8 Comments
User's avatar
Ed Walker's avatar

For an interesting look at the spread of the Indo-Europeans through the spread of their language, see Proto by Laura Spinney. There has been tremendous progress in our understanding of this spread as linguists, archaeologistss, and geneticists have been cooperating. Recent improvements in extraction of ancient DNA have powered a new batch of theories.

Expand full comment
Thomas Neuburger's avatar

Thanks, Ed.

Here are a couple of videos with interviews of Spinney. (Haven't watched them yet; just FYI.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-OLnn8yBBA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nVIV-qaHHY

Reactions welcome.

Thomas

Expand full comment
Bombay Troubadour's avatar

Wow, illuminating! Apex predators or Capitalism? You decide.

We could learn so much about getting along and thriving together.

The historic tribes of our land had wars and starvation, but somehow there were ancient human lines that were rarely crossed.

The Oregon Trail example was great example of cooperation versus greed.

Thank you.

Expand full comment
Thomas Neuburger's avatar

You're welcome. I did a Trail trek before Covid. It was really enlightening. Frontier towns and the way they lived, original Americans and how they were treated. An eyeopener. Recommend it to anyone near. Start with Pendleton and end in Baker City.

Expand full comment
Feral Finster's avatar

Apparently, when Sitting Bull toured as part of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, it blew his mind that white people would allow members of their tribe to go hungry when other members of the white people tribe had food.

Apparently Sitting Bull gave much of his earnings away to beggars. (Buffalo Bill, FWIW, was honest in paying native members of his shows.)

Expand full comment
Feral Finster's avatar

This, BTW, is the genesis of the quote "The white man knows how to make everything. But he does not know how to distribute it,"

Expand full comment
Greeley Miklashek, MD's avatar

"Bottom line": too many humans (3,000 times more than our ancestral Hunter-Gatherers), using too many depleted/degraded natural resources, and producing too much pollution, including the GHGs and its resultant global heating rapidly heading to hell on earth. Still want to bring another innocent into this world along with the 168,000 born today?

Expand full comment
Thomas Neuburger's avatar

A lot of people don't, Greeley.

Expand full comment