The Crying Indian

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7OHG7tHrNM

Here's a link to the Crying Indian advertisement that Krech talks about in the introduction to The Ecological Indian.  It's a perfect example of the general assumption that Indians treated the land with respect and understood nature completely, while "the white man" was the one who started pollution.

Petra: The Red Rock City

This is an example of a civilization that lives within its environment that I think is extremely interesting, so I thought I would share with everyone. Petra is located in the country of Jordan, and there is really great information at the American Museum of Natural History. The Cliffs of Stone section talks about how the whole civilization is carved into the stone of these cliffs, which allowed them to live in nature. They also had a very complex water system chiseled into the walls in this remote spot. Their civilization was able to flourish into a sprawling trading center, and one of the major stops on the silk road. The city existed at the same time as ancient Rome, and was eventually bloodlessly taken over. 

-Alyssa Posklensky

The main facade that the city is most well known for

The carvings in the wall are "pipes" for water to flow into the city

The homes of the people carved into rock

What it is supposed to have looked like in the "heyday"

Marielle Ravosa

Here is the video that displays the panorama at the New Bedford Whaling Museum:

http://vimeo.com/36824966

--Marielle Ravosa

Marielle Ravosa

During the lecture today and in the readings from last night, the class learned that hunting was not solely restricted to acquiring food, but could also be used as a glorified ceremonial process in which rich aristocrats demonstrated their rank and brawn. One question that arose during the lecture was: “Are people naturally violent?”. After thinking about this question, and reflecting on the readings from the previous night, I do not think that people have innate cruelness. In Marcelle Thiebaux’s “Literature and the Hunt”, he says hunters would, “end the agony of [an] animal…[by] plung[ing] a sword through to the heart from behind the shoulder. It was less common to slay the stag with bow and arrow in this type of hunt” (35). Here, I think people are exemplified as humane and compassionate. Instead of shooting a deer with a bow and arrow, which would lead to elongated pain and suffering before the animal actually died, humans chose to give it a fatal blow to the heart. Although the animal was being killed, at least the act was done in a way where the deer would die quickly and would not endure extensive suffering. This lead me to believe that humans are not naturally violent, but instead care for the animals they are killing and try to make the process of death as painless as possible.

---Marielle Ravosa

Here is a cool music video by Fatboy Slim entitled "Right Here, Right Now", which features the evolution of man from a single cell to a fat tourist. This is a prime example of nature appearing inside of modern culture. Near the end of the video, it also makes reference to our primitive nature and our triumph in the modern world. It's a very catchy tune too!

Voluntary Human Extinction Movement

Anyone interested in VHEMT, the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement, can take a look at the group's website here.  Some pretty interesting stuff, including "free graphics," including bumper stickers and poster ideas like this one:

Anyway . . .  would make a very interesting paper topic.

Welcome!!

Hi everyone,
Welcome to Summer College, Natural Resources 2320, "Nature and Culture." 

Jim