The oldest sculpture in the world - of a busty female figure - comes from southwestern Germany, and dates to 36,000 years ago. It beats the next-oldest known sample of representative art by about five thousand years.
Carvings have been found in Africa that are much earlier, but they consist of nothing more than cross-hatched lines.
Cambridge archeologist Paul Mellars notes that “The advent of fully representational, ‘figurative’ art seems to be a European phenomenon, without any documented parallels in Africa or elsewhere earlier than about thirty thousand years ago.”
“How far this ‘symbolic explosion’ associated with the origins and dispersal of our species reflects a major, mutation-driven reorganization in the cognitive capacities of the human brain - perhaps associated with a similar leap forward in the complexity of language - remains a fascinating and contentious issue,” he wrote.
http://tinyurl.com/oxfg3m
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
"Asatru - it's not just what we believe, it's who we are."
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Asatru and the Flow of Life
Three deer are living under my porch. The oldest is a very pregnant mama deer. Two younger deer are keeping her company. Whenever I walk onto the porch, they go scattering with much bumping and thumping against the underside of the flooring.
The finches that made their nest in the corner of the porch have flown, but Sheila saw a female bird sitting there today. There are still loads of finches around, along with the woodpeckers and other birds, so it's possible we're going to get a second hatching this season.
PK (Porch Kitty) continues to make his rounds, freeloading off us softies and enjoying a bit of a relaxation in our “safe zone” - until the deer startle him and he dashes a few yards off to be sure they mean him no harm.
Finally, there are the lizards that live among the concrete blocks lining what would have been a flower bed, if the deer hadn’t eaten every plant that poked its head out of the soil. The lizards scurry about and do their funny little pushups …I never did figure out why lizards do that…
All this life in, over, around, and under twenty-five feet of porch! I love it!
The lore of Asatru paints our ancestors as unsentimental in their attitudes toward animals. (Don’t get me wrong, I’d eat “my” deer if I had to do so!) This seeming lack of empathy may or may not be accurate. In any case, we live in different times - we have pushed the environment to the brink, and are engaging in one of the most massive extermination of species since life emerged. For some of us, this has given us a new awareness of just how precious life is.
I know this: I will serve Life on this planet - and I will strive for the day that our Folk expand into the Galaxy and carry higher Life to worlds that have never known it.
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
The finches that made their nest in the corner of the porch have flown, but Sheila saw a female bird sitting there today. There are still loads of finches around, along with the woodpeckers and other birds, so it's possible we're going to get a second hatching this season.
PK (Porch Kitty) continues to make his rounds, freeloading off us softies and enjoying a bit of a relaxation in our “safe zone” - until the deer startle him and he dashes a few yards off to be sure they mean him no harm.
Finally, there are the lizards that live among the concrete blocks lining what would have been a flower bed, if the deer hadn’t eaten every plant that poked its head out of the soil. The lizards scurry about and do their funny little pushups …I never did figure out why lizards do that…
All this life in, over, around, and under twenty-five feet of porch! I love it!
The lore of Asatru paints our ancestors as unsentimental in their attitudes toward animals. (Don’t get me wrong, I’d eat “my” deer if I had to do so!) This seeming lack of empathy may or may not be accurate. In any case, we live in different times - we have pushed the environment to the brink, and are engaging in one of the most massive extermination of species since life emerged. For some of us, this has given us a new awareness of just how precious life is.
I know this: I will serve Life on this planet - and I will strive for the day that our Folk expand into the Galaxy and carry higher Life to worlds that have never known it.
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Germans to Thrash Romans in Minnesota!
This year marks the 2000th anniversary of the destruction of three Roman legions at the hands of a German tribal coalition led by Herman, known to the Romans as “Arminius.” This engagement, one of the “fifteen decisive battles” in world history, kept Germania from being overrun by the multicultural hordes of the late Roman Empire. In short, it saved the Germany, and the German people, that we know today.
The town of New Ulm, Minnesota will have a three-day festival on September 18-20 to honor their German heritage at their Hermann Monument. This will be a huge event complete with visiting foreign dignitaries, fireworks, a parade, a Roman encampment, and a recreation of that fateful September day in 9 AD.
On Saturday September 19, a 2000-year-old event in history will be revisited. Local historical reenactors and just plain citizens are invited to participate in the battle. Saturday afternoon at the Roman campsite, they can join one of the tribes: Hermann's Cherusci Auxiliaries, the Bructeri, Marsi, or a tribe of their own.. Hosts of the event will supply the face paint and some Cherusci Auxiliary uniforms.
The celebration is being sponsored by the town of New Ulm, the State of Minnesota, along with Legio XIIII Martia Victrix, and my group Legio X Equestris Veneria (Rome Chicago).
It's good to see this level of activism; in times past, funds couldn't be found even for routine maintenance of the monument. I hope this celebration will help put a little cash in their coffers. For all of us who follow Asatru, this event is a great opportunity.
Interested Romans and barbarians should contact kev.kmw@gmail.com or jkmake@gmail.com.
More information: http://hermannmonument.com
The town of New Ulm, Minnesota will have a three-day festival on September 18-20 to honor their German heritage at their Hermann Monument. This will be a huge event complete with visiting foreign dignitaries, fireworks, a parade, a Roman encampment, and a recreation of that fateful September day in 9 AD.
On Saturday September 19, a 2000-year-old event in history will be revisited. Local historical reenactors and just plain citizens are invited to participate in the battle. Saturday afternoon at the Roman campsite, they can join one of the tribes: Hermann's Cherusci Auxiliaries, the Bructeri, Marsi, or a tribe of their own.. Hosts of the event will supply the face paint and some Cherusci Auxiliary uniforms.
The celebration is being sponsored by the town of New Ulm, the State of Minnesota, along with Legio XIIII Martia Victrix, and my group Legio X Equestris Veneria (Rome Chicago).
It's good to see this level of activism; in times past, funds couldn't be found even for routine maintenance of the monument. I hope this celebration will help put a little cash in their coffers. For all of us who follow Asatru, this event is a great opportunity.
Interested Romans and barbarians should contact kev.kmw@gmail.com or jkmake@gmail.com.
More information: http://hermannmonument.com
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