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rivendellroseCurrent news in archaeology brings up an issue that's been bothering me for a long time. First the news. Archaeologists at a site first discovered in 1900 have found sophisticated tools linked to Neanderthals. This is a big deal because it's still more evidence that we've misunderstood Neanderthals since their discovery back in the 19th century - they were definitely not the stereotypical cavemen we all picture when we first hear the name, and it's looking more and more like they were anything but stupid. The question of how our closest cousin species disappeared is still a mystery, but we can be certain now that it wasn't because they were just lugs who couldn't figure out how to use technological means to keep up with us Humans.
And now, those of you who've read the subject-line of this post are thinking "okay, but... Weevils?"
I'm thinking of the Torchwood Weevils, first, not the grubs that show up in biscuits on pirate ships. ;) But seriously - the Weevils have nagged at me ever since I started watching Torchwood... and they just seem to get more disturbing as time goes on. Not in and of themselves, although we're obviously meant by Davies & Co. to think of them as monsters. Think of the Weevils - picture the beginning of the episode where Jack runs off to get the other Glove to try to save Owen. That old church is full of Weevils.
And they're all wearing clothing.
I watched Torchwood out of order, so by the time I picked it up in the second season, I'd assumed that the Torchwood crew dressed Janet and their other captive Weevils themselves, out of some misplaced sense of modesty (pretty weird assumption given it's Torchwood, I know, but how else would this seemingly rabid beast end up clothed?) Then we saw "wild" Weevils... and not only were they all wearing coveralls, but they were wearing shoes, too. Trainers, if I remember right. Trainers! A four-year old can't lace these things by themself, but they're no trouble to a Weevil! And then I went back with my roommate and watched some older episodes... and discovered that the first time we meet Janet, Jack says he found her burying her young.
I admit it - I freaked. Burying her young! Were they dead? Was there an indication of ritual about it, or was it more like a dog burying a bone? If they were dead, how did they die? If they weren't dead, where the hell are they now? And Jack just kind of... says this, laughs, and then we're meant to be distracted by Janet menacing Gwen. Um. Yeah, I'd menace people, too, in that situation... whatever it was. But Jack seems to consider it merely an object lesson for Gwen - don't trust aliens, even when they seem to be sympathetic. This is obviously a lesson the Weevils have already learned from him.
I don't mean to turn this whole thing into some kind of melodramatic morality play, but here's the thing: right there, in those two moments, we have some pretty compelling evidence that Weevils are self-aware and at least moderately intelligent. The absence of clothing doesn't necessarily mean anything, but the presence of it is a good sign of thinking (if I wrap this around myself I'll be less cold) and under these circumstances, manual dexterity (buttons! laces! zippers!). One of the most fascinating aspects of science fiction for me has always been whether or not, if and when we encounter life not from this planet, we would recognize it - particularly whether we recognize it as intelligent and deserving of equal rights to those we accord members of our own species. Will we treat them like animals? Will we be able to respect the extreme cultural differences that are bound to gape between us?
How does this come back to the Neanderthals? Well, for most of the time we've known the existed, all the way back to the first realization that the first specimens found were not, in fact, the remains of deceased modern soldiers but rather a whole new species of humanoid from our planet's past, people have tended to assume that Neanderthals had to have been crude, unsophisticated brutes. Even in well-intentioned reconstructions, Neanderthals are a bit scary looking to modern Human eyes. They look aggressive, and maybe they were. The world they lived in was very harsh, and they were very well-adapted to it - better than our ancestors were, which is part of the mystery of why we're here and they aren't. The assumption for a long time has been that 'we' succeeded by being more clever, more able to use technology to make up for our weaker bodies. With the discovery of these tools, it's starting to look like that's not as good an explanation as we'd thought.
Part of what made the line about the Weevil burying its young so upsetting to me is that one of the most controversial sites in archaeology is a site where it appears to have been an intentional burial with flowers, which some say indicates a complex sense of self (and others) and possibly an idea of an afterlife, as well as ritual mourning. In archaeology classes it's often held up as one of the first signs of ancient culture.
