Aboriginal ritual passed down over 12,000 years, cave find shows
Archaeological findings from an Australian cave — small hearths with sharpened, fat-coated sticks dated to ~12,000 years ago — are being linked to a 19th‑century ethnographic record of an Aboriginal healing/curse ritual, prompting debate over how strong that evidence really is. Commenters examine how much weight to give circumstantial archaeological data, whether such specific rituals can plausibly persist for thousands of years via oral tradition, and how other cultures (from Vedic India to Indigenous North America) have maintained long-lived narrative and ritual practices. The thread also touches on the tension between oral and written transmission, the risk of romanticizing “ancient” practices, and the broader question of how we distinguish meaningful continuity from coincidental similarity in human culture.
Strength of the Archaeological Evidence
- Some see the link between 12k-year-old sticks/hearths and 19th‑century ethnographic accounts as too tenuous; they invoke Occam’s razor (fatty sticks and small fires could be common behaviors).
- Others note specific details: tiny hearths too small for cooking/heating, sharpened ends deliberately charred and inserted in the fire, coated in human/animal fat, and multiple instances at the same site. They argue this pattern is distinctive, not random.
- Debate over whether two finds ~1,000 years apart plus one 19th‑century description justify a 12k‑year continuity claim, or if this is a “birthday paradox” coincidence among countless lost rituals.
Healing vs Cursing and Use of Human Fat
- Popular coverage presented the ritual as healing; readers who checked the Nature paper highlight passages describing harmful magic/cursing using fat-smeared objects linked to a victim.
- Some argue this misframing shows the limits of pop‑sci reporting.
- Human fat use prompts concern and curiosity; commenters mention ritual cannibalism, fat harvested from corpses, and historical uses of human/animal fat as grease or folk medicine.
Longevity and Fidelity of Oral Traditions
- Strong skepticism that complex oral traditions can remain intact for 12,000 years, citing everyday “telephone game” drift and even confusion in recent family histories.
- Counterpoints:
- Cultures can build strong error‑correction: poetic meter, ritualized chanting systems (e.g., Vedic recitation), multi-party cross‑generation checking, and high social value placed on exact transmission.
- Isolated groups with harsh environments (like inland Australia) may rely intensely on ancestral knowledge for survival, reinforcing conservatism in ritual and story.
- Disagreement on timescales: some say oral accuracy collapses after ~100 years; others point to multi‑century stability in liturgy, epics, and songs, acknowledging gradual evolution rather than perfect stasis.
Comparisons with Other Myths and Rituals
- Flood myths (Epic of Gilgamesh vs Genesis) discussed as an analogy for long-lived narratives; debate over whether similarities imply direct borrowing vs common deep ancestry in a shared cultural milieu.
- Broader idea: many religious and ideological systems preserve ancient narrative “cores” while details shift.
Ritual, Placebo, and Social Function
- Some assume the ritual persisted because it produced perceived benefits (placebo, psychotherapeutic, or social cohesion).
- Others note rituals can endure purely as tradition or as socially sanctioned outlets for aggression (e.g., cursing instead of direct violence).