[Lexicog] Forest fires and wood fires

[Peter Kirk]

On 05/02/2004 17:38, Ron Moe wrote:

> ...
>
> 8. Fires produce resulting states that all cultures have learned to
> exploit. So we can talk about their purpose: arson (criminal intent),
> cook fire (cook), bonfire (burn rubbish)


Is it actually true of ALL cultures that they use fire for all of these
purposes? Is cooking universal? Is burning of rubbish - hardly a
necessity in some environments? Plus, cross-culturally, we find some
surprises e.g. Australian Aborigines deliberately setting forest fires
to clear the undergrowth and improve hunting conditions. So we have to
be careful about assuming universals.

--
Peter Kirk
peter at qaya.org (personal)
peterkirk at qaya.org (work)
http://www.qaya.org/




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