LL-L "Culture" 2010.09.01 (02) [EN]

Wed Sep 1 16:38:16 UTC 2010

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*L O W L A N D S - L - 01 September 2010 - Volume 02*
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From: Jonny Meibohm <jonny.meibohm at arcor.de>

Subject: LL-L "Culture"

Dear Lowlanders,

last Sunday we watched on the German TV-channel "ZDF" an interesting
archeological show ("Terra X") about a grave from the Stone Age:

http://tinyurl.com/35vlz26 (as video, still available in Germany);

further informations:

http://www.zeit.de/2008/30/Familie  (German)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27770938/ (English)

The people which are buried in the mentioned graves were members of the
'Corded Ware culture' (2,800-2,200 BC).

During the show the moderators also came up to those people whom we know as
'Bell Beaker culture' (2,400-1,800 BC), probably the followers of
the 'Corded Ware culture'. The members of these 'Bell Beakers' spread about
the greater part of Central (Western) Europe, starting from the
West (nowadays Portugal); they also took part in the construction of
Stonehenge (probably they've built the last version of it).

The interviewed archeologists postulated a theory that these
higher civilized people may have been in contact with the inhabitants of
Northern Africa, maybe they even were descendants of the old Egypts. This
caused a discussion in our family: if they knew the Egyptian hieroglyphs
(since ca. 3,200 BC) why didn't they bring them with them? Or developed
anything similar?

I think that each culture which ever has experienced the power of written
letters should have been eager to learn and create the same for its own
purposes.

But we have no relics in Europe which could point to any writing until the
Romans conquered (and later christianized) this region. The Germanic Runic
alphabet is dated younger, already influenced by Latin types and never had
been an important medium for 'daily' communication. I've never heard about a
Celtic writing system as well.

What could be the reasons for this belated evolution? Perhaps because there
was no necessity of any writing for a simply, small structured,
familiar society of hunters, herders and farmers, with no greater
settlements like there probably existed in Egypt, surely in Greece and
Italy. Without anything close to that what later was called "trading" and
"money"?!

Similar (still?) the situation worldwide among many indigenous peoples: they
obviously don't need any high developed writing system as long as they're
living in small groups and tribes and in harmony, in accordance with
the natural system around. (Of course they are able to produce and read
special 'signs', e.g. via smoke, drums or just broken and crossed twigs [in
Germany the last type, called "Bruch-zeichen", still has to be learned by
all people who want to become a licenced hunter].)

In my youth the farmers in our region (and elsewhere) didn't like that those
sons who should become their followers visited a college - it could spoil
their natural feeling for agricultural matters.

Exaggeratedly expressed: written letters are the very beginning of the evil
;-)!?

Allerbest!

Jonny Meibohm
Lower Saxony, Germany

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