This post was inspired by an article I read yesterday on CBS News regarding the Danube River reaching record low levels. This is the second longest river in Europe after the Volga and it passes through 10 countries before reaching the Black Sea. Already countries such as Hungary and Romania are taking steps to safeguard their nuclear reactors which are at risk because of the low water levels.
As well as the low levels revealing many (deliberately) sunken German warships from WWII (not the first time this has happened, but perhaps not on this scale before), some interesting bones were discovered on the parched riverbed near Ruse in northeastern Bulgaria. They are believed to be from a woolly mammoth but this has yet to be confirmed. Among the fragments they found a jaw bone, tusks and an intact femur.
This discovery led me to think about our early ancestors because for a while they co-existed with the woolly mammoths. For example, it is interesting how idioms change over the years (or is it that I should get out more?). These early humans used to speak of “the mammoth in the cave” when there was a topic that the group were carefully avoiding. Similarly, they spoke of “the best thing since the wheel” when a new tool or gadget was invented. The people of the Stone Age were unable to express the concept of “a double-edged sword”. Of course, these are just speculations on my part, and they obviously used their own word for mammoth since its first use was not until the 17th century.
As if this was not cringe worthy enough, I awoke thinking about the evolution of musical tastes. The stone age people obviously had their rock, which later became progressive rock with the incorporation of light metal in the bronze age, leading of course to the dominance of heavy metal in the iron age. Maybe I should apologise for this, but its Friday and who cares?!
Psychologist on the Move 