Hunter/Gatherers
Chapter two goes all the way back to when hominids left the dwindling canopy to their new life on the ground. The development of the heel helped hominids to walk upright, freeing up their complexed hands for other uses. (Shlain 9). Having hands with opposable thumbs helped hominids to evolve from hunted vegetarians, to scared scavengers, to tentative hunters, to accomplished killers in a mere million years (Shlain 9). As these advances were made hominid brain sizes would increase as a response, and so would the length of childhoods. This also caused danger for females during child birth, the larger head required a larger passage.
file:///Users/clintonamand/Desktop/Neanderthal_2D_src.jpg
After giving birth a female could not easily take care of herself, which caused the need for food sharing (Shlain 9/10). Food sharing came about out of mutual needs, women desired meat and men desired sex. Women needed meat due to the loss of iron during menses, and men could provide this. Sharing opened up the brain for new attributes such as kindness, generosity, and cooperation (Shlain 10); all gigantic for the evolution of the human race. As females cared for their weak babies, the men would hunt and drag back their food. Shlain points out Simone de Beauvior's idea the basically states men would hunt and women would gather. The hunter gatherer strategy is crucial incase the hunt is unsuccessful. (10) Men's sexual appetite would cause them to take more risks when hunting, causing males to become audacious hunters. Females then enjoyed daring and courageous males (Shlain 11/12).
The evolution of language came out of the necessity for communication, it is believed pointing was the first gesture. After pointing came hand gestures and then finally speech. Once speech was established cultures were established as well. Passing down knowledge from one generation to the next was crucial for human dominance over the rest of the animal kingdom (Shlain 13)
Shlain does a great job of using logos in this chapter. By going step by step in the evolutionary process his reasoning and logic is there. Although these are not all his original ideas that points out his ethos, he sites many professionals in his writing. His pathos is shown in his writing, it is passionate and clear.
Question
Shlain states the food sharing is the root of modern day bonding and marriage. Having said that, what do you think is modern day food sharing?
Work cited
image: http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/assets/images/2006/Nov/15-Wed/Neanderthal_2D_src.jpg
Shlain, Leonard. “Hunters/Gatheres.” The Alphabet Versus the Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image. New York: Penguin / Compass, 1998. Pp. 8-16.
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ReplyDeleteWhen I think of modern day food sharing, I think more about what culture says our roles as men and women are or should be in society. For example, instead of the men going out to hunt and bring home meat, now society tells us that it is the man’s job to go out and make the money (bring home the bacon in a different way). Furthermore, our culture tells us that it is the woman’s role to cook, clean, and take care of the children. In my opinion times have changed a little from the stereotypical—men are the head honcho attitude. However, today food sharing isn’t so much about the actually exchanging or sharing of food but now money.
ReplyDeleteModern day food sharing is the exchange of sex for babies. Shlain attempts to explain how women were once dependent on men to bring them meat to give them iron, which they were lacking in due to menstruation The women could not get the meat themselves due to their responsibility of raising children. This particular dependency women have for men to get them iron has changed. Women are a lot less dependent on men in several ways. Women can go to the store and buy meat, they can send there children to day care so women can essentially be self sustaining. I feel that the modern example of sex for meat swap would be sex for children. Women remain dependent on men in one way which is to give them babies. This desire for children that women naturally have makes them dependent on men. The desire men have for sex, however, has not changed. They are dependent on women to satisfy their sexual desires. This swap really is a convenient due to that the act of sex makes babies. So men get their sex and in return, women get their babies.
ReplyDeleteI believe modern day food sharing is power in exchange for family. Men today still want to be the bread winners and make big money, and still have a wife, and kids. They want to be able to come home to dinner on the table, the house cleaned, and his wife to do whatever he may need after a long day at work. I think this goes along with the likes of what Shlain says of how women are dependent on men. I still think this happens in today's world because if a man has a great job with a good income he will just tell his wife not to work. Which in turn gives him all the power because now he not only is the bread winner, but has total control on how the money is being spent. He also knows that he has a wife at home talking care of the kids and household responsibilities. Also, all women mostly want to have a family and raise their kids,be there every step of the way, and with this exchange power for family they can do that. When all is said and done though men rely on women just as much as women rely on men.
ReplyDeleteFood sharing may be at the root of modern day bonding and marriage, but I believe that in modern western civilization there is nothing that ties people together except companionship. We live in a culture, where if you want something for yourself you can get it with hard work. As a woman, I don’t need anything physically from a man. I can get a job, make money, feed and support myself. Women today are no longer tied down to being the sole caregiver for their children. Many women find help from family members or profession caregivers, while they work and bring home the money. There are millions of single parent families that do well in this situation. Today, many women can support their physical needs for themselves and their family alone.
ReplyDeleteWhat does bring people together in marriage is their emotional needs, companionship. Yes, we can raise a family alone, but why? In western culture, people get married because they need love from another person. Companionship, finding the right person, your soul mate, is what people are looking for in marriage. The human’s needs are much deeper then exchanging food for sex, they come from our souls. Modern day food sharing is the sharing of our thoughts, feelings, our secrets and showing another person love and respect in exchange for a life-lasting bond consummated through marriage.
