As I do rather frequently, I read through as many professional articles as I can with a cup of coffee or tea. I read them to find analogs from which I can derive the points of departure I hope my entries on this site provide.
Most professional reports are of no general interest to a simple seeker of knowledge like me, or their specifics are beyond my understanding. I can't, for example and for whatever value to specialists it is worth, find a lesson about life in "Jensen polynomials for the Riemann zeta function and other sequences," published by Michael Griffin, Ken Ono, Larry Rolen, and Don Zagier. * Before I note a point of departure from an article that I did find interesting, I should say that the Griffin, et al., article has merit as evidenced by its being picked up by 13 news outlets, blogged by 3, and tweeted by 35. Obviously, those "in the know" know more than I about the article's value. Occasionally, however, I do read an article that prods my brain because it seems to have a more widespread application than a specialized field of knowledge, maybe even has universal applications. Today, I found an article at NewBeezer online (June 18, 2019) that made me pen this little essay.
Apparently, the citizens of Çatalhöyük (chat-tal-hoo-yook) were rather rough on one another. Living in a city, even an ancient one dating to 9,000 years ago, seemed to engender violence among residents. According to Clark Larsen, the lead author of a study, the people of the city suffered from “infectious diseases, overcrowding, violence, and environmental destruction.” Sound familiar?
That familiar sound is echoed in the title: “One of the oldest cities in the world had surprisingly modern problems.” Really. Who’d a thunk it? Humans acting like humans. And get this, “Of 93 skulls analyzed, 25 had evidence of healed fractures. Twelve skulls showed signs of trauma, which was caused several times.” Most of these head injuries were found on the backs of the heads. Makes me think that what I have heard a number of times in Walmart, malls, and grocery stores, is an age-old expression: “I’m gonna hit you upside yer head.” Ah! Civilization. Were the problems of that ancient city really “surprisingly modern”?
So, imagine. You’re in Turkey between 7100 and 5950 BC. You’re living “in the city.” Farmers live on the outskirts, just as they do today. You live in crowded quarters on narrow streets without the benefits of modern sewage systems. You bury your dead beneath the floor of your home. You live in Çatalhöyük. And your legacy of urban disease, crime, and violence foreshadows city life thousands of years in your future. Isn’t there some way you can resolve the problems of city life so that people some seven to nine millennia later won’t go through what you go through? Why aren’t you altruistically thinking of twenty-first century urbanites?
Reading about what the archaeologists seem to think portrays life in Çatalhöyük, I’m given to believe that we will never learn the lessons of the past, even if our elders try to teach us by hitting us upside our heads, a disciplinary technique the Çatalhöyükians obviously thought was effective.
So, imagine. You’re living in the twenty-first century. Oh! Sorry, you actually are. Will the people of seven to nine millennia hence have the same urban problems? You need to start hitting some of your contemporaries upside their heads. Or, do you have other solutions since, obviously—very obviously—that Çatalhöyükian technique didn’t work?
* https://www.pnas.org/content/116/23/11103 PNAS, vol. 116, no. 23. June 4, 2019. 11103-11110.
Most professional reports are of no general interest to a simple seeker of knowledge like me, or their specifics are beyond my understanding. I can't, for example and for whatever value to specialists it is worth, find a lesson about life in "Jensen polynomials for the Riemann zeta function and other sequences," published by Michael Griffin, Ken Ono, Larry Rolen, and Don Zagier. * Before I note a point of departure from an article that I did find interesting, I should say that the Griffin, et al., article has merit as evidenced by its being picked up by 13 news outlets, blogged by 3, and tweeted by 35. Obviously, those "in the know" know more than I about the article's value. Occasionally, however, I do read an article that prods my brain because it seems to have a more widespread application than a specialized field of knowledge, maybe even has universal applications. Today, I found an article at NewBeezer online (June 18, 2019) that made me pen this little essay.
Apparently, the citizens of Çatalhöyük (chat-tal-hoo-yook) were rather rough on one another. Living in a city, even an ancient one dating to 9,000 years ago, seemed to engender violence among residents. According to Clark Larsen, the lead author of a study, the people of the city suffered from “infectious diseases, overcrowding, violence, and environmental destruction.” Sound familiar?
That familiar sound is echoed in the title: “One of the oldest cities in the world had surprisingly modern problems.” Really. Who’d a thunk it? Humans acting like humans. And get this, “Of 93 skulls analyzed, 25 had evidence of healed fractures. Twelve skulls showed signs of trauma, which was caused several times.” Most of these head injuries were found on the backs of the heads. Makes me think that what I have heard a number of times in Walmart, malls, and grocery stores, is an age-old expression: “I’m gonna hit you upside yer head.” Ah! Civilization. Were the problems of that ancient city really “surprisingly modern”?
So, imagine. You’re in Turkey between 7100 and 5950 BC. You’re living “in the city.” Farmers live on the outskirts, just as they do today. You live in crowded quarters on narrow streets without the benefits of modern sewage systems. You bury your dead beneath the floor of your home. You live in Çatalhöyük. And your legacy of urban disease, crime, and violence foreshadows city life thousands of years in your future. Isn’t there some way you can resolve the problems of city life so that people some seven to nine millennia later won’t go through what you go through? Why aren’t you altruistically thinking of twenty-first century urbanites?
Reading about what the archaeologists seem to think portrays life in Çatalhöyük, I’m given to believe that we will never learn the lessons of the past, even if our elders try to teach us by hitting us upside our heads, a disciplinary technique the Çatalhöyükians obviously thought was effective.
So, imagine. You’re living in the twenty-first century. Oh! Sorry, you actually are. Will the people of seven to nine millennia hence have the same urban problems? You need to start hitting some of your contemporaries upside their heads. Or, do you have other solutions since, obviously—very obviously—that Çatalhöyükian technique didn’t work?
* https://www.pnas.org/content/116/23/11103 PNAS, vol. 116, no. 23. June 4, 2019. 11103-11110.
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