Appetizer

Has civilization ruined everything that was good and pure about man? Were we, in our early existence, a peaceful and ecologically savvy race? Were the wars we fought small and relatively non-violent compared to the mass violence typical of today's wars? The answer to these questions, according to the pervasive 'myth of the noble savage' is emphatically, "Yes."

The myth of the noble savage has been around since man formed its first civilizations thousands of years ago, it can be found as far back as ancient Rome and Greece, although in its modern form it is most commonly associated (rightly or wrongly) with 18th century philosopher Rousseau. The myth of the noble savage is a sort of social nostalgia, a yearning for an Edenic utopia in our past that many believe we forsook with the formation of permanent civilization.

But before we turn our collective backs on technology and return to the hinterlands, one must ask, is this true? A closer look at archeology and anthropology brings the myth of early humans living in a state of perfect nature into serious doubt. Evidence suggests that the wars fought by early humans were at least as brutal as the wars we fight today, furthermore, many early tribal societies endured a perpetual state of battle with neighboring tribes. Tribal societies, often romanticized as ancient communes, were closed societies that left no room for dissent or diversity of opinion. Primitive man, far from being ecologically wise, changed and ravaged his environment in similar ways as we do today. Early arrivers in North America are credited with causing the concurrent mass extinction of "megafauna" (think Mammoths) at the end of the Pleistocene period. The list goes on.

Here you will find research and literature that both rejects and accepts the noble savage.  Challenging the myth is important not simply because it is erroneous, but because it supposes some fall from grace in mankind, a negative shift in its nature caused by civilized society. Such a belief leads one to believe that by rejecting technology, or society, or any other "unnatural" thing, we could regain a state of perfect harmony with the environment and with each other. Like all utopian ideas, such a belief often leads to disaster.