3.24.2011

Native Americans modified American landscape years prior to arrival of Europeans

Folsom PointImage via WikipediaNative Americans modified American landscape years prior to arrival of Europeans

My Twitter followers will have already seen my response, but because I am particularly arthritic and therefore grumpy today, I wanted to reiterate:

No shit, really!?!?

[sarcasm]
Humans modified landscapes in which they lived? Even the Injun ones? I may die of shock.
[/sarcasm]

Don't get me wrong, having quantifiable evidence is good and the study is pretty cool.  I just tend to get pissy about the tendency some people have of thinking humans were somehow way more stupid or incompetent in the past.  Especially non-European humans.
We're all still pretty much the same.  People in the past and people now are still just as capable of epic awesomeness of achievement of the WIN! or FAIL! variety. And even of somehow managing both at the same time (Ramses II at the Battle of Kadesh, I am totally looking at you.  "Derpty-do, I'll totally believe these random spies and just go on way ahead of the rest of my army and get caught by a huge enemy force...")

I'll go back to grinding my teeth and being aware of each and every joint facet/point of contact in my shoulder, fingers, and sacro-illiac now.

1 comment:

Summer said...

I'm so glad I'm not the only person to have that reaction! So many newspaper headlines or "discoveries" are just common sense. Does no one think anymore?