Amondawa tribe lacks abstract idea of time, study says (fwd link)

[Phillip E Cash Cash]

19 May 2011

Amondawa tribe lacks abstract idea of time, study says

By Jason Palmer
Science and technology reporter, BBC News
UK

An Amazonian tribe has no abstract concept of time, say researchers.

The Amondawa lacks the linguistic structures that relate time and
space - as in our idea of, for example, "working through the night".

The study, in Language and Cognition, shows that while the Amondawa
recognise events occuring in time, it does not exist as a separate
concept.

The idea is a controversial one, and further study will bear out if it
is also true among other Amazon languages.

Access full article below:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13452711