[ExI] Reason for religions, was riots

[spike]

>... On Behalf Of Mirco Romanato
...

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/05/0503_050305_neanderthal.html

>... Trinkaus said. "I'm not saying they were having fights at the mouths of
caves with the hyenas, but I'm sure there were plenty of times when the
hyenas came and, not being stupid, the Neandertals said 'see ya later,
guys.'"


I would suggest to the contrary.  If we try to imagine the first use of
tools in humans, we can imagine it being hurling rocks, not at prey but at
hyenas.  This would be effective if a pack of hyenas lived in a cave, which
a group of humans wanted to occupy.  One could imagine how the good old
opposable thumb would allow three or four sturdy lads to wield clubs,
completely as defense weapons, back with a group perhaps thirty meters away,
while a group of specialists hurled rocks at emerging hyenas at the mouth of
the cave.  They would occasionally bean one of the toothy sons a bitches,
but even if they didn't, the stones would accumulate at the mouth of the
cave in such a way that the hyenas could not clear them away without risk of
getting conked by some wannabe caveman.  Eventually the hyenas would need to
abandon the site, at which time opposable-thumb-boy gets all his ammo back.

So I contra-propose to Trinkaus that early humans did get into fights with
hyenas at the mouths of caves.  This could explain how technology was jump
started, for this notion would confer an advantage on those humans who could
throw the straightest and hardest, as well as those who could plan ahead,
make a sack of some sort, go collect a pile of rocks, store them at the site
until you could get an arsenal together, then go get the sturdy lads, pump
them with some kind of proto-religion memes about how they will be rewarded
in some afterlife if you lose the upcoming battle in such a way that the
hyenas tear you a new asshole.  Then let the fights begin.

spike