Among the possible intentions for creating glyphs may have been group identity issues at stake. Sending a message about "us" and "our way of life" in a certain geographic region must have been a challenging task 5000 years ago.
Today that process of sending messages about "us" is known as Public Diplomacy. The term came into use during the Cold War when the US government unveiled the Edward R. Murrow Center for Public Diplomacy in 1965. International information programs were being developed and it was deemed necessary to move beyond "propaganda".
Public Diplomacy intends to shape the minds of people who observe "us" so that they will be cooperative as we seek out goals in the world. The words Public Diplomacy have an official ring to them. Nicholas Cull of the Annenberg School of International Relations at the U of Southern California spells out the history of Public Diplomacy in the March 2008 issue of The Annals. The task of Public Diplomacy is to create and disseminate ideas that can be spread from person to person in a social network using available technology.
I am suggesting that the Jeffer's Petroglyphs were Public Diplomacy of the time. Available technology was being used by skilled craftspeople to send messages that carried meaning important to the people of the time and beyond. We today are in the position of stretching our mental capacity to grasp what is being made available on the quartzite rocks. Do the messages have anything at all to do with the present human situation? Are ecological issues being addressed? Is management of violence a subject matter? What can artists discover that will enhance the arts of today? What can religions learn that will enhance the spiritual global community? My guess is that glyphs are more than interesting artifacts. Rather, they can open us to needed information from previous human experience.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Jacinth
The role of stones in religious observance is illustrated by the place of Jacinth (Hyacinth) in Hindu, Judaism, Christian and Magik practice. Jacinth has been prized since antiquity due to its brilliance and variations of color. Apparently used in armor and weaponry as well personal attire, the stone is noted in Hindu writings as well as in the Bible (Exodus and Revelation) and various astrological and horoscope related writings.
Jacinth is a golden or brown form of natural Zircon. ZrSi04 It is a mixture of Silicon and Zirconium. It is most commonly found in Srilanka, Thailand, Norway, Brazil, Australia, Russia, China, India, and the US.
The role of stones in ancient religions gives support to the notion that Petrolyph's served as a form of religious expression along with their other cultural functions. Artistic use of the colors and relative permanence of stone artifacts speaks of the working of the human mind in giving pleasure and meaning to existence.
Jacinth is a golden or brown form of natural Zircon. ZrSi04 It is a mixture of Silicon and Zirconium. It is most commonly found in Srilanka, Thailand, Norway, Brazil, Australia, Russia, China, India, and the US.
The role of stones in ancient religions gives support to the notion that Petrolyph's served as a form of religious expression along with their other cultural functions. Artistic use of the colors and relative permanence of stone artifacts speaks of the working of the human mind in giving pleasure and meaning to existence.
Friday, April 4, 2008
Little Cottonwood River Virtual Tour
The landscape in which the Jeffers Petroglyphs are located can be understood best by actually visiting the site. The next best method is a virtual tour.
Go to http://mrbdc.mnsu.edu/major/midminn/subshed/lcotwd/lc_2.html
The viewer will discover a comprehensive picture of the site and the surrounding territory in terms of the drainage basin of the Little Cottonwood River which flows into the Minnesota River, then to the Mississippi River and ultimately the ocean.
Go to http://mrbdc.mnsu.edu/major/midminn/subshed/lcotwd/lc_2.html
The viewer will discover a comprehensive picture of the site and the surrounding territory in terms of the drainage basin of the Little Cottonwood River which flows into the Minnesota River, then to the Mississippi River and ultimately the ocean.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
A True Home Run
Baseball immediately comes to mind when the words "Home Run" appear. However, there is no such thing as a "true" home run in the game. Either it is a home run or it is not a home run.
This "true home run" set of words was called to my attention as our DSL line was being repaired recently. After considerable detective work by several technicians it was discovered that we did not have a true home run. In other words, the wires connecting the outside world with our computer equipment were compromised. When the wires were consistently in order they became a "true home run."
Those wires enable the writing of these words.
This process helps me in understanding the place of petroglyph's and our efforts to decipher what is being said. At the moment we do not have a "true home run" for transmission of information.
So much is missing and we have no self evident way of completing the connection. The task of both science and religion is to persistently investigate the evidence that we do have and to imagine the evidence that we need to find. I do believe imagination has a place in an otherwise material world process. The mental equipment that humans have is filled with more programs and potential powers than we know. It appears that certain programs of the mind are turned on when situations arise that trigger a switch of some kind.
We are working on establishing a true home run in regard to the Jeffers Petroglyph's.
This "true home run" set of words was called to my attention as our DSL line was being repaired recently. After considerable detective work by several technicians it was discovered that we did not have a true home run. In other words, the wires connecting the outside world with our computer equipment were compromised. When the wires were consistently in order they became a "true home run."
Those wires enable the writing of these words.
This process helps me in understanding the place of petroglyph's and our efforts to decipher what is being said. At the moment we do not have a "true home run" for transmission of information.
So much is missing and we have no self evident way of completing the connection. The task of both science and religion is to persistently investigate the evidence that we do have and to imagine the evidence that we need to find. I do believe imagination has a place in an otherwise material world process. The mental equipment that humans have is filled with more programs and potential powers than we know. It appears that certain programs of the mind are turned on when situations arise that trigger a switch of some kind.
