Schmidt, says that 11,000 year old megaliths in Turkey (pre-dating Stonehenge by 6,000 years) prove that monument building preceded — by 500-1,000 years — agricultural settlements. In other words, that imagination, inspiration, and aspirational qualities of mind guided human evolution more than did wretched material excess. That the first "cathedral on a hill," at Gobekli Tepe, could only have been built because a group of early pre-historical humans made it their carefully considered priority. This sheds a great deal of light on who we are and should give us pause to reconsider many of our conventional assumptions.

The same drive would, I suppose, account in part, perhaps in large part, for the early human colonization of the planet. Or in contemporary terms, for our instinct to colonize space. And to dream of inter-galactic explorations.



Home FAQ Contact Archive EP Store EP Alerts © 2012 ElectricPolitics	As Are Angels Somewhere between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries science blessed the notion that early pre-historical human communities developed as a result of the discovery of farming practices. According to this view, somewhat later on in social evolution, as a result of agricultural surplus, would-be social elites were able to seize political power and then reify it through various norms and institutions. Notably, to display their power elites began building extravagant monuments to themselves, a practice considered more or less normal even today. In an interesting, non-trivial refutation of what I would call the "high materialist" theory of civilization a German archeologist, Professor Dr. Klaus Schmidt, says that 11,000 year old megaliths in Turkey (pre-dating Stonehenge by 6,000 years) prove that monument building preceded — by 500-1,000 years — agricultural settlements. In other words, that imagination, inspiration, and aspirational qualities of mind guided human evolution more than did wretched material excess. That the first "cathedral on a hill," at Gobekli Tepe, could only have been built because a group of early pre-historical humans made it their carefully considered priority. This sheds a great deal of light on who we are and should give us pause to reconsider many of our conventional assumptions. The same drive would, I suppose, account in part, perhaps in large part, for the early human colonization of the planet. Or in contemporary terms, for our instinct to colonize space. And to dream of inter-galactic explorations. Posted by George Kenney on November 9, 2008 4:31 PM « Fair Game \| Main \| International Calling » Share this post: Leave a comment Name Email Address URL Remember personal info? Comments (You may use HTML tags for style)

As Are Angels

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