We are completely dependent on fossil fuels for food. Perhaps 50% or more of mined fuels are used for food production (petro-fertilizers, irrigation, storage and distribution). The rest goes towards making durable goods, transport, heating cooling etc. Without fossil fuels we would simply be dead.
So who/what are the precursors of OPEC, Monsanto, Cargill, Schlumberger, Hallyburton etc ... basically big entities that provide food and energy security ?
So who/what are the precursors of OPEC, Monsanto, Cargill, Schlumberger, Hallyburton etc ... basically big entities that provide food and energy security ?
What enabled the first population explosions that still continue today? The link below shows evidence of nitrates from animal dung at early farming sites.
first farmers used manure
first farmers used manure
- Goat and sheep are the first domesticated hoofed animals
- They can't survive on flat land, since they cant run like antelope and deer
- They are adapted to evade predators in mountains
- The first people who hunted and domesticated them were mountain people
- The domestication center appear to be the mountains south and south west of the caspian
There are a network of ranges radiating from this general vicinity, through the Levant, Caucasus, Anatolia, Balkans, Baluchistan and Turkmenistan
- They either formed symbiotic relationships with the first farmers or became first farmers
- Sedentary agriculture would not be competitive without animal dung.
- Most early farming and proto-urban sites are near mountain or hill ranges.
- Numerous myths from Sumer(Enkidu), India(Rishyasingha, Pashupati), Europe(Cornucopia, Unicorn &virgin) that attest to memories of the special status accorded to wild men who tended animals. They seemed to have been welcomed with more than open arms.
Dear Rajarshi
ReplyDeleteThe 5.9ky BPevent cause the demise of the Ubaid culture. Around this time, a new type of skull was seen in indus valley. Do you think it is possible that the indus valley civilization is a kind of continuation, or spread of this civilization? Around 5.5ky BP the first indus cities appear, distinct from Mehrgarh, in terms of organization and presence of symbols and the ability to grow to great cities with the new techiniques you mentioned. The continuity would be that Mehrgarh would be linked to a continous of language with what would be later Elam and Dravidian, nd most of the other parts, that yielded great part of IVC, which would be proto indo european, without Hitite. Hitite would be a migration to the North from Ubaid.
Dear Daniel,
ReplyDeleteI outlined some real world constraints for first farmers, but its very hard to assign languages. IVC most likely was multilingual. Its simply too large to have just one language. The mountain ranges could define areas of dialectal continuum. E.g the Zagros separating Elamite and IIr.
Perhaps we can look at areal phonological features that are more long lived than language families and often cut across them. I have come across assertions of Elamo-dravidian and Sumero-dravidian. I cannot tell how much merit there is to this.
Northwest, West and south india have more retroflexes and gemination in speech as opposed to eastern India. There are some differences. In the north geminates are usually alternate syllables whereas in the south you can have series gemination(two consecutive syllables) during speech.
Sumerian clearly had geminates. What about Elamite or proto Emamite? Do any of these have series gemination?
Yes, they were surely multilingual. Yadus and Turvasus probably lived near the coast and likely imposed their language on the Deccans. You can see IVC entering Maharastra deeply by 1300BC. The Aikshvakus, I think, were likely to speak some kind of Tibetan or munda.
ReplyDeleteBut, I also noticed the potential vedic tone, so it could be like munda extended all the way in North India.
Also, a new kind of skull, characteristic of ME entered around 5.8ky too.
I am not a phonologist. So you will have to bear with me on that :)