Re: Need help with cite

On 4 Mar 2007 11:57:58 -0800, "Tom McDonald" <kiltmac@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

On Mar 4, 12:09 pm, "George Dance" <georgedanc...@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
Can anyone help me track down who first presented this theory about
the origins of primitive trade? I read it years ago, but have long
since forgotten the author - IIRC t was Leon Louw, but I'm really not
sure - and no longer have access to the original source.

------------------------------

In prehistoric times, rival
tribes trading with each other did not speak at all, or even meet.
Tribe A simply left goods in a desgnated spot; Tribe B would come
along and, if they liked the goods, take them and leave goods of
their
own; if Tribe A liked that, the trades would continue. Most of the
tribespeople didn't even know there was trading going on, due to lack
of free speech; the official spokesmen (the priests) spread the lie
that the gods had provided. (Meaning that everyone got to witness
the power of the gods first-hand.)

I'd be curious about this theory, too. It seems wrong to me, not least
because it is attempting to attribute behavior to people that does not
appear, or not that clearly, in the archaeological record. It would
seem to require the groups be either historic, or at least proto-
historic for that kind of data to be available.

Aah - but it's in the historical record.

How can we know that groups who traded with each other didn't speak to
each other if we don't have a written record?

So-called 'silent trade' has been endemic across Africa. I first
encountered it in a reference to an early European expedition up the
Niger for gold. Apparently it was very common on the East coast of
Africa and is recorded by Herodotus. See the following JSTOR link
http://tinyurl.com/2acxxg which I can't open and also
http://www.vmfa.state.va.us/mali_geo_hist.html

"Trade took place far from the gold mines at a place along the Niger
River. It was there that traders bartered by 'silent trade.' Arab
and African traders brought salt from the north and upon arriving
at the trading place they would spread out their goods and
announce their presence by beating on a drum called a deba. They
would retreat and traders bearing gold would arrive laying out
amounts of gold dust next to the salt or other goods as payment
and then depart. When the first group returned, if the amount of
gold was sufficient they accepted it and left. If not, they would
leave everything untouched and wait for more gold to be put out."

Apparently 'silent trade' was used to enable people with no common
language to trade with each other.

And how can we know that 'official spokesmen' attributed the largess
to the gods?

That sounds like somebody's inventive spin to me.

I'll be curious as to what you find.



Eric Stevens
.

Relevant Pages

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