The computer and software industry is increasingly turning its attention to security issues. Michael Chertoff, Homeland Security Secretary, recently said that "The potential consequences of a cyber attack are very real and every bit as concerning as the potential of a physical attack on the order of what we saw on September 11". Redmond Developer May 1, 2008
Awareness of this reality has called my mind to the security issues that were faced by those artisans who did the petroglyph's thousands of year ago. Animals, infections, weather, climate, stupity, and angry people would seem have been among the real threats. Strange as it may seem, apparently there was no threat to the messages they were inscribing on the rock. Even more remarkable is the obvious conclusion that over thousands of years no one has gone to the trouble of destroying the rock surface. Either it was just too much work or the point of doing the destruction was not in vogue.
Today business ventures, governments, media, religions, the military and the arts depend on electronic communication using the silicon in computer chips. The silicon has been mined from the earth surface and formed into machines that work using electricity to manipulate numbers and symbols in order to transmit meaning. Rock has been fabricated to enable meaning to fly through space. In earlier times the earth bound rock could not be poached or stolen by enemies so the messages were quite secure.
I believe this fact of life makes it all the more urgent to translate the meaning of petroglyph symbols. We may urgently need ideas that our ancestors had discovered and carved into the quartzite rock for the benefit of coming generations.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Weather 5000 Years Ago
The Middle Holocene Period was 5000 to 7000 years in the past. Studies are being done to determine what was happening to global weather at that time. In the US Dr. David Leigh of the University of Georgia is quoted in the March 26, 1999 edition of Science Daily saying that some data leads to the conclusion that the in the the US a region from the Southwest through the Dakotas was likely warm and wet. Much of what is now called Canada was yet covered with an ice sheet in this period. We are beginning to see something of the the circumstances that produced weather in the region of the Jeffers Petroglyph's.
Bryan Fagan in "The Great Warming: Climate Change and the Rise and Fall of Civilizations" (Bloomsbury Press 2008) says that the oceans actually are the weather makers for the earth. Currents that move warm and cool water about produce events such as El Ninos or La Ninas. 800 to 1300 AD was the Medieval Warm Period. That era is recent in time. Civilizations in the Pacific, South America, China, Africa, India, and the Arctic illustrate the dynamic powers of the weather to provide for creation and demise of civilizations.
The principles developed in Dr. Leigh's work can be used to consider possibilities for earlier times. Civilizations grew and waned in rhythm with weather that produced people friendly circumstances and also brought droughts that banished people from regions.
Mid continent North America is insulated from the sea by thousands of miles of land but the weather knows no such boundaries. What is learned about the US Southwest can very likely begin to fill in the blanks as regards weather in mid continent. Ocean currents may well help us to understand better the people who developed the Petroglyphs.
Bryan Fagan in "The Great Warming: Climate Change and the Rise and Fall of Civilizations" (Bloomsbury Press 2008) says that the oceans actually are the weather makers for the earth. Currents that move warm and cool water about produce events such as El Ninos or La Ninas. 800 to 1300 AD was the Medieval Warm Period. That era is recent in time. Civilizations in the Pacific, South America, China, Africa, India, and the Arctic illustrate the dynamic powers of the weather to provide for creation and demise of civilizations.
The principles developed in Dr. Leigh's work can be used to consider possibilities for earlier times. Civilizations grew and waned in rhythm with weather that produced people friendly circumstances and also brought droughts that banished people from regions.
Mid continent North America is insulated from the sea by thousands of miles of land but the weather knows no such boundaries. What is learned about the US Southwest can very likely begin to fill in the blanks as regards weather in mid continent. Ocean currents may well help us to understand better the people who developed the Petroglyphs.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Glyphs and Public Diplomacy
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.
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.
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.
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