I don't know what Davies or the writing team was intending when they wrote that line. Maybe they just meant it as a throwaway, or maybe they really did mean to call into question what the Weevils are and whether or not they might qualify as people, rather than animals as the Torchwood team treats them. Later they seem to worship Owen after he's been 'possessed' by the resurrection glove and brought back from the dead. Are we meant to read this as similar to animals in vampire literature, who recognize that there's something "wrong" with the undead? Or are we supposed to see self-aware creatures who understand death and want to placate it and convince it to pass them by? People, or animal?
The same question would no doubt be up for grabs if we had a Neanderthal right in front of us. I just hope we'd take more consideration with the decision than the team at Torchwood seems to.
And now, those of you who've read the subject-line of this post are thinking "okay, but... Weevils?"
I'm thinking of the Torchwood Weevils, first, not the grubs that show up in biscuits on pirate ships. ;) But seriously - the Weevils have nagged at me ever since I started watching Torchwood... and they just seem to get more disturbing as time goes on. Not in and of themselves, although we're obviously meant by Davies & Co. to think of them as monsters. Think of the Weevils - picture the beginning of the episode where Jack runs off to get the other Glove to try to save Owen. That old church is full of Weevils.
And they're all wearing clothing.
I watched Torchwood out of order, so by the time I picked it up in the second season, I'd assumed that the Torchwood crew dressed Janet and their other captive Weevils themselves, out of some misplaced sense of modesty (pretty weird assumption given it's Torchwood, I know, but how else would this seemingly rabid beast end up clothed?) Then we saw "wild" Weevils... and not only were they all wearing coveralls, but they were wearing shoes, too. Trainers, if I remember right. Trainers! A four-year old can't lace these things by themself, but they're no trouble to a Weevil! And then I went back with my roommate and watched some older episodes... and discovered that the first time we meet Janet, Jack says he found her burying her young.
I admit it - I freaked. Burying her young! Were they dead? Was there an indication of ritual about it, or was it more like a dog burying a bone? If they were dead, how did they die? If they weren't dead, where the hell are they now? And Jack just kind of... says this, laughs, and then we're meant to be distracted by Janet menacing Gwen. Um. Yeah, I'd menace people, too, in that situation... whatever it was. But Jack seems to consider it merely an object lesson for Gwen - don't trust aliens, even when they seem to be sympathetic. This is obviously a lesson the Weevils have already learned from him.
I don't mean to turn this whole thing into some kind of melodramatic morality play, but here's the thing: right there, in those two moments, we have some pretty compelling evidence that Weevils are self-aware and at least moderately intelligent. The absence of clothing doesn't necessarily mean anything, but the presence of it is a good sign of thinking (if I wrap this around myself I'll be less cold) and under these circumstances, manual dexterity (buttons! laces! zippers!). One of the most fascinating aspects of science fiction for me has always been whether or not, if and when we encounter life not from this planet, we would recognize it - particularly whether we recognize it as intelligent and deserving of equal rights to those we accord members of our own species. Will we treat them like animals? Will we be able to respect the extreme cultural differences that are bound to gape between us?
How does this come back to the Neanderthals? Well, for most of the time we've known the existed, all the way back to the first realization that the first specimens found were not, in fact, the remains of deceased modern soldiers but rather a whole new species of humanoid from our planet's past, people have tended to assume that Neanderthals had to have been crude, unsophisticated brutes. Even in well-intentioned reconstructions, Neanderthals are a bit scary looking to modern Human eyes. They look aggressive, and maybe they were. The world they lived in was very harsh, and they were very well-adapted to it - better than our ancestors were, which is part of the mystery of why we're here and they aren't. The assumption for a long time has been that 'we' succeeded by being more clever, more able to use technology to make up for our weaker bodies. With the discovery of these tools, it's starting to look like that's not as good an explanation as we'd thought.
