Analogy: Stonehenge and Madagascar Megaliths

   In class, Erin gave us a handout of a short interview with archaeologist Ramilisonina and a somewhat harsh blog reply by blogger Luciano Aimar. Aimar's issue with Ramilisonina seems to be his analogy of Madagascar's megaliths with Stonehenge and Bluehenge. I agree in part with Aimar, although I thought his response veered a little on the rude side (especially if you scroll down on the link Erin gave us and read the comments back and forth...he gets even meaner). I disagree with Ramilisonina and Pearson's stance that there is an affinity with Madagascar's megaliths. I think there is a similarity in material, certainly...but not much more than that. My biggest problem with the analogy is Ramilisonina stating that the two share a "similiar element of magic"; he says this with absolutely no followup about what he means. This statement is far too subjective for an archaeological comparison. I understand his sentiment about the "magic" as I've been to Stonehenge myself and it's pretty awesome, but archaeology is a scientific pursuit. Also, stating that Stonehenge was a place to commune with the gods is a pretty definitive statement for a site that (as far as I know) has no written records explaining its purpose, and no solid clues to its purpose at the site itself. Its totally ok to have a hypothesis, but when you state your hypothesis as a fact you cross over into pseudoscience. In sum, IMO the analogy only goes as far as likeness in material (and the positioning of the material).

about moi

Hi All,

   My name is Samantha and I'm a 3rd year Anthropology major from Victoria, originally Calgary. No minor, just a straight up major, although I've taken quite a few courses in psychology, linguistics and art history at Uvic. I just couldn't focus my interests enough to minor in anything. Anth is my definite fav. I've flitted in and out of postsecondary since high school, altogether taking off 3 years to work and travel before going back to school this summer to finish my degree. In the end I decided I wanted to be an Elementary school teacher and finishing this degree is the fastest, most economical way to get there. Also, doing one more year of Anthropology courses is pretty enjoyable, and even though I know I won’t be using it directly upon graduating, I love all the stuff I’m learning. I plan on doing my post-degree teaching program in the UK because although I love Victoria, I love Europe more. I am fortunate to have grandparents born in the UK, and therefore the ability to permanently live there (I love choices).

   Some other things I like: travelling (everywhere and anywhere-especially excited to go to Thailand in May), cooking, reading & movies, board games (getting really into Settlers of Catan), GoT (and other epic TV shows) and many more…As far as Anthropology goes, I really like Biological Anth and Archaeology…in particular evolutionary DNA and archaeology, and Paleolithic art and archeology. I took April Nowell’s Paleolithic Art class a while back and it was awesome, highly recommended. And ‘First Peopling’ last semester with Quentin Mackie was my favourite class of recent past.

  I’m really looking forward to this class because the subject matter is so intriguing. I’ve been interested in ancient burials since I was a kid. Looking at books about Pompeii fascinated me, with the bodies stuck in a moment of time. Also Egyptian mummification and bog bodies are mesmerizing (who isn’t captivated by mummification?!) I hope we touch on art in burials (like those amazing ivory beads at the Sunghir burial(s?))

  Well, that is all for my first post. That felt kind of long…but I’m babysitting and nothing good is on TV. :P