OK Rover, Now Play Dead
I enjoyed reading this article from National Geographic about the burial practices of the Chiribaya of Peru. While excavating an ancient cemetary, anthropologists discovered the remains of mumified dogs.
The researchers found 43 dogs buried in separate plots alongside their human owners, naturally preserved by the desert sands and ensconced with treats for the afterlife.In the United States today, we highly value our animal companions, I know that I adore my two cats. It's great to see that the humans that came before us prized their animal companions as well. In terms of our evolutionary development, the ability to domesticate animals was a huge advantage.
"We have found that in all the cemeteries, always, in between the human tombs there are others dedicated to the dogs, full-grown and puppies," Guillen told the Associated Press.
"They have their own grave, and in some cases they are buried with blankets and food."
posted by Blaine the Mono @ 8:22 PM
2 Comments:
It is indeed interesting to see paralells between modern and ancient behaviors.
When I look at long ago peoples like this I can't help but be pulled in two directions. On the one hand, they are humans, and as a result it is tempting to think that they thought of many things the same way that we do today. On the other hand, they are ancient, and even the most basic idea had to be invented at some point.
I saw a special on PBS the other night about the history of numbers. It turns out that humans have been counting for a very long time, but that math as we know it is a recent concept.
I wonder what that says about the relative value of pets and algebra.
i'm always fascinated by anthropological and archeological discoveries... humans evolved on every level... not just evolution in terms of darwinian biology... religion, culture, technology and many others emerged,evolved, and developed in the human race much as they do in an infant growing to adulthood, slowly and in stages
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