The primary reason that they went extinct was due to a loss of food. The Maori hunted all of the moa species of bird (large and flightless) to extinction. Another prime example of natives living "in tune" with nature...
There are thousands of examples, in nature, of invading or adapting species eating out the food supply of other species, causing extinctions. This isn't an example of natives not living 'in tune' with nature, it's an example of people being 'a part of' nature.
I think you may have missed the sarcastic subtext of the original post. There's a recurrent myth in the modern world, especially in technologically developed societies, that "natives" or "primitive man" or whatever somehow lived and still live "in tune" with nature or in harmony with it or whatever. They all supposedly respect the land in a way we don't, are inherently wise, spiritual, blah, blah, blah.
You are, of course, correct in pointing out that hunting species to extinction is a very natural thing t
past and "primitive" societies would have exploited or would exploit nature as thoroughly as we do, anyway, were it not for limitations of populations and technology.
Dead on. The only reason the buffalo was still around in huge quantities was because native americans didn't have rifles, or horses for that matter.
Native cultures were famous for "slash and burn" agriculture, possibly the most destructive farming method around that leeches all the nitrates out of the soil in just a few ye
by Anonymous Coward writes:
on Tuesday September 15, 2009 @03:05AM (#29423177)
it was not only the rifle. one could kill buffalos in larger quantities without bullets - the problem is the conservation and transportation of the meat afterwards. It was the invention of artificial cooling (first by storing ice harvested in winter in caves, later by technological methods) that enabled the processing and transportation of meat besides the local butcher or the on side camp. This made mass killing 'reasonable' and finished off the buffalo.
The buffalo wasn't finished off because the white invaders ate them up. The Army wanted the herds destroyed, with the goal of depriving natives of food. Around the same time, the railroads promoted trophy hunting, because the herds were a threat to the trains.
The near extinction of the buffalo would be less shameful if they had been hunted for food. Millions of buffalo were slaughtered, just to rot in the sun.
I'm an American, you insensitive clod. I speak American English. WE KNOW what a buffalo is. When we feel it necessary to translate for you outsiders, we will refer to bison. KTHXBAI
The buffalo was in decline well before the Army started its economic war on the plains indians after the civil war. Horses compete with the buffalo over pasture land, and make hunting buffalo easy. There were bloody wars between indians over access to increasingly scarce pasture land and buffalo before the white man entered the scene.
Most pastoral nomad cultures on the plains used to be farmers before they gained access to horses in the 18th century, and there were simply too many of them. They probably wou
You *do* know that lots of Buffalo were killed just for their hides, with the rest of the bodies left to rot on the Great Plains, right? The Native Americans did no such things, but the Europeans/Americans had the attitude of taking nature and bending it to your will to suit your needs... even if bending nature in that way causes it to break.
Money will say more in one moment than the most eloquent lover can in years.
In Tune... (Score:4, Interesting)
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:5, Insightful)
I think you may have missed the sarcastic subtext of the original post. There's a recurrent myth in the modern world, especially in technologically developed societies, that "natives" or "primitive man" or whatever somehow lived and still live "in tune" with nature or in harmony with it or whatever. They all supposedly respect the land in a way we don't, are inherently wise, spiritual, blah, blah, blah.
You are, of course, correct in pointing out that hunting species to extinction is a very natural thing t
Re: (Score:5, Insightful)
past and "primitive" societies would have exploited or would exploit nature as thoroughly as we do, anyway, were it not for limitations of populations and technology.
Dead on. The only reason the buffalo was still around in huge quantities was because native americans didn't have rifles, or horses for that matter.
Native cultures were famous for "slash and burn" agriculture, possibly the most destructive farming method around that leeches all the nitrates out of the soil in just a few ye
Re:In Tune... (Score:0)
it was not only the rifle. one could kill buffalos in larger quantities without bullets - the problem is the conservation and transportation of the meat afterwards. It was the invention of artificial cooling (first by storing ice harvested in winter in caves, later by technological methods) that enabled the processing and transportation of meat besides the local butcher or the on side camp. This made mass killing 'reasonable' and finished off the buffalo.
Re:In Tune... (Score:5, Informative)
*cough cough*
The buffalo wasn't finished off because the white invaders ate them up. The Army wanted the herds destroyed, with the goal of depriving natives of food. Around the same time, the railroads promoted trophy hunting, because the herds were a threat to the trains.
The near extinction of the buffalo would be less shameful if they had been hunted for food. Millions of buffalo were slaughtered, just to rot in the sun.
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And by buffalo, you mean American bison:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_bison
Re: (Score:2)
I'm an American, you insensitive clod. I speak American English. WE KNOW what a buffalo is. When we feel it necessary to translate for you outsiders, we will refer to bison. KTHXBAI
Re: (Score:2)
The buffalo was in decline well before the Army started its economic war on the plains indians after the civil war. Horses compete with the buffalo over pasture land, and make hunting buffalo easy. There were bloody wars between indians over access to increasingly scarce pasture land and buffalo before the white man entered the scene.
Most pastoral nomad cultures on the plains used to be farmers before they gained access to horses in the 18th century, and there were simply too many of them. They probably wou
Re: (Score:0)
You *do* know that lots of Buffalo were killed just for their hides, with the rest of the bodies left to rot on the Great Plains, right? The Native Americans did no such things, but the Europeans/Americans had the attitude of taking nature and bending it to your will to suit your needs... even if bending nature in that way causes it to break.