Part of what made the line about the Weevil burying its young so upsetting to me is that one of the most controversial sites in archaeology is a site where it appears to have been an intentional burial with flowers, which some say indicates a complex sense of self (and others) and possibly an idea of an afterlife, as well as ritual mourning. In archaeology classes it's often held up as one of the first signs of ancient culture.
I don't know what Davies or the writing team was intending when they wrote that line. Maybe they just meant it as a throwaway, or maybe they really did mean to call into question what the Weevils are and whether or not they might qualify as people, rather than animals as the Torchwood team treats them. Later they seem to worship Owen after he's been 'possessed' by the resurrection glove and brought back from the dead. Are we meant to read this as similar to animals in vampire literature, who recognize that there's something "wrong" with the undead? Or are we supposed to see self-aware creatures who understand death and want to placate it and convince it to pass them by? People, or animal?
The same question would no doubt be up for grabs if we had a Neanderthal right in front of us. I just hope we'd take more consideration with the decision than the team at Torchwood seems to.
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no subject
Date: 2008-06-26 09:51 pm (UTC)But your point about Neanderthals is interesting! I never knew that... I do wonder how we crowded them out, so to speak and we we've not got different species of genus homo (or is it different genus of family homonidae? It's been a long time since I took anything related to biology/archaeology X3), like we've got so many types of cats and birds.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-26 11:47 pm (UTC)I believe the Neanderthals fall into homo as well as hominidae, and... oh, I wish I thought we'd have solid answers someday on how they went extinct. It's such a strange thought, that we might very well have co-evolved with another species if things had gone a bit differently, but I do wonder how much more bloody and appalling our history might have been in that case. We've got a bad enough knack for war and atrocities among against our own species - I can only think it would have been worse with a completely different species as well. Maybe that's wrong, though. Maybe we would have learned... we would certainly have been at a disadvantage against them, at least on a physical level. It's so hard to guess, at this point, but it's fascinating nonetheless...
no subject
Date: 2008-06-26 10:44 pm (UTC)Sorry about the novel.:p
no subject
Date: 2008-06-27 03:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-26 10:47 pm (UTC)Do you find that studying anthropology has meant that you are now more perceptive to these sorts of things - evidence of sentience and intelligent life, or just picking up weird aspects of differnt cultures - or is it something that you've always done?
It's kind of cool how you can parallel TW with Neanderthals. Maybe some disease wiped them out.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-26 11:32 pm (UTC)Really, this is the kind of stuff that got me into anthropology, not the other way around. I think probably too much about alien cultures and trying to make sense out of how they work. Like... okay, another weird thing, but it really bothers me that we don't have the Time Lords as a society around in the show anymore, because I'd absolutely love to know more about how their society work. They're nearly immortal, and they can regenerate their bodies - how does that affect their family structure? The Doctor had children and grandchildren by the time he was finished with his first body - is that normal? Is it just understood that that's what you do in your first lifetime, or is it weird? Is it weird that he doesn't seem to be in touch with his kids anymore after that? He seemed to be taking care of Susan - is that normal in their society? Some societies do normally give over care of the kids to grandparents...
...See, once I get going I can't stop, and I start annoying even myself with the incessant "Oh my god how does it all work?"
(The fact that I just drank a grande Starbucks frappuccino might have something to do with the manic-ness of this, too, of course.)
I've been wondering about the disease thing, too... There are ways to check skeletons for signs of some diseases, but there's probably other stuff that wouldn't show as obviously. It's a really interesting mystery, but I wonder sometimes if we'll ever know the answer.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-27 10:32 pm (UTC)I try not to think about TV shows that much, I find I ruin them for my self by deconstructing them, finding a gazillion flaws which just throw me out completly. But on the otherhand sometimes in depth analysis is fun, and like you said with teh Timelords, I would like to know more about them. Especially the distinction between a Timelord and a Gallifreyan.
I havn't has a starbucks frappuccino in sooooo long, I did have a Nero's Iced Caremalatte though and that was almost as good.
I doubt we'll ever know for sure, which sucks.