mc.eatersofthedead-第31部分

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eat　hall　of　Hurot；　and；　turning　away；　of　the　gray　and　vast　ocean　before　us。　Now　it　happened
　
　The　manuscript　ends　abruptly　at　this　point；　the　end　of　a　transcribed　page；　with　the　final　terse　words　〃nunc　fit；〃　and　although　there　is　clearly　more　to　the　manuscript；　further　passages　have　not　been　discovered。　This　is；　of　course；　the　purest　historical　accident；　but　every　translator　has　mented　upon　the　odd　appropriateness　of　this　abrupt　ending；　which　suggests　the　start　of　some　new　adventure；　some　new　strange　sight；　that　for　the　most　arbitrary　reasons　of　the　past　thousand　years　will　be　denied　us。
　
　APPENDIX：　THE　MIST　MONSTERS

　AS　WILLIAM　HOWELLS　HAS　EMPHASIZED；　IT　IS　A　rather　rare　event　that　causes　any　living　animal　to　die　in　such　a　way　that　he　will　be　preserved　as　a　fossil　for　centuries　to　e。　This　is　especially　true　of　a　small；　fragile；　ground…living　animal　such　as　man；　and　the　fossil　record　of　early　men　is　remarkably　scanty。
　Textbook　diagrams　of　〃the　tree　of　man〃　imply　a　certainty　of　knowledge　that　is　misleading；　the　tree　is　pruned　and　revised　every　few　years。　One　of　the　most　controversial　and　troublesome　branches　of　that　tree　is　the　one　usually　labeled　〃Neanderthal　Man。〃
　He　takes　his　name　from　the　valley　in　Germany　where　the　first　remains　of　his　type　were　discovered　in　1856；　three　years　before　the　publication　of　Darwin's　Origin　of　Species。　The　Victorian　world　was　displeased　with　the　skeletal　remains；　and　emphasized　the　crude　and　brutish　aspects　of　Neanderthal　man；　until　now　the　very　word　is；　in　the　popular　imagination；　synonymous　with　all　that　is　dumb　and　bestial　in　human　nature。
　It　was　with　a　kind　of　relief　that　early　scholars　decided　that　Neanderthal　man　had　〃disappeared〃　about　35；000　years　ago；　to　be　replaced　by　Cro…Magnon　man；　whose　skeletal　remains　were　presumed　to　show　as　much　delicacy；　sensitivity；　and　intelligence　as　the　Neanderthal　skull　showed　monstrous　brutishness。　The　general　presumption　was　that　the　superior；　modern　Cro…Magnon　man　killed　off　the　Neanderthals。
　Now　the　truth　of　the　matter　is　that　we　have　very　few　good　examples　of　Neanderthal　man　in　our　skeletal　material…of　more　than　eighty　known　fragments；　only　about　a　dozen　are　plete　enough；　or　dated　carefully　enough；　to　warrant　serious　study。　We　cannot　really　say　with　any　certainty　how　widespread　a　form　he　was；　or　what　happened　to　him。　And　recent　examination　of　the　skeletal　evidence　has　disputed　the　Victorian　belief　in　his　monstrous；　semihuman　appearance。
　In　their　1957　review；　Straus　and　Cave　wrote：　〃If　he　could　be　reincarnated　and　placed　in　a　New　York　subway…provided　he　were　bathed；　shaved；　and　dressed　in　modern　clothing…it　is　doubtful　whether　he　would　attract　any　more　attention　than　some　of　its　other　denizens。〃
　Another　anthropologist　has　put　it　more　plainly：　〃You　might　think　he　was　tough…looking；　but　you　wouldn't　object　to　your　sister　marrying　him。〃
　From　here；　it　is　only　a　short　step　to　what　some　anthropologists　already　believe：　that　Neanderthal　man；　as　an　anatomical　variant　of　modern　man；　has　never　disappeared　at　all；　but　is　still　with　us。
　A　reinterpretation　of　the　cultural　remains　associated　with　Neanderthal　man　also　supports　a　benign　view　of　the　fellow。　Past　anthropologists　were　highly　impressed　with　the　beauty　and　profusion　of　the　cave　drawings　that　first　appear　with　the　arrival　of　Cro…Magnon　man；　as　much　as　any　skeletal　evidence；　these　drawings　tended　to　reinforce　the　notion　of　a　wonderful　new　sensibility　replacing　the　quintessence　of　〃brute　benightedness。〃
　But　Neanderthal　man　was　remarkable　in　his　own　right。　His　culture；　called　Mousterian…again；　after　a　site；　Le　Moustier　in　France…is　characterized　by　stoneworking　of　quite　a　high　order；　much　superior　to　any　earlier　cultural　level。　And　it　is　now　recognized　that　Neanderthal　man　had　bone　tools　as　well。
　Most　impressive　of　all；　Neanderthal　man　was　the　first　of　our　ancestors　to　bury　his　dead　ritually。　At　Le　Moustier；　a　teenage　boy　was　placed　in　a　trench；　in　a　sleeping　position；　he　was　provided　with　a　supply　of　flint　tools；　a　stone　axe；　and　roasted　meat。　That　these　materials　were　for　the　use　of　the　deceased　in　some　afterlife　is　undisputed　by　most　anthropologists。
