Aquila of Zimbabwe

Aquila of Zimbabwe
Andre Willers
28 Sept 2008

See http://andreswhy.blogspot.com “Is the Atkins diet evolutionary compatible? : Celtic and Bantu Cultures”

Scenario:
The argument was that a Celtic migration (about 100 000 people) circa 60 BC coast-hopped down the West-African coast , pursued by a Roman force that managed to destroy their ships somewhere south of the Congo delta . They could not return , which was the Roman strategic objective .

The Romans returned , as discussed , but what happened to the Celts ?

Genetic evidence:
I had a look at some genetic maps . There are European genetic markers in the Bantu population predating 1500AD . The problem lies in interpretation .

The generally accepted interpretation is that the markers (mutations) originated in North-Africa . Some of the population went to Europe (via landbridges like Malta during the last ice-age) , and some went south into Africa to end up south of the Congo at the start of the Bantu surge .

Refer to Jared Diamond’s arguments about the difficulty of crossing latitude and climate boundaries . North Africa and Southern Europe were climactically similar at the time .
But crossing the Tropics has some major problems for a herder culture with subsistence farming . (Impossible without water-transport . )

Some remnants of the Bantu probably did arrive south of the Congo , but few cattle . (Probable numbers : about 200 000 ,
but hardened survivors in organized tribal groups . Every inch of the way they came would have been contested .)

Meeting up with the Celtic castaways (probably about 50 000 at this time ) was a stroke of luck for both parties .

A new , vital culture was forged .

(If these numbers seem large , remember that the area was teeming with game . The main competitors were other humans who were already at optimal population densities for their environment . Foreigners in these numbers could not be tolerated , as the local’s own grandchildren would be endangered .)

Skin Colour .
Melanin concentration has been shown to a strict function of UVB radiation per latitude .

The Melanoma Gradient
Populations too white (not enough melanin) suffer higher incidences of skin cancers , as well as problems with the folic acid-vitD balances . The effect is that children who are too white will be much healthier the further away from the equator . Populations free to move will move to where children have a higher survival rate .

The Bantu light skin colour .
This evolved in North-Africa .
They were forced south by climate change and enemies to move south through some very hostile territory .
Then they met the Celts .
There was a fusion of Celtic genes and technology .

The present accepted model presupposes that lower melanin concentrations were caused by assimilating San and Koi , who had low melanin concentrations because of their high latitude . The problem is numbers . There simply was not enough numbers of San/Koi slaves to turn a ebony population into a latte .

The latest evidence is that areas like North-Africa were populated from Southern-African regions . The high-melanin (extreme black) concentrations evolved in the tropics after medium-melanin . White-skins evolved after this in extreme northern Europe .

So the proto-Bantu were medium-melanin to start with , as well as the high cheekbones and pointed chins . (Cf Mongols) . Big bums in older females are found in every peasant society where there is no food preservation . Fat has to be stored for childbearing .

Fusion .
Ubuntu .
The Celts and proto-Bantu fused into a new vital culture , enabling them to survive together where they could not apart .
Most important was the meme of co-operation , instead of conflict .
Win-win .

Technology : iron working , huts , cattle , fermented milk , pottery , preservation , etc

Software : culture : shares in cattle , a typical Celtic technology . This increases the population carrying capacity by at least a factor of ten . But limited by the lack of written records .
Raiding (continual low-level aggression to keep everyone on their toes. Works for non-professional armies)

Matrilineal descent
Rather contentious , as there was a lot of Egyptian cultural contamination via Ethiopia. The three waves of skilled agricultural refugees from Yemen after the successive failures of the Maghreb dam stirred the pot .

The One-Third Diaspora Meme :
This is telling .

In their movement south-eastwards , the Bantu were never hemmed in , so the meme-machinery of hiving off a third was never activated .

Until they ran into whites moving northwards .
The extreme facility in which the Xhosas shifted one third of the population of the Eastern Province to the Western Province in 1994 argues that this meme is alive and well .

Think about it . In most African states like Somalia , Ruanda , etc , the inhabitants have to be at death’s door before they relocate . And they want to be back in the old country as soon as possible .

But in south Africa , the Bantu say “ Ho-Hey! Where’s the bus ?” This actually happened .
The old meme-machinery kicked in . The whites experienced the one-third volkewandering at a 2 000 year remove !
What delicious irony !
The Celtic Revenge !

This is one of the main driving forces of the xenophobic attacks .

The whites have something similar .
The second Great Trek.
About a third of the white population left after 1994 . The problem was that this was not random . Only the ones who could find a job overseas left . The skilled , graduate lot .
But still , it was only a third .
A very good thing . The benefits of a captive skill pool is far outweighed by the instability they would have engendered .
Better incompetent management than war .
Anything is better than a civil war (except starvation a-la-Zimbabwe)

To get back to the Eagles .
Roman Legions liked to march over the top of a hill with the Aquila showing first , then the other standards , then the serried ranks of the legions . In total silence . Terror tactics . It worked , too .
Shamanist groups like the Druids ascribed mystic powers to the symbols (ie Eagle) . For centuries keeping the standard up was a major thing . It was at the most defended center . If you cannot keep this up , what use are you ?

Hence the Zimbabwe bird : a Roman Eagle , captured and it’s power transferred .

The terrace agriculture : from Yemen (Maghreb , Sha’aba) Queen of Sheba .
There were three breaks in the Maghreb dam . Each one was accompanied by a a refugee flux . The Maghreb dam was a single point of failure for an entire civilization.
From genetic evidence , there are still descendants in Zimbabwe .

The normal stone walls :
Ever tried to farm a stony ground ? You have to move the stones somewhere . And obviously where you will not have to move them again . This is the iterative definition of a wall .


The conical stone towers : This is standard in Ireland . Some still survive .

If they get overgrown they are mounds .

Over to you
Andre