We are working on establishing a true home run in regard to the Jeffers Petroglyph's.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Blue Lines in the Snow
On an afternoon walk today I observed lines and numbers sprayed on the snow with blue paint. They mark the location of some underground utilities. The temperature is a few degrees above zero so the message is legible for the moment.
When temperatures rise the snow will melt and the blue paint will dissolve and be gone. Hopefully the people who need that diagram will have made use of it by then. We who live in Minnesota are accustomed to snow and ice. However, they are not a normal message transmission medium.
Ten thousand years ago this place was under a glacier according to geologists. When another glacier period comes everything including the Jeffers Petroglyph's will be scoured away and gone.
We live in the brief time when the petroglyph's are legible in what seems like
rather permanent quartzite. Actually the time is brief in the geological time frame.
This is our opportunity to read the messages and absorb the ideas from our ancestors.
Whether we can match their technological skill in preserving our messages for future
observation is yet to be proven. I would like to think that we will do better than blue paint on snow. It will certainly take some creative work.
When temperatures rise the snow will melt and the blue paint will dissolve and be gone. Hopefully the people who need that diagram will have made use of it by then. We who live in Minnesota are accustomed to snow and ice. However, they are not a normal message transmission medium.
Ten thousand years ago this place was under a glacier according to geologists. When another glacier period comes everything including the Jeffers Petroglyph's will be scoured away and gone.
We live in the brief time when the petroglyph's are legible in what seems like
rather permanent quartzite. Actually the time is brief in the geological time frame.
This is our opportunity to read the messages and absorb the ideas from our ancestors.
Whether we can match their technological skill in preserving our messages for future
observation is yet to be proven. I would like to think that we will do better than blue paint on snow. It will certainly take some creative work.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Getting Beyond the Struggle for Existence
When the world is primitive, daytime struggle to find food and shelter coupled with a nightly struggle with fear leaves little time for leisure, reflective thought or artistic expression. The account of the end of the Roman Empire in Europe tells us that some fourteen hundred years ago, barbarians arrived and their violence led to the Middle Ages when disorder ruled, literature was destroyed, and social systems failed. It took some time for people to recover and again create social order and intellectual endeavor.
When viewing the Jeffers Petroglyphs it is possible to envision a life in which there was enough safety and leisure time to create artistic symbols that would have a continuing presence. A civilization of some kind would seem to be a safe assumption. We can say that the glyphs are set before us as human creations linking civilizations over millenia.
We find a window into society some 5000 years ago in mid continent when we observe these petroglyphs. An observer recently said that in looking at the picture at the upper right corner of this site, she feels as if she is looking at kind of map of the earth. The lichens can be imagined as continents. The turtle glyph can be thought of as representing a land mass. In Native traditions the turtle is of thought of as a symbol of the earth. Perhaps our minds can connect with people across vast reaches of time.
When viewing the Jeffers Petroglyphs it is possible to envision a life in which there was enough safety and leisure time to create artistic symbols that would have a continuing presence. A civilization of some kind would seem to be a safe assumption. We can say that the glyphs are set before us as human creations linking civilizations over millenia.
We find a window into society some 5000 years ago in mid continent when we observe these petroglyphs. An observer recently said that in looking at the picture at the upper right corner of this site, she feels as if she is looking at kind of map of the earth. The lichens can be imagined as continents. The turtle glyph can be thought of as representing a land mass. In Native traditions the turtle is of thought of as a symbol of the earth. Perhaps our minds can connect with people across vast reaches of time.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Funeral at Highwater Church Tomorrow
She lived going on the century mark. On a cold and snowy Monday the spouse of a cousin will be remembered at Highwater Church just a few miles from the Jeffers Petroglyphs.
She joins the host of people who have lived all or part of their lives on the quartzite ridge that hosted glaciers not so long ago. A few thousand years is not much in geological time. Going on a hundred years is remarkable for a person with a biological time clock.
Tomorrow the family will gather to give thanks for a life well lived. At a moment in time every person present will be aware of the brief scale to time that we humans inhabit. The religious ritual will offer dignity and comfort to those who live on for now.
My guess is that the near by petroglyphs were partially religious in nature. Perhaps they were part of a ritual that marked the lives of individuals and announced a sense of meaning that escapes the bounds of historical time.
Highwater Church will for an hour or so be inhabited by family and friends who live in time. In that hour of worship they will glimpse the infinite landscape of the universe. The Lord Gives. The Lord Takes. Blessed be the Name of the Lord.
She joins the host of people who have lived all or part of their lives on the quartzite ridge that hosted glaciers not so long ago. A few thousand years is not much in geological time. Going on a hundred years is remarkable for a person with a biological time clock.
Tomorrow the family will gather to give thanks for a life well lived. At a moment in time every person present will be aware of the brief scale to time that we humans inhabit. The religious ritual will offer dignity and comfort to those who live on for now.
My guess is that the near by petroglyphs were partially religious in nature. Perhaps they were part of a ritual that marked the lives of individuals and announced a sense of meaning that escapes the bounds of historical time.
Highwater Church will for an hour or so be inhabited by family and friends who live in time. In that hour of worship they will glimpse the infinite landscape of the universe. The Lord Gives. The Lord Takes. Blessed be the Name of the Lord.
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