Re: Nyerere and Amerindians

Perhaps the gun made killing easier but the archaeological site
Head-Smashed-In dates to 5500 years ago.  This is way before horses and guns
were introduced into the Americas.

--On Wed, Feb 3, 1999 7:19 PM -0800 kpmoseley@juno.com wrote: 

> On Nyerere's observation: Well, but the wonderful thing about small
> groups that use things and then move on is that vegetation, game, etc.
> tends to restore itself when they're gone. People who settle are much
> worse... indeed the very fact of their settling may reflect the fact that
> new territory is getting scarce, and it certainly stimulates increased
> fertility, intensified exploitation of resources, etc.  
> 
> On Amerindians: You have a good point. Probably the evidence is mixed.
> But there do seem to be some cultural elements and world views that
> suggest a very benign attitude towards the animal world and so on. Maybe
> the advent of the horse and gun led to harsher attitudes?? I'm way out of
> my depth here, I hasten to add. Perhaps Thomas Hall could add something
> more intelligent on this.