当今最有个性最有突破成就的学者。
- This book may be the most important book ever written on the evolution of human social organization. It brings together observation and theory from social anthropology, primatology, and paleoanthropology in a manner never before equalled. The author, Chris Knight, who teaches social anthropology at the University of London is up to date on all these fields and has achieved an extraordinary synthesis. His critiques of Claude Levi-Strauss on totemism and myth are a sheer tour de force. The basic premise can be summarized, though only in an extremely cursory fashion, as follows. The basis of primate social organization is predicated on the distribution of food resources and how females array themselves around these. Males array themselves around females. Over the course of human evolution, the acquisition of animal protein came to be of critical significance. Proto-human females acquired this valuable resource from males via a collective bargaining agreement which formed the basis of human kinship organization and social exchanges. This accomplished through a systematic "sex-strike" cycle which ran according to a lunar based schedule of menstruation/hunting following by ovulation/feasting. Human females evolved concealed ovulation and a cultural system of sexual advertisement based on menstruation that guided this cycle. Females could now say 'yes', but they could also say 'no', depending on the success of the hunting venture. The author explores evidence for this thesis both in the ethnography of currently existing non-industrial societies as well as in the paleolithic in the use that anatomically modern humans' made of red ochre and other pigments to signify and exploit the menstrual event. A number of previously incomprehensible myths, such as the 'Rainbow Snake' of the Australian Aborigines, receive a new and revealing interpretation in this light.
- posted on 05/02/2011
This original and ingenious book presents a new theory of the origins of human culture. Integrating perspectives of evolutionary biology and social anthropology within a Marxist framework, Chris Knight rejects the common assumption that human culture was a modified extension of primate behavior and argues instead that it was the product of an immense social, sexual, and political revolution initiated by women. - RE: Menstruation and the Origins of Culture by Chris Knightposted on 05/02/2011
回复 mayaPolice arrested street theater performers? Isn’t that outrageous?
CCP arrested Aiweiwei, and police in Britain arrested Knight.
- Re: Menstruation and the Origins of Culture by Chris Knightposted on 05/02/2011
这个我读过。人类学还有其它做经血禁忌研究的。 - RE: Menstruation and the Origins of Culture by Chris Knightposted on 05/05/2011
回复 #3 小麦很想听你的评述。
人类的一次次战争、革命,犹如女人的月经周期,是人类成长经历的必须。战争、革命带来的摧毁、流出的鲜血,是生命的一个必不可少的部分。是这样的一个观点吗?
- posted on 05/05/2011
maya wrote:
人类的一次次战争、革命,犹如女人的月经周期,是人类成长经历的必须。战争、革命带来的摧毁、流出的鲜血,是生命的一个必不可少的部分。是这样的一个观点吗?
不是。是说因为女人要养孩子,大脑进化的成本(温度,新陈代谢,等等)对女人尤其高。女人最好的办法是有个提供食物的稳定伴侣,所以女人排卵期和发情期相对隐蔽,是为了在两性关系中制造信息不对称。男人对女人是否怀了自己孩子的确定性,和他呆在女人身边的时间成正比。女人的这些生理特征让乱撒种子的男人相比愿意呆在女人身边的男人处于劣势。但是有一样暴露了女人想掩藏的信息,就是经血。Chris Knight认为有关经血的文化仪式是女人发展出来cope这个处境的。
如果把人的身体比作疆界,人对溢出自己身体的东西,有类同于地理越界的恐惧感。血在身体内(界限以内)是正常的,一旦流出,或者以经血那样定期定时的状态流出,带来的是恐惧和厌恶(所有的身体排泄物都和"恶心”或多或少相联系)。经血禁忌在人类社会广泛存在,以前认为是男人压迫女人的手段,后来的文化人类学研究表明关于经血的象征在不同社会差别可以是很大的。很多理论倾向于考虑女人在这个仪式中获得的权力和自主度。
其它以后有空写。 - RE: RE: Menstruation and the Origins of Culture by Chris Knightposted on 05/06/2011
回复 #5 小麦请小麦继续,你每天都有空的:)非常有趣的书。
昨天继续想了一下这个理论,订购了这本书。继续关注chris knight的理论。
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