The first sign of civilization in a culture
The first sign of civilization in a culture
[Picture of text that reads:]
Years ago, anthropologist Margaret Mead was asked by a student what she considered to be the first sign of civilization in a culture. The student expected Mead to talk about fishhooks or clay pots or grinding stones.
But no. Mead said that the first sign of civilization in an ancient culture was a femur (thighbone) that had been broken and then healed. Mead explained that in the animal kingdom, if you break your leg, you die. You cannot run from danger, get to the river for a drink or hunt for food. You are meat for prowling beasts. No animal survives a broken leg long enough to heal.
A broken femur that has healed is evidence that someone has taken the time to stay with the one who fell, has bound up the wound, has carried the person to safety and has tended the person through recovery. Helping someone else through difficulty is where civilization starts, Mead said
Wholesome, but not a meme.
It's a meme in the original sense of the word meme:
an element of a culture or system of behavior passed from one individual to another by imitation or other nongenetic means.
I think we should share those memes too.
Also, she never said that and humans aren't the only animals who care for their injured. Pretty much a fail all around.
Had always thought this was real but it seems like it wasn't.
The takeaway, i guess, is that US healthcare only counts as civilized to those with money.
They'll fix your broken bone, they just won't provide any rehab if you don't have insurance.
That’s why Libertarians haven’t taken over the planet.
Very true!
"Me first! Fuck you! Every man for himself!" is a terrible basis for a society.
But isn't that just survival of the fittest? /s
Also most are armchair weekend libertarians, nurturing their thousands and one prejudices.
"Libertarianism for me (muh guns! freydum!), not for thee (minority equality, gay equality, women's equality, etc.)."That is not the basis.. and OP's post is fake
If we accept this hoax as true, then we also have to accept that wolves have been forming a civilization for over a million years: https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/wolves-have-been-caring-for-the-pack-for-at-least-1.3m-years
Human exceptionalism is a dangerous joke.
I'd argue that they show a degree of civilization amongst themselves. Note that I mean this as the adjective form, not the noun.
Also, you know, people having invented bone healing, as opposed to entire species arriving naturally to bone healing through evolution over millions of years because it's a practical thing in the wild to have.
Dangerous how?
Human exceptionalism sets humans apart from nature, it's a belief that denies that we too are a part of the ecosystem and dependant on it, which leads to a lack of care for said ecosystem, which will lead to an inevitable collapse of said ecosystem (it can still collapse if we care for it, but if we don't, then it's inevitable and faster). Which will lead to huge problems for humans,because contrary to the belief of human exceptionalism, we are not exceptional, we are still very much dependant on nature and our environment.
I did a quick google search and there's loads of literature on the dangers of the human exceptionalism belief, so if you want to read more, just Google "dangers of human exceptionalism".
I consider myself a smart monkey, but it's not because I'm smart, that I'm no longer a monkey.
Sir, this is a meme page.
Me: Reads this and feels temporarily good.
Comments: This isn't a meme, it's fake, healthcare is expensive, murder exists.
Maybe the person with the broken leg got it from jumping off a cliff to kill themself, but survived, and was kept alive by another because they were their favorite sex slave.
And thus, civilization was born
You pretty much summed up my entire experience with this post. Thank you. I see you, and appreciate you.
I'm down for the sentiment, but this certainly isn't a meme.
Permanently Deleted
I was gonna say, members of a group caring for one another is a sign of a social species. Like, we have a sample size of one species becoming "civilized" but I can't imagine a civilization developing in a species that isn't social. But there are plenty of present and historical examples of this kind of social behavior without civilization.
Damn fake... universities? https://divinity.yale.edu/news/15000-year-old-bone-and-fall-2013-issue-reflections
Also geese will wait with injured friends so that's not all animals.
Well, I guess it's all animals that don't develop the first sign of civilization as defined in the quote. Congratulations, geese, you got over the threshold!
Not a meme
I'm on the fence.
I'm in the 'social media microblogging' is not a meme camp as well.
However I find the message in this one worth distributing, which is technically what a meme is all about
Every meme starts somewhere
So it's cute and could have some relative usefulness but there are some problems with this mythical anecdote:
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animals heal broken legs all the time. It's not a guaranteed death sentence, if it were there actually wouldn't even be a way to repair it at all. See: brain, lungs, heart. All things which can very slightly repair themselves from minor injuries, not catastrophic ones.
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bipeds are worse off, but quadrupeds can generally manage, poorly, with only three legs. There are exceptions, but that's one of the main benefits of having four legs.
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a broken femur can already be a death sentence regardless of early medicine. Very easy to bleed out, the actual maiming is the least of your worries.
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I'm with you until you say bound up the wound.
I mean I'm not saying I could, (also not saying I couldn't) but also isn't it conceivable that a person managed to crawl back to their cave where they had food stored, bound their own leg, and was lucky enough to avoid infection? Nothing about a healed leg implicitly demands intervention from other beings.
They must have had food stored for a few weeks to months, in a time before preservation techniques.
Would we consider a tribe to be a civilization? I don't think I would.
A civilization, as a noun, is a similar but separate thing to civilization, a modification of the verb civilize. The former is a state of being, where the latter is the path to it. You can see civilization before you see a civilization. Kind of a chicken and egg situation.
Ah interesting.