Years ago Margaret Mead, an American anthropologist, was asked by a student what she considered to be the first sign of civilisation in a culture. The student expected Mead to talk about clay pots or grinding stones. But no. Mead said that the first sign of civilisation in an ancient culture was a femur (thighbone) that had been broken but healed.
Mead explained that, in the animal kingdom if you break a leg, you die. You cannot run from danger, cannot get to the river for a drink or hunt for food. You are fodder for prowling beasts. No animal survives a broken leg long enough for the bone to heal.
A broken femur that has healed is evidence that someone has taken time to stay with the one who fell and has tended that person through recovery. Helping someone through difficulty was where civilisation started Mead said.
We humans, are at our best when we serve others. And, although I am no anthropologist, I dare say that the corollary is true – we are at our worst when we inflict pain on others.
Like Mead’s student I was surprised by her answer. From what I read over the years I was under the impression that civilisation commenced when Man discovered, if that’s the appropriate word, seed and learned how to sow and reap. No longer overly dependent on hunting, Man settled down and with time on his hands learned to create things from clay (pottery) and even indulged in a bit of art – hence cave drawings. But who am I to argue (and I’m not) with Margaret Mead – a very interesting woman for sure.
Born on December 16, 1901, she was a renowned author and speaker during the 1960s and 1970s.and was married three times. She married her first husband, Luther Cressman, in 1923. They divorced in 1928. She married her second husband, Reo Fortune, in 1928 (Margaret wasn’t hanging about); they divorced in 1935. Her third husband was Gregory Bateson whom she married in 1936 and with whom she had a daughter Mary Catherine Bateson. They divorced in 1950. Margaret Mead, I dare to suggest, was not the easiest woman in the world to get on with. Then again, perhaps the men were equally, if not more, difficult to live with!
Mead commented on a wide range of societal issues: women’s rights, nuclear proliferation, race relations, environmental pollution and world hunger. A woman ahead of her time, for sure. Her best known book, ‘Coming Of Age In Samoa’ was published in 1928. It’s a fascinating study of adolescent girls that transformed Mead into an academic celebrity. Margaret Mead spent the last years of her life in a romantic relationship with anthropologist Rhoda Metraux. Mead proposed that it was to be expected that an individual’s sexual orientation may evolve throughout life! She died November 15, 1978, aged 76. Her three husbands survived her.
Margaret Mead was right about wounded animals. We had a cat years ago and one of her kittens (a feisty little thing) got into a brawl with a big tom cat leaving it unable to walk. The mother – who I thought would nurse it lovingly – abandoned it completely leaving me with no choice but to bring it to the vet to be put down.
Mother Nature isn’t all about mothering, I’m afraid. It can be damn cruel betimes, as we well know.
Staying with the animal kingdom – two nights ago I find the hedgehog I’ve been feeding in the last six months tucking into some cat food outside our backdoor. What the hell is going on? This little creature is meant to be tucked up in some leafy bed, hibernating for the winter. Hedgehogs, according to Mr Google, hibernate in October or November through to March! Not ‘my’ hedgehog. Proof, if proof was needed, of climate change. Obviously there are lots of worms, slugs and millipedes around. Oh, and Gerry’s cat food. Mr Google also tells me that hedgehogs come out around 9.30 pm to forage for food, may travel up to two kilometres and will be back in bed by 5 am.
I just hope it doesn’t cross paths with any prowling beasts because, if Margaret Mead is right, and I don‘t doubt but she that is, there’ll be no one around to nurse the unfortunate hedgehog back to good health!
