3 ms·
People lived in arid places for as long we have existed. Civilizations rose and fell in deserts. Depicting these places as barren lifeless voids is a relatively
by proxysna 1y ago
People lived in arid places for as long we have existed. Civilizations rose and fell in deserts. Depicting these places as barren lifeless voids is a relatively new thing usually used to minimize the impact of whatever the current power is doing there (i.e. extraction, murder, exploitation). There is a good book about that "Deserts are not empty".
- chrisco255 1y agoWow, what a tangent! The Sahara is extremely inhospitable and was harsh enough to separate human populations for long enough that it lead to racial differentiation between sub-Saharan Africans and north Africans.
- proxysna 1y agoYeah, because clearly Sahara is the only desert on Earth. And ofc, all of Sahara is like that through and through.
- chrisco255 1y agoUh, the Sahara is absolutely massive and insanely deadly for the unprepared and challenging even for the prepared. Especially in the context of ancient times, it was an almost sure death to enter the Sahara in an attempt to cross it. Temps swing from 100F (38C) to 120F (49C) during the day to below freezing at night in the winter. Water is extremely scarce. It is 3.6 million sq miles or 9.2 million sq km. It spans huge across Africa. It's part of the same climate system and cycles as the Arab desert. If an environmental feature leads to racial and species adaptations, you should note that its not some propaganda but an actual feature of physical reality that nature and mankind had to work around (and largely avoid). You should also avoid assuming that everything is a conspiracy. Deserts are actually very harsh and deadly especially without motorized vehicles and modern infrastructure like paved roads and electricity.
- proxysna 1y agoSure, never said anything about it being a nice place to be, but whatever.