Re: Finding agriculture's 'genetic signature'

From: tgpedersen
Message: 14286
Date: 2002-08-10

--- In cybalist@..., Piotr Gasiorowski <piotr.gasiorowski@...>
wrote:
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Jens Elmegaard Rasmussen
> To: cybalist@...
> Sent: Saturday, August 10, 2002 12:07 AM
> Subject: Re: [tied] Re: Finding agriculture's 'genetic signature'
>
>
> > ... a male invasion army of Indo-Europeans? Did Old Europe get
ploughed and then usurped?
>
> Jens,
>
> The concept of all-male IE troops saying farewell to their homes
and women and going to war abroad is anachronistic. I don't think
this kind of organised warfare predates the formation of centrally
governed states _anywhere_. Even the Celtic or Germanic "armies" of
the Roman period consisted of men moving together with their own
wives, kids, goods and chattels. Of course they left the women behind
in the camp when they encountered the enemy and went out to battle,
but generally the tribe moved en masse. Read e.g. the description of
the Cymbri in Plutarch.
>
> Piotr

Yes, but might this not be a North European thing? Cf the North
European colonization of North America, bringing wives and children,
vs. the South European colonization of South America, taking local
wives?

Torsten