#3 – Book Reviews
Required Reading:
Our Own Druidry, p. 19 - 20 (Concerning the Reading of Books)
Our Own Druidry, Appendix B, p. xiii (writing a book review)
start on one book from the list of Pagan Revival titles at the ADF Website, A Recommended Reading List
I'm going to be reading "Drawing Down the Moon" by Margot Adler. Now, if only I could get the motivation to read anything other than fanfiction. I actually heard Ms. Adler's obituary on NPR this morning, she died yesterday.
Not going to lie, wish I could have a study group again for this. Motivation in numbers.
My, incredibly crappy, essay for the Indo-European Studies book below. I know I can do better than this. Just need to actually do better.
Cynthia Eller’s study of the archaeological basis for Matriarchal prehistory, The Myth of Matriarchal Prehistory, attempts, and mostly succeeds, at tearing the pre-historical utopia myth from its foundations. The basic theory of matriarchal prehistory is that before the invention of writing and post-subsistence agriculture, there was a widespread culture that worshiped a female deity and whose clans/ tribes were headed by women held in great respect. These tribes had a greater degree of women’s superiority than seen since. As women were in charge, lives were long and peaceful with no war and lived in harmony with nature. All this came crashing down with either the Kurgan from the Russian-Ukrainian steppes or the Semites from the middle east invaded between 4000 and 3000 BCE, bringing with them war, a male dominated religion, and the patriarchy. This myth fails to make a convincing case in so many ways it is amazing that Eller managed to fit as much as she did in the text. Eller barely mentions the social justice issues that arise from such a reading of the archaeological record. Matriarchal Prehistory can easily be used to condemn homo-sexuality, deny the existence and experience of *trans, and uphold some of the most egregious acts of misogyny in the western world.
The main thrust of Eller’s critique is the refusal of the adherents of the theory to consider all the evidence available is an utter failure of their methods. Theories should be fit to the evidence, not evidence to fit the theory. Most of the archaeological evidence from the period in question is indeterminate at best. Looking at the decorations and figurines, Matriarchal Prehistory proponents see breasts and vaginas everywhere. They have expanded the definition of what ‘counts’ as a vagina in art so much that the term is near meaningless (Eller 123). Any diagonal, wavy, straight, or intersecting line is considered to be a symbol of the the Goddess’ womb. Unfortunately, this expanded definition includes every way of making a line.
The best argument the Matriarchal Prehistorians can make is there was a sudden influx of the Kurgan culture from the Russian-Ukrainian steppes. The Kurgan certain left their mark on the languages of the region. However, language does not leave physical traces in its wake to detail the circumstances of its spread. While it is possible that the Kurgan came swarming out of the steppes bent on conquest as the Huns did a millennia later, there is no evidence that would lead only to that conclusion. No archaeological digs have shown any of the conditions that are present when a violent invasion occurs: famine, population explosion, or massive outbreak of natural disasters. There is simply no reason to suppose that the Kurgan invaded instead of a slow, peaceful migration.
Ultimately, the matriarchal prehistory argument is pleading for a special case. Despite not having convincing evidence, they believe that ‘Old Europe’ must have been matriarchal in the distant past. However, reality does not force itself to conform to expectations. By the year 4000 BCE, cities and kingdoms were already being formed in Africa and the Middle East- with no sign of a matriarchal society. Why Europe was so ‘enlightened’ as to have a matriarchy while the rest of the world did not can never be explained without resorting to discredited and racist areas of historical study.
