Is it possible to unlearn everything we know in order to have a more accurate and honest grasp of truths that present themselves to us in forms that call for interpretation? Is it possible to interpret without background? Our perspective is often colored by what we hope to find. We do not have much written documentation about the life, communities, activities and culture of the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras. The documentation provided at the end of the first chapter of Stayer's Ways of the World are presented with the consideration that historical accuracy is not guaranteed. Much is unknown. Nisa's interview, the visual discoveries of the Lascaux Rock Art, Stonehenge, Otzi, the Iceman and the Catalhuyuk female figurines are presented to help us situate ourselves for a brief moment outside our 21st century digital era. Our eagerness to understand and picture the distant past needs to be tempered by authenticity and accuracy in historical sources.
It is amazing to find in Nisa's story some similarities with Paleolitic age. Her father and husband were expected to provide food for the family by setting traps and hunting animals. She collected other food--probably the berries and tsin beans they ate. Another similar characteristic of that very late era is that her people also lived together in tight knit communities of few people. Nisa said in her interview with anthropologist Marjorie Shostak that she owned nothing. Her wealth seems to be in her relationships--with her brother, her husband and community at large. Giving and receiving were an essential element of her community. This sharing and supporting one another I think might even be considered a "survival technique." People were expected to share, to give from the little they possessed. Most importantly, they gave of themselves This sharing was expected even of God. It is striking to see the anthropological qualities assigned God by Nisa. God is seen as the one responsible for destruction and death.
Writing as a means of communication was preceded by drawing and other forms of art. In the Lascaux Rock Art, one can see how thousands of years ago man was depicted among other animals. It is striking that the man in the image is relatively leaner than the animals. He seems to be lying horizontally while the animals are on their hinds. We are not sure whether all the figures were drawn at the same time. Taking the piece together as a whole, the animals seem to be given greater prominence than man. I wonder if this reflects the possibility that 17,000 years ago, man saw himself less as the center of creation and more as a part of it. This contrasts our present egoistic tendency to see everything in creation as being at the service of man.
We desperately want answers. We would like to know what helped form the Stonehenge if at all it was formed and not transported. Discovered large stones give evidence of a the Neolithic era. How can we look at discovered remains without projecting our postmodern expectations, ideas and knowledge? It is almost impossible to approach art with a blank mind. We bring (even inadvertently)prior knowledge, expectations and some prejudice. The female figurines found in modern Turkey which date back to about 5000 B.C.E have according to Strayer, let some like James Mellaart to believe that there was "evidence of an ancient cult of the "mother Goddess." Feminists may see this as evidence that women occupied a prominent or even more important role than men in religion and society thousands of years ago.
We cannot assume what the figurines meant to the people back then even if we know what they seem to suggest to us today. I think we already have important answers. The arts, crafts and stories of the past testify to that humanity has always valued love, relationships and life. The creativity of humanity that impels migration, adaptation and survival is the same creativity that gifts us with evidence of its existence through beautiful art and crafts. It is the testimony!
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