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The Holocene And the Agro-Pastoral Emergence

ABSTRACT

This lecture introduces the concept known as the Holocene, a climactic condition that began around10,000 BCE As a result o! the global warming, we see the emergence o! se"eral new cultural !ormations

#ne o! these is the salmon culture that spanned the northern hal! o! the Paci!ic !rom the $omon in $apanto the Haida in Canada %eanwhile, in &orth A!rica and 'est Asia, we see the emergence o! pastoral andagro-pastoral traditions The lecture compares the di!!erent house and settlement t(pes

KEY PEOPLES

$omon )$apan*

Haida )Canada*

%aasai )+en(a*

Hammer )Ethiopia)

KEY CONCEPTS

Holocene

eciduous orest

Taiga orest

Pit House )also Earth .odge* Hogan

Agro-pastoralism

Pastoral /ocieties

Plant-Tending /ocieties

Bull and Cow Cults

Hathor

/acri!ice

/orghum

KEY PLACES

%(sore, ndia

+en(a

Haida waii, Canada

NOTES ON SELECT TERMS

The /iting o! a Haida HouseThe line transecting the sea and the !orest constitutes a hori2ontal world a3is unto its own that runs !romthe beach through the center o! the house out the back to the !orest #n it are arranged the house !rontalpole, the !ireplace, the back wall screen which separates o!! the chie!4s apartment and the interior housepole The area behind the house was a more !orbidding 2one leading to the !amil( mortuar( house

Another a3is runs along the beach and on it are located all o! the hearths o! the "arious houses in the"illage /tars are e3plained as light o! the sun coming through holes in the roo! o! the celestial house Theearth consists o! two islands, Haida .and )the 5ueen Charlotte slands* and /eaward Countr( )themainland* The !ormer is supported b( a supernatural being called /acred-#ne-/tanding-and-%o"ing,which rests on a copper bo3 #n his breast is a pole or pillar that supports Haida .and and e3tendsthrough a hole in the top o! the !irmament into the sk( abo"e This pole unites the three 2ones o! thecosmos Power !lows through the world pole and attached to the top are strings that reach to e"er( "illagein Haida .and Pulling these strings results in rain, snow or sleet, depending on the season uring apotlatch, a cord is stretched !rom the !rontal pole to the beach to s(mboli2e the shining string o! hea"en

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and no one is allowed to cross o"er this string The imaginar( world pole is s(mboli2ed b( the house pole,which is also thought to be a ceremonial conduit o! power The lower world is s(mboli2ed b( the pit in thecenter o! the house The world o! the here-and-now is de!ined b( the house itsel! and the area abo"e thesmoke hole is seen as belonging to the celestial part The !ire at the center o! the pit is the main conduitbetween the "arious worlds #!!erings are put into the !ire with the hissing being interpreted as a sign o!its reception b( the ghosts who communicate with the li"ing

ashainn late /eptember and earl( #ctober, the &epalese people celebrate ashain, the longest and mostimportant !esti"al in the &epalese annual calendar, celebrated b( all caste and creed throughout thecountr( The celebration lasts !i!teen da(s and occurs during the lunar !ortnight ending on the da( o! the!ull moon The goddess urga is worshiped with o!!erings and thousands o! animal sacri!ices !or the ritualhol( bathing, thus drenching the goddess !or da(s in blood The e"ent commemorates the "ictor( o! the

gods o"er the wicked demons Eid al-Adha ) ) or "Festival of Sacrifice" or "Greater Eid" is animportantreligious holida(celebrated b( %uslims worldwide to commemorate the willingness o!Abrahamto sacri!ice his son shmael as an act o! obedience to od,be!ore od inter"ened to pro"ide him with aram to sacri!ice instead The meat is di"ided into three parts to be distributed to others The !amil( retainsone third o! the share, another third is gi"en to relati"es, !riends and neighbors, and the other third isgi"en to the poor 6 need( According to the 5ur7an 889:;9 and this in"ol"es tra"el to nearb( !orests or man(trips across the sa"annah in search o! the right timber !or posts The best branches come !rom theleleshwabush, which is resistant to termites There is one door and no windows The structures arerelati"el( low, in that one cannot stand up on the inside A mi3ture o! cow dung and cla( is applied to theoutside The posts are dug into the ground close together and range !rom ?0 to 1@0 cm in height Cattle

dung is used to moisten the sides o! the holes9 and, taking each one in turn, the woman uses a rock orhea"( piece o! timber to hammer the post into the ground The poles are then tied together at the top, topieces o! wood arranged hori2ontall(> and there is usuall( another line o! hori2ontal ties lower down To!orm the cur"e o! the roo!, thin saplings are wedged between the top hori2ontal bars and bent o"er to !orma bridge towards the opposite wall /aplings !rom the other walls are bent o"er in the same wa( and tiedtogether with "ines to !orm the hump-backed roo! t(pical o! %aasai homes /maller branches, twigs,lea"es and grass are used to !ill in the gaps between both posts and ra!ters, and the outside o! the houseis then plastered with a mi3ture o! mud )made !rom cla( and water* and cow dung -- with a !inishing coato! cow dung applied to the roo! The straw in the dung helps bind the plaster together

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