When I thought about this question, my answer was similar to Hilary's. In this modern age, I believe that women are moving further and further away from the housewife mold as more and more of them are entering the workforce. They don't have to rely on men to ensure that their basic needs are met. What they do desire is love and companionship in their lives. With that being said, however, there are still some people out there and other cultures who wish to take the traditional route and who do desire a man to provide for them and their children. And the men who desire sex and children, oblige.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was thinking about the question and what modern day food sharing might be, and the more I thought to myself that I really don't think that some populations have changed from this idea. In some cultures people still actually maintain this lifestyle, however, not with food. Instead some people use money as the "food". Even in America itself people do that to this day. Men giving money to women just to have sex. I think it is a big deal especially with porn industries, and how they make as much money off of it as they do. However, I also think that women have gotten stronger with this as well. I think that "back in the day", especially in the early to mid 90's that women didn't have the rights and responsibilities that they do now. I think that over time women have gotten just as men in this culture. They are getting just as much appreciation and job duties as men in America now. However, I still believe that the "food for sex" issue is still a problem, even in American society these days. Even though males want to be the dominate ones in the relationship, the females are surely making a statement for themselves.
ReplyDeleteI believe the concept of food for sex still exists. Due to the expansion of language and communication technology it just occurs in different ways. It is not as raw as it used to be, such as men actually going to hunt and bringing meat to the women. Nowadays, it occurs as the so called courting ritual. There are various things men can do for or give to women to increase their chances of a sexual relation. I am in agreement that money seems to be the basis for these things as well.
ReplyDeleteI think since the advent of language the exchange of meat for sex has grown immensely. The exchange has now grown to include companionship, emotional awareness, money, personality exchange, and above all else, love. Things are in no way as easy as exchanging a wooly mammoth carcass for sex, relationships, and the incessant courting, dating and emotional give and take that ensues have grown to encompass many more aspects.
ReplyDeleteThanks to Clinton for his summary, analysis, and discussion question. And thanks to all who posted in response here--
ReplyDeleteThis chapter feels to me like it is still setting the stage for the bold claim Schlain makes int he following chapter. I agree with Clinton that Schlain is good at using logos, ethos, and pathos in this section--yes, his writing is passionate and clear.
I'm not sure how to respond to Clinton's question. I *really* like the way some of you have responded, suggesting that the "food" exchange Schlain speaks of that is the root of bonding and marriage is less literal nourishment than companionship, love, dependable partnership.
One problem I find with Schlain's thinking is that it seems to rely too much on biological essentialism and not enough on the idea of gender as social construction. So, for example, what about women and men who do not choose to have children, and who are capable of providing for themselves, but nevertheless fall in love and form monogamous partnerships? What's the root of that bond?
I think that modern day food sharing is the same but differentiate at the same time. What I mean by that class-is that in this chapter they symbolize that men would hunt for food for the family while then the father, and mother did their best to sterilize the food and best prepare it for their kids if they had any because the food was not ready just after hunting. Nowadays what happens is usually the men makes most of the money, and provides for their family and the wife cooks the food. So it's the same in context because in both time periods the men generally takes the higher role and making sure the family is in good standing. The difference is the way that the men provide. Back then men hunted to provide, now men work- so nowadays things were more civilized as back then things were not, but both I think contribute to modern day food sharing in unique but manageable ways.
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ReplyDeleteWhen I think of modern day food sharing it's hard to believe how far humans have come in so many ways. I don't think that in America at least we really have a sex confined food sharing situation. Women on average may still make a little less than men, but most families have dual incomes and although traditionally women are more domestic, today raising children and making a house a home is really more of a group effort. I see modern day food sharing as an exchange in ideas and joy. We are with people who make us happy and not to be cliche but we are with people who complete us. Food and money are readily accessible in our society, but we still need people. It's debatable whether or not we are dependent on the opposite sex, because we don't really even physically on a personal level need them for babies anymore. So in my opinion modern day food sharing is when we crave our significant others unique characteristics, specialized knowledge and care.
ReplyDeleteI believe modern day food sharing is the relationships developed between two people. Instead of exchanging sex for meat, the people in the relationship exchange support and companionship. Children result from the instinctual desires of both parties to have sex, though the males is more for the instant pleasure while the females have a somewhat more clear view of the future with their nurturing instincts.
ReplyDeleteModern day food sharing to me would be the exchange of money for labor, which allows you to buy things. In the beginning, people needed the most primitive things in life food, shelter, water. Now most of the modern western civilization has those things at their disposal so sharing food would be obsolete. Now people need money to be able to pay bills, buy groceries, etc. Shlain states in chapter eleven, “In general, the men hunted , and the women continued to gather.” This is still trued today. Men are expected to take care of their families by going out and getting a job, not hunting for food. In Chapter 10, Shlain states that “hunters bring home prizes home,” which is as true today as it was then, only now money is the prize. Women’s roles in society has still not evolved very much in that they are still expected to take care of their children, the home and in most cases still have to have a job to be able to support the family. The exchange between meat and sex is not very different in modern terms. Men still want sex and women are able to put up with an awful lot to have a good provider in their lives, even if that means giving it up every now and then.
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