Re: Interesting BBC Article on Oldest Nuclear Family

[Guest guest]

I don't know, it doesn't sound much different to what happens in a lot of places in the world today!"Researchers say such violence fits with what we know about life in central Europe at the time - the area had fertile soils, a stable climate and natural access routes. This made it a desirable place to live, but also created competition amongst its inhabitants, leading to violent confrontations when one community tried to displace another. ">> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7733372.stm> > We have no way to know what human life was like back then, but I would venture to guess that things were pretty horrific. That would probably explain why our anxiety circuits fire off so easily. "Anxious" and "hypersensitive" people who could anticipate and avoid these kinds of troubles would seem to have been more likely to survive and propagate in such a brutal and lawless environment, and thus here we are, their descendants.>

[Guest guest]

True, the oldest nuclear family case where the family was beaten to death by an

intruder happens in the present day, but it appears that events of that type

were much more common in antiquity. Consider that 1 in 20 stone age Briton

skeletons, for example, show evidence of skull fracture from a blunt object

(healed, in which case the individual survived the attack, or not healed in

which the attack led to death). I strongly doubt that if you sampled the

British population today, you would see a similar incidence of skull fracturing

;-)

> >

> > http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7733372.stm

> >

> > We have no way to know what human life was like back then, but I would

> venture to guess that things were pretty horrific. That would probably

> explain why our anxiety circuits fire off so easily. " Anxious " and

> " hypersensitive " people who could anticipate and avoid these kinds of

> troubles would seem to have been more likely to survive and propagate in

> such a brutal and lawless environment, and thus here we are, their

> descendants.

> >

>

[Guest guest]

It is better in Britain today except in Glasgow it seems. But don't despair as police have recently dramatically reduced the crime in this place by using a new technique developed in America.

The gang fights in Glasgow are a brutal form of sensation-seeking. On Friday nights undernourished white teenagers on the remote 1950s housing estates chase each other across uneven wasteground. It's dark; the rain is horizontal. One of them slips and falls. Then the air is alive with a fury of machetes, belt buckles, golf clubs and swords. Seventy-one murders a year. A serious facial injury every six hours.

These kids live and die in a square mile. They are hemmed into a gang territory of a couple of featureless streets. They cross the road to attack kids they hate because that's what their dad did. There's no way out. Many of these young boys never make it into the centre of Glasgow, with its cappuccino bars in Merchant City, the famed music scene of Glasvegas and 18-screen Imax. The only time they do is in an ambulance, racing down the Edinburgh Road to A & E all torn and slashed, to be stitched up by a facial surgeon.

Strathclyde police had tried all traditional means of enforcement when they turned to the American model. They had had little success: crackdowns on knife-carrying and binge-drinking, stop-and-searches, and banning alcohol. The measures were short term only. Once a young offender is released he falls in with his old mates and is soon back in trouble. Kids grow up amid chronic deprivation, drug and alcohol addiction, and domestic violence. The only sensation-seeking they have is to swig some cheap cider and chase each other at the weekend with weapons. One boy was given a machete for his 13th birthday by his own mother.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jul/05/glasgow-gang-busters-david-cameron

Kv

> >> > http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7733372.stm> >> > We have no way to know what human life was like back then, but I would> venture to guess that things were pretty horrific. That would probably> explain why our anxiety circuits fire off so easily. "Anxious" and> "hypersensitive" people who could anticipate and avoid these kinds of> troubles would seem to have been more likely to survive and propagate in> such a brutal and lawless environment, and thus here we are, their> descendants.> >>

[Guest guest]

Skull fracture from a blunt object has been replaced with /injury death by shooting. Tribal wars have been replaced with global wars. Not much has changed, really.

Helena

To: "ACT for the Public" <ACT_for_the_Public >Sent: Sunday, July 17, 2011 1:45:13 AMSubject: Re: Interesting BBC Article on Oldest "Nuclear" Family

True, the oldest nuclear family case where the family was beaten to death by an intruder happens in the present day, but it appears that events of that type were much more common in antiquity. Consider that 1 in 20 stone age Briton skeletons, for example, show evidence of skull fracture from a blunt object (healed, in which case the individual survived the attack, or not healed in which the attack led to death). I strongly doubt that if you sampled the British population today, you would see a similar incidence of skull fracturing ;-)> >> > http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7733372.stm> >> > We have no way to know what human life was like back then, but I would> venture to guess that things were pretty horrific. That would probably> explain why our anxiety circuits fire off so easily. "Anxious" and> "hypersensitive" people who could anticipate and avoid these kinds of> troubles would seem to have been more likely to survive and propagate in> such a brutal and lawless environment, and thus here we are, their> descendants.> >>