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> The team looked elsewhere for evidence of finger amputation in other societies and found more than 100 instances where it had been practised. “This practice w

> The team looked elsewhere for evidence of finger amputation in other societies and found more than 100 instances where it had been practised. “This practice was clearly invented independently multiple times,” they state. “And it was engaged in by some recent hunter-gatherer societies, so it is entirely possible that the groups at Gargas and the other caves engaged in the practice.” I don't get it. What is the evidence that this is a spiritual or cultural practice compared to it being caused by natural hazards? Showing up in many places around the world independently would seem to be more suggestive of natural causes than anything else, wouldn't it? And the fact that some societies today, or in recent history, have done it doesn't mean much to me either—should we ignore the fact that most cultures today don't cut off fingers, and only count on the one or two that do? What's the actual evidence mentioned in the article?

resolutebat 3y ago
Finger amputation is practiced in countries with Sharia law, in Japan (Yakuza), in various tribes in PNG, etc. That said, even in places where it happens, only a tiny fraction of a percentage will actually have it done to them, so it does seem unlikely that you'd have multiple prehistoric societies where finger amputation was practiced as a matter of course for most people.
- defrost 3y ago
  The assertion is not that this "was practiced as a matter of course for most people." The assertion is that many "celebrity handprints" feature missing digits - perhaps they famously survived a crocodile bite, perhaps they sacrificed a finger to implore rain, maybe they were punished for sleeping with the wrong person. Our modern Instagram wall has many features that aren't a matter of course for most people. What's missing here is an understanding of what it takes for a persons stenciled hand to get a prime location under a sheltered outcrop to be preserved for many generations. These hands are a sample of a larger population, but what is the bias?
- anigbrowl 3y ago
  That's not evidence for cause though. It's a possibility of course, but there are many more mundane explanations.

resolutebat 3y ago

Finger amputation is practiced in countries with Sharia law, in Japan (Yakuza), in various tribes in PNG, etc. That said, even in places where it happens, only a tiny fraction of a percentage will actually have it done to them, so it does seem unlikely that you'd have multiple prehistoric societies where finger amputation was practiced as a matter of course for most people.

defrost 3y ago
The assertion is not that this "was practiced as a matter of course for most people." The assertion is that many "celebrity handprints" feature missing digits - perhaps they famously survived a crocodile bite, perhaps they sacrificed a finger to implore rain, maybe they were punished for sleeping with the wrong person. Our modern Instagram wall has many features that aren't a matter of course for most people. What's missing here is an understanding of what it takes for a persons stenciled hand to get a prime location under a sheltered outcrop to be preserved for many generations. These hands are a sample of a larger population, but what is the bias?
anigbrowl 3y ago
That's not evidence for cause though. It's a possibility of course, but there are many more mundane explanations.