[Jewelry making - Article 00784] - Re: [Orchid] Initial impulses for self adornment

[Michael Honeycutt]

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    I might as well add another view to this fascinating dialogue. There
    are several views I haven't seen yet. 

    First, there is a consideration of spiritual content. Has anyone
    considered that, from a Judeo-Christian standpoint, it is claimed
    that man was created in the image of God. I'm not trying to get all
    religious here so please bear with me. There are some who believe
    that this "image of God" concept refers not only to a physical form
    but also to a spiritual personage as well. God is a creator, if man
    is a similar being then he will also be a creator. As such, with an
    eye toward God's appreciation for beauty (say trees, mountains,
    celestial bodies in space, fish, rocks......), man would be quite
    likely to take items of beauty and modify them for self adornment.It
    may be as simple as showing an appreciation of the handiwork of the
    greater creator. 

    A second point of view comes from my own personal observations. The
    ties between art and science are without question. Even though early
    man may have lacked the technical expertise that we have today, we
    must remember that the technologies utilised by early man were
    sufficient for species survival and were always in a state of
    dynamic improvement. Flint knapping is an ancient technology. Common
    thought is that early man utilised his stoneworking skills for the
    manufacture of tools. Yet, admittedly later in time, Mayan
    flintknappers, working with a variety of difficult stones with
    microcrystaline structure, created amazingly detailed stone heads
    for ceremonial staffs that show profiles of numerous ancestral
    leaders. The only known function for these items were of a symbolic
    nature and they are absolutely beautiful. Who's to say that such
    detailed stone working techniques were not similarly utilised much,
    much earlier in time. Some person who comes up with a more efficient
    knapping technique might easily gain status in a small
    hunter-gatherer social dynamic. Simply coming up with a new
    projectile point would not only ease hunting pressures but also
    provide an article of human adornment. " I made this new point,
    everyone realizes it's value, I think I'll hang one around my neck
    to remind everyone who came up with it". Egalitarian social
    circumstances aside, a certain status would be obtained. 

    Technological evolution of metalworking, resulting in numerous
    unusable but beautiful "happy accidents", could easily take similar
    routes. The same goes for bone, wood, leather, feathers and the
    like. Early man was probably much more in tune with the natural
    realm than modern man is. He would have witnessed first hand how the
    flora and fauna around him utilised adornment for a variety of
    survival modalities. It only follows that such strategies would lead
    to similar forms of human adornment. 

    Ok, that's my 59 cents worth. Peace, love and joy on all of you.    
     
Mike


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