　There　is　other　evidence　of　religious　feeling：　in　Switzerland　there　is　a　shrine　to　the　cave　bear；　a　creature　worshiped；　respected；　and　also　eaten。　And　at　Shanidar　Cave　in　Iraq；　a　Neanderthal　was　buried　with　flowers　in　the　grave。
　All　this　points　to　an　attitude　toward　life　and　death；　a　self…conscious　view　of　the　world；　which　lies　at　the　core　of　what　we　believe　distinguishes　thinking　man　from　the　rest　of　the　animal　world。　On　existing　evidence；　we　must　conclude　this　attitude　was　first　displayed　by　Neanderthal　man。
　
　The　general　reassessment　of　Neanderthal　man　coincides　with　the　rediscovery　of　Ibn　Fadlan's　contact　with　the　〃mist　monsters〃；　his　description　of　these　creatures　is　suggestive　of　Neanderthal　anatomy；　and　raises　the　question　of　whether　the　Neanderthal　form　did；　in　fact；　disappear　from　the　earth　thousands　of　years　ago；　or　whether　these　early　men　persisted　into　historic　times。
　Arguments　based　on　analogies　cut　both　ways。　There　are　historical　examples　of　a　handful　of　people　with　technologically　superior　culture　wiping　out　a　more　primitive　society　in　a　matter　of　years；　that　is　largely　the　story　of　the　European　contact　with　the　New　World。　But　there　are　also　examples　of　primitive　societies　existing　in　isolated　areas；　unknown　to　more　advanced；　civilized　peoples　nearby。　Such　a　tribe　was　recently　discovered　in　the　Philippines。
　The　academic　debate　on　Ibn　Fadlan's　creatures　can　be　neatly　summarized　by　the　viewpoints　of　Geoffrey　Wrightwood；　of　Oxford　University；　and　E。　D。　Goodrich；　of　the　University　of　Philadelphia。　Wrightwood　says　＇1971＇：　〃The　account　of　Ibn　Fadlan　provides　us　with　a　perfectly　serviceable　description　of　Neanderthal　men；　coinciding　with　the　fossil　record　and　our　suppositions　about　the　cultural　level　of　these　early　men。　We　should　accept　it　immediately；　had　we　not　already　decided　these　men　vanished　without　a　trace　some　30…40；000　years　previously。　We　should　remember　that　we　only　believe　this　disappearance　because　we　have　found　no　fossils　of　a　later　date；　and　the　absence　of　such　fossils　does　not　mean　that　they　do　not；　in　fact；　exist。
　〃Objectively；　there　is　no　a　priori　reason　to　deny　that　a　group　of　Neanderthals　might　have　survived　very　late　in　an　isolated　region　of　Scandinavia。　In　any　case　this　assumption　best　fits　the　description　of　the　Arabic　text。〃
　Goodrich；　a　paleontologist　well　known　for　his　skepticism；　takes　the　contrasting　view　＇1972＇：　〃The　general　accuracy　of　Ibn　Fadlan's　reporting　may　tempt　us　to　overlook　certain　excesses　in　his　manuscript。　These　are　several；　and　they　arise　either　from　cultural　preconditioning；　or　from　a　storyteller's　desire　to　impress。　He　calls　the　Vikings　giants　when　they　most　certainly　were　not；　he　emphasizes　the　dirty；　drunken　aspects　of　his　hosts；　which　less　fastidious　observers　did　not　find　striking。　In　his　report　of　the　so…called　'wendol；'　he　places　great　importance　on　their　hairiness　and　brutish　appearance　when；　in　fact；　they　may　not　have　been　so　hairy；　or　so　brutish。　They　may　simply　have　been　a　tribe　of　Homo　sapiens；　living　in　isolation　and　without　the　level　of　cultural　attainment　manifested　by　the　Scandinavians。
　〃There　is　internal　evidence；　within　the　body　of　the　Ibn　Fadlan　manuscript；　to　support　the　notion　that　the　'wendol'　are　actually　Homo　sapiens。　The　pregnant　female　figurines　described　by　the　Arab　are　highly　suggestive　of　the　prehistoric　carvings　and　figurines　to　be　found　at　the　Aurignacian　industry　sites　in　France　and　of　the　Gravettian　finds　in　Willendorf；　Austria；　Level　9。　Both　Aurignacian　and　Gravettian　cultural　levels　are　associated　with　essentially　modern　man；　and　not　Neanderthal　Man。
　〃We　must　never　forget　that　to　untrained　observers；　cultural　differences　are　often　interpreted　as　physical　differences；　and　one　need　not　be　particularly　naive　to　make　this　mistake。　Thus；　as　late　as　the　1880s　it　was　possible　for　educated　Europeans　to　wonder　aloud　whether　Negroes　in　primitive　African　societies　could　be　considered　human　beings　after　all；　or　whether　they　represented　some　bizarre　mating　of　men　and　apes。　Nor　should　we　overlook　the　degree　to　which　societies　w