Quick Question

[Serafina]

Since intelligence refers to a basic human property, as well as a basic human skill, i really fail to see why this concept should not have been around since (evolutionary-)modern forms of humans existed.

If you can recognize that someone is clumsy, you can recognize that someone is agile. You may only have a word for one and denote the other "not-clumsy", but you still have a concept of it.
The same goes for dumb and smart, and those two require a concept of intelligence - a measure of ones ability to grasp concepts, memorize things, make correct decisions and craft plans. All of those are vital skills for humans (as well as many less intelligent animals), so again i fail to see how humans could not have a concept of such things.

Lusankya demonstrated that quite well - the Tiwi assign words to ones ability to use ones brain.. Since thats what intelligence is, they obviously have a concept of intelligence.

[Simon_Jester]

[raises eyebrow at Lusankya]

A hundred twenty thousand years? Where's that from?

[Lusankya]

Sorry, I was remembering incorrectly. Australian Aboriginal culture only dates back about 60,000 years: http://www.aboriginalculture.com.au/introduction.shtml

It's actually pretty cool how rock paintings and oral histories can be used to date a culture. I remember reading about one tribe from south western Australia that had a story that was over 10,000 years old: this was evident due to the fact that the story included a description if a giant lizard that became extinct during the last ice age.

[Simon_Jester]

Hm.

I'd be a bit skeptical of something like that, not least because people can come up with totally fanciful beasts- but if the description was accurate or there was corroborating evidence, sure fine. Cool.

[someone_else]

if for giant lizard you mean the Megalania (basically a giant monitor lizard), it did die off around 40'000 years ago (I don't know how they can say everyone of species X died off by this time if fossils are a so rare occurrence, but nevermind) and if Aboriginal culture is older than that... it may be bullshit, but can also be true.

If it had all the tricks monitor lizards have (can sprint at 6 km/h for a relatively long time, has poison, piercing its skin should be hard, has good smell), and needs a fuckton of meat to survive, then it's a pretty dangerous beast indeed. Humans will likely be the meal of this guy if living in the same area and not possessing rifles.

They are supposed to be pretty damn smart as well (monitor lizard are smart too).

There is an example of similar BIG reptile, as Gustave which may not be totally bullet-proof, but surely hard to kill with bullets .