A Startling Lack of Progress

Civilization really hasn't progressed as far as we might think.

On Saturday, visiting the Otzi the Iceman exhibition at the Australian National Maritime Museum, I was struck, and saddened, by the violent death of Otzi - shot in the back by an arrow as he apparently fled into the mountains, fearing an attack.

I couldn't help compare Otzi's death with the current situation in Kenya - it seems that in 5,000 years, not much has changed when it comes to people being shitty to each other.

(There's a word that's starting to be used with regards to Kenya - Rwanda. I can remember when I was about twelve years old, asking my mother if, at the time of the Cambodian "Killing Fields", the world knew what was going on. She said people did, and I was confused - if people had known what was happening, than surely someone would have stopped it? My confusion in this case lasted three years, until the Rwandan genocide - the whole world knew what was happening, and nobody stopped it. This time around, what I couldn't understand was why somebody [Clinton?] didn't do something. If Kenya goes the same way and no one intervenes to stop the slaughter, many jaded years later I think this time, I'll finally understand.)


Back to poor Otzi though. Although the received wisdom is that he died from the arrow wound to his back, rebel scientists are now claiming he died of head injuries caused when he fell after being injured. This controversy sounds familiar. I guess now we wait to see if al-Qaeda claims responsibility for Otzi's death.