Re: [读书] 1177 BC: The Year Civilization Collapsed
Posted: 2019-09-26 20:52
刚才刷牙时忽然脑子里的线又随机搭上了。老子(不是我)推崇的理想社会,鸡犬相闻而老死不相往来,这不就是系统崩溃后的状态吗?Low density, low socioeconomic integration, 人口分散,生产效率低,无秩序的 dark age。这太合逻辑了。显然是对于崩溃后社会的记忆和描述呀。
THE FABVALLEY
http://fabvalley.org/
Even today, many people try their hand at mummifying things, frequently as a school project in elementary school. This usually involves chickens, rather than a person or a family pet (unless, of course, the family pet happens to be a chicken).
可惜就这么一句,也没详细阐述,看得我心痒难搔。这一章前面的部分有提到,他们在好几处古迹挖出大量刻字泥板,都是苏美尔楔形文字(几个国家共用)。上面有极详细的政治经济宗教甚至文学记录,例如世界上最早的史诗 Epic of Gilgamesh。言辞之间暗示四五千年前的政经法制系统跟现代有极大相似之处——不,也不是故意暗示,而是随口说了几句而已。The archaeology and textual work done in Mesopotamia has shed light on the origins of Western-complex culture and the way such early beginnings largely shaped how our societies function today, from politics and laws to mathematics, medicine, education, taxes, and everything in between.
四五千年的某些社会(美索不达米亚地区)跟现在的大部分社会(欧洲国家传至北美传至大部分工业国家)形式相似,但是四五千年的另一些社会形式(目前正读到玛雅考古一章)已经消失在历史的烟云里。这说明古代与现代的相似来自记忆和记录,而非基因。我猜想可能苏美尔文字的发明是当时当地文化得到传承并发扬光大的主要原因。没有文字记录,全靠口头记忆的社会结构相对比较脆弱。
我好奇把这本找出来又看了一遍,哎嘛,骂人骂得这么狠这么精彩,真是只有阿婆做的到。Jun wrote: ↑2020-03-14 16:50Cline 教授很八卦的,详细解释了阿婆的 involvement. 阿婆本来去伊拉克是出于对考古的兴趣,在 Ur 挖古迹的主要是两个英国考古学家, Woolley 和 Mallowan. 阿婆去了之后就跟 Mallowan 搞上了恋爱,当时她40岁,对方 26。但是他俩好了之后被考古团踢了出来。为什么呢?传言是,阿婆在男员工之中风头太劲了,Woolley 的太太很不爽自己的地位被动摇了,就把她赶走了。Mallowan 只好换到别处去挖(好像去了埃及)。
但阿婆也不是吃素的,在小说 Murder in Mesopotamia 里面写了一个美女露易丝迅速被杀,原型就是 Lady Katherine Woolley. (妈呀他真够八的。)
里面还提到透视方法虽然先进但不太准,例如前两年在 Stonehenge 附近就闹过挺大的乌龙事件(以为地下埋了一些更大的石柱,结果是经年被扔进垃圾填物的地洞)。这倒让我想起一件事 ...It's always easy to identify someone who has just spent several weeks on an archeological survey, because they're always the ones who spot the pennies and other loose change on the ground when they get back to civilization.
这句话我来回看了好几遍也没看懂,而且上下文也没解释。What? The remains of a lake? artificial lake? drained? a part of a house? What the what?Vespasian (a Roman Emperor) built the amphitheater (the Roman Colosseum) on top of the remains of a drained artificial lake that had been part of Nero's Golden House (the Domus Aurea).
果然还是被贫穷限制了我的想象力。Colosseum 太巨大了,怎么会是湖?还是人工挖的湖?而且这人工湖还是金屋的一部分而已?好恐怖啊。This whole area was laid out as a park with porticoes, pavilions, baths, and fountains, and in the centre an artificial lake was made; under the emperor Vespasian the lake was drained to provide a site for the Colosseum.
这解答了我当年看见罗马城里那一片 The Forum 产生的疑惑——这么一大片地方过去两千年就一直是这样的都没人居住?不,其实是过去不到一百年里清理出来的,原先住在这里的居民都被拆迁了。那时的工程非常浩大,甚至连 Colosseum 和 Pantheon 之修复也大部分归功于墨索里尼时代工程。今天在罗马看见的那么多惊人古迹并不是两千年的细心维护,而是大独裁者上个世纪劳民伤财的大运动的结果。Mussolini ordered that many of the ancient buildings should be excavated and that the various shacks, shops, and other modern or medieval buildings encroaching upon them be torn down.
换言之,历史不仅仅是历史,而是用来为现实服务的工具。Nationalism---which by definition includes pride in one's country and, frequently, its past---lay behind the tremendous emphasis on archaeology in Rome during the years of King Victor Emmanuel II and of Mussolini. The connection is worth noting, especially since the link between archaeology and nationalism in Rome is possibly greater than in any other city or region in the world at any other time ... As archaeologist James Packer has said, "For the Fascists, the most important monuments ... were used as tools of propaganda, at once the precedents and justification for empire."
嗯,好眼熟的现象哦,自古以来我们就定居在此,所以现在也归我们,名正言顺。教授举出的例子是以色列和巴勒斯坦的领土纷争,两边各拿考古证据来支持自己的占有权。只是一个例子而已。最后他说,现代考古学家尽量避免被 nationalist 感情影响到求实精神,但是考古学家也是人,很难做到。The connection between nationalism and archaeology also has a dark side, as when the past has been invoked for more than just pride but to support the superiority of one modern group over others... It can also be used and abused when a modern group wishes to establish a claim to territory using archaeological remains.
The cuckoo clock.In Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare and terror and murder and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love and 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce?
一定是现代人类崇拜的,绿色长头发人鱼女神!I think it's going to be places like Starbucks and McDonalds that could cause the most confusion.
If [future archeologists] find that things halted suddenly, just like they did in Pompeii back in 79 CE, what will they think about the ubiquitous rectangular blobs of metal, plastic, class, and circuitry that seem to be associated with every skeleton, including many that are found clutched in someone's hand?