Chapter 1: Reflection on Nisa Interviews

By reading the interviews that Nisa partook in, I think that it shows that she has a very good idea of the life of earlier Paleolithic people. She starts off by talking about "life in the bush" and this allows readers to see that she is not much different from the earlier Paleolithic people. Much like the hunter/gatherer societies of the past, Nisa and her community operate in a very similar manner. Nisa tells us that one of the things that makes her most happy is when her father comes home bearing meat or honey. That is something that they treasure and we can see that is one of the most important things in her life. 

Nisa's accounts regarding sex and marriage show us that it is something that, in their culture, has to be done. There are several contrasts between marriage and sex in the San culture and in our culture. Today, we have more of a choice when it comes to marriage (and sex!). Women are becoming increasingly more independent and it is no longer believed that women need a man to take care of them, make money, bring home food, etc. The San culture is much more basic and, actually, it is much more realistic that the San women do need a man in order to help them hunt while they take care of the kids, for example. Nisa was very scared when she was to be married. As I would be also. The marriage is arranged and the girls are very young. She talks about how, at the end, she came to love and miss her husband, just like any other wife. 

Nisa looks at God and the divine in kind of a critical manner. Throughout her interview, I did not see her thank God for anything but I did see her blame God for things such as death: "God is the one who destroys. It isn't people who do it. It is God himself." I found this to be interesting. I wonder if Nisa feels this way because of personal experiences that have occurred to her or if this is kind of more of a general way of San thinking? In regards to the healing rituals, Nisa does believe in the power of those. Again, she questions if the strange sensation that you feel while experiencing N/um is God's doing. However, she does view the healing powers and very good and very strong. 

Overall, I think that Nisa's assessment of San life is perfectly realistic. That's kind of an interesting question to answer because of course, this being an interview of Nisa, everything will be described the way that she perceives things. And, ultimately, your perception is your reality. Therefore, her assessment is as realistic as it can get. To say that she made San life seem romantic or cynical would simply be our interpretation of something that we do not truly know or understand. For this reason, I cannot say that her description of a Paleolithic woman in the 20th century is anything but realistic. 

Chapter 1: Out of Africa & The Ways We Were

Regardless of how many times that I hear or learn about it, the beginning of human civilization will always remain incredible to me. Homo sapiens, stemming from Africa, were able to overcome difficult challenges that the huge and undiscovered world held. They survived the Ice Age and traveled from continent to continent via land bridges that the melting glaciers had created.We worry about what we will do after we graduate college and these nomads had to worry about day to day survival.
Early human societies were very small and nearly everyone had the same set of skills. Obviously, men were more typically hunters and women were more typically gatherers, however, there were no "specialists" of any kind of particular trade. One could say that things were more free, equal, fair. In fact, a study showed that plants gathered by women made up 70% of the diet while meat hunted by the men made up about 30%. Imagine that-a society where the female is the one who is looked to bring home the bacon. While today, we have made huge strides in beaming a more equal society, there are still many stereotypes that apply. Overall, the male is the one still looked upon to bring home the food and the money. Seeing that they do continue to make more money annually than women.
It's interesting because the earlier human societies lived such simple lives. There are so many distractions and materialistic values and intentions today. Reading about how things once were causes reflection of how much we have changed. And it brings about curiosity about the future. How much will change?