Globalisation

[Eddie Teach]

That's Raz's job.

[dps]

But this implies that paleolithic men abstained from sex because they did not want children.  I find this assertion unlikely. 

So do I, in large part because it was my understanding that humans didn't even realize the link between sex and pregnancy until shortly before the dawn of history.

[HVC]

But this implies that paleolithic men abstained from sex because they did not want children.  I find this assertion unlikely. 

So do I, in large part because it was my understanding that humans didn't even realize the link between sex and pregnancy until shortly before the dawn of history.

I find that hard to believe.

Also, people are forgetting the benefits of butt secks. No babies. Maybe HG are freaks in the sheets

[grumbler]

Restriction of sex is not the only way to deliberately limit number of children - there is also abortion and infanticide, which also happened (though to what degree is controversial).

Naturally.  If that is what you meant by "they practiced birth spacing to keep populations down," then we are in agreement.

[PDH]

But this implies that paleolithic men abstained from sex because they did not want children.  I find this assertion unlikely. 

So do I, in large part because it was my understanding that humans didn't even realize the link between sex and pregnancy until shortly before the dawn of history.

This is sort of Clan of the Cave Bear type thinking.  It seems that there may well have been such a link at least as far back (50kya) as the increase in art, decoration, and burial rites among humans.  I do not have enough expertise to debate whether or not this goes further back, but the sex leads to babies seems to be at least more than a tenuous understanding for a long time.

[grumbler]

But this implies that paleolithic men abstained from sex because they did not want children.  I find this assertion unlikely. 

So do I, in large part because it was my understanding that humans didn't even realize the link between sex and pregnancy until shortly before the dawn of history.

This is sort of Clan of the Cave Bear type thinking.  It seems that there may well have been such a link at least as far back (50kya) as the increase in art, decoration, and burial rites among humans.  I do not have enough expertise to debate whether or not this goes further back, but the sex leads to babies seems to be at least more than a tenuous understanding for a long time.

You'd think observation of animals would make that clear even if their observations of themselves didn't.  Early man was as smart and observant as we are.

[PDH]

You'd think observation of animals would make that clear even if their observations of themselves didn't.  Early man was as smart and observant as we are.

The only quibbleis if there was some sort of change around 50kya, with the established finds in art, tools, and such.  There might (and that is a tenuous might) have been some sort of change then that allowed the dispersal of information that allowed such findings to become cultural.  We don't have morphological change then, but we do have an explosion of changes in cultural remains.  Again, I am not an expert in this, just remembering old classes.

[Admiral Yi]

kilo years antes?

[Eddie Teach]

I didn't know year was a metric unit. 

[Jacob]

kilo years antes?

kilo years ago, I'm guessing.

[The Brain]

But this implies that paleolithic men abstained from sex because they did not want children.  I find this assertion unlikely. 

So do I, in large part because it was my understanding that humans didn't even realize the link between sex and pregnancy until shortly before the dawn of history.

wut

[Jacob]

Big plot point in Clan of the Cave Bear

[Malthus]

Big plot point in Clan of the Cave Bear

My anthropological education has been sorely lacking, I now see. I never read  Clan of the Cave Bear. 

[Berkut]

A few negative effects can hardly overshadow the vast progress that technology has meant for the human condition.

It was only after we invented agriculture and some other basic technologies that people even had a chance to become philosophers.

And what we gained in deadlier weapons, we way over compensated with medicine, hygiene, nutrition etc.

Not every bit of technology is a collective good, but technology overall is.

One problem with technology is that the first nuclear war will multiply by zero all the progress it has previously brought, and then subtract some more.

Don't you mean the second one?

[dps]

But this implies that paleolithic men abstained from sex because they did not want children.  I find this assertion unlikely. 

So do I, in large part because it was my understanding that humans didn't even realize the link between sex and pregnancy until shortly before the dawn of history.

This is sort of Clan of the Cave Bear type thinking.  It seems that there may well have been such a link at least as far back (50kya) as the increase in art, decoration, and burial rites among humans.  I do not have enough expertise to debate whether or not this goes further back, but the sex leads to babies seems to be at least more than a tenuous understanding for a long time.

You'd think observation of animals would make that clear even if their observations of themselves didn't.  Early man was as smart and observant as we are.

I thought it was an odd notion, too, but I didn't get it from Clan of the Cave Bear.  I can't remember where I did get it from, but it was somewhat backed up when I later came across a reference to the natives of the Nicobar Islands (I think it was the Nicobars) didn't know about the link between intercourse and pregnancy at the time they were first encountered by Europeans.