Re: bronze age weapons

I've not seen anyone post a report on the forensic exam of the Varna
"chieftan". The notion was proposed in "The Prehistory of Sex" by
Taylor. That would explain the presence of the gold penis sheath better
than any other theory I know of.

What both the femmonazis and the social conservatives miss was that it
was *sex* which was used to maintain the peace. Neither of them want to
think about that. But those of us who know anything about the
psychology of men can understand how a warlord proposing a raid on a
place where the men had all regularly gone to get laid in "fertility
rite", would regard it with all the enthusiasm of going to burn down a
whorehouse.

The point Doug makes about polypod Vikings scratching is relevent, and
relates to the even more ancient tradition of the Sauna, in which the
heat on the skin was sufficient to kill body lice, while the thermal
mass of the host was sufficient to survive for a long enough time.

But what seems to have killed off the tradition of 'fertility rites'
was the increased speed of Roman roads, such that a man with the clap
could arrive in town, whereas before, the rigors of travel were such
that one needed to be in perfect health to survive.

Matriarchy worked better in those thinnly populated rural areas with
small communities, in which the witches had close personal contact with
everyone, and was able to control the transmission, not only of STDs,
but other pathogens. But as the cities grew, this personal contact was
lost, there were brothels and other women offering sexual services- who
were not under the care and control of the witch health services.

So- of course, in the cities, the Christian mysogeny made more sense.
And it would have worked, if monogamy was perfectly practiced. But
alas, we are where we are, and with HIV need new solutions.

I dont read every word Doug or anyone else says, so I often dont
respond, and often dont bother. I dont have time, nor do very many of
us, to repond to every challenge of every point of every post. Timothy
Taylor mentions transvestite Balkan chieftains, and since then, I've
seen a Discovery channel interview with one such dyke.

I dunno about the dykes you know Doug. The ones I know are more mature,
and dont let any man elicit a feeling of anger no matter what he calls
them. The superior dont bother with responding to the sneers of the
inferior since they dont need the support of the latter to maintain
their position.

<Virtually all archaeologists who study prehistory know that there were
ceremonial axes such as the ones you describe above. There were also
real
axes, used to chop trees and almost certainly in hunting and fighting.>
Let's be precise here by your own definition. What they have is
*artifacts*. In this case, the artifacts are of such thin gold that
they are useless as weapons, and are made in the same shape as
butterfly icons which are also seen on pottery with icons of the
crysalis in the same era.

The oral tradition recorded in myth suggests that the
crysalis/butterfly is an allegorical message about rebirth from an
apparently dead form. Logically, the holder of the gold wand is a
cleric, just as Christian clerics hold the Cross.

There are *no* images of such double bitted axes being used on victims
such as we see in later eras when the warrior class took over. So-
while it may be a double bitted axe in *your* eyes, many of us would be
more interested in what the artifacts meant to those who made and used
them.

I frankly dont care what the femmonazis have to say, and dont bother
responding to criticisms of what you, or anyone else think their
position is. By the use of the term, you seem to think that matriarchy
is just as tyrannical as patriarchy. Which suggests a lack of
familiarity with male/female instinct. The latter are more emotionally
adaptable, and in a patriarchic system, will operate by patriarchic
rules just like Maggie Thatcher did.

Rather, I refer you to the Maitreyasamiti Texts in Tocharian A, in
which we see the Gautimid Queen in conversation with the living Buddah.
And here again, it aint what is there, but what aint there... a total
lack of all the ostentatious language we see associated with
patriarchic Oriental potentates. Buddah is not like Moses, laying down
the law. The two of them engage in polite dialogue, and at the end,
agree to consult with the monks at Sibushi.

This is *NOT* some kind of femmonazi tyranny, but a typically female
search for consenses. Characteristic as well, the brothels in Kucha
were owned by the city. In effect, the Gautamid queen is a madam.

.