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If you visit Hadrian's Wall in the north of England you can see Roman graffiti there. I find it curious that archaeologists or historians (?) seem to take a lo

If you visit Hadrian's Wall in the north of England you can see Roman graffiti there. I find it curious that archaeologists or historians (?) seem to take a lot of things like this so seriously and assume everything has some sort of symbolic meaning, rather than just some teenager scribbling on a page or painting his hand on the wall of a cave just 'because'.

groffee 4y ago
Almost literally everything is called 'ritual' or done for 'religious reasons'. If you have a gnome garden ornament on your shelf, no-one would seriously think you worship it, just that it looks nice. But this entire profession will call it a 'mysterious religious figure' etc. Same with tattoos, ask any girl why they have a tramp stamp they'll say it looks 'cute' or something, these guys will call it 'symbolic'. It's embarrassing.
- themaninthedark 4y ago
  Various phallic shaped objects that are recovered are also recorded as "being used in a fertility ritual"
  - delecti 4y ago
    It's not entirely wrong. In a certain sense it is "practicing" "fertility".
- TheMaskedCoder 4y ago
  I recommend Motel of the Mysteries by David Macaulay, which explores this concept by having a future archaeologist investigate a motel from the 20th century and arrive at extremely bizarre conclusions.
- onemoresoop 4y ago
  An owner of a tattoo may not care or know it's symbolic, but someone observing it may project that aspect onto it. I think it depends on the context of the analysis..
thedriver 4y ago
>I find it curious that archaeologists or historians (?) seem to take a lot of things like this so seriously and assume everything has some sort of symbolic meaning, rather than just some teenager scribbling on a page or painting his hand on the wall of a cave just 'because'. Yes, it's definitely funny how they completely fail or refuse to consider this possibility. Humans weren't any different in 10 000 BC. Evolution doesn't work that fast.

groffee 4y ago

Almost literally everything is called 'ritual' or done for 'religious reasons'. If you have a gnome garden ornament on your shelf, no-one would seriously think you worship it, just that it looks nice. But this entire profession will call it a 'mysterious religious figure' etc. Same with tattoos, ask any girl why they have a tramp stamp they'll say it looks 'cute' or something, these guys will call it 'symbolic'. It's embarrassing.

themaninthedark 4y ago
Various phallic shaped objects that are recovered are also recorded as "being used in a fertility ritual"
- delecti 4y ago
  It's not entirely wrong. In a certain sense it is "practicing" "fertility".
TheMaskedCoder 4y ago
I recommend Motel of the Mysteries by David Macaulay, which explores this concept by having a future archaeologist investigate a motel from the 20th century and arrive at extremely bizarre conclusions.
onemoresoop 4y ago
An owner of a tattoo may not care or know it's symbolic, but someone observing it may project that aspect onto it. I think it depends on the context of the analysis..

thedriver 4y ago

>I find it curious that archaeologists or historians (?) seem to take a lot of things like this so seriously and assume everything has some sort of symbolic meaning, rather than just some teenager scribbling on a page or painting his hand on the wall of a cave just 'because'. Yes, it's definitely funny how they completely fail or refuse to consider this possibility. Humans weren't any different in 10 000 BC. Evolution doesn't work that fast.