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Hum110 wake tech week 7b workforces Stonehenge
- 1. Stonehenge
- 2. Why Was Stonehenge Constructed?
Editor's Notes
- On the Island of Malta in the Hypogeiu,m an underground temple, there is a chamber. In the chamber is a structure. The same structure may have been brought to Bronze Age England by the Amsbury Archer (Stone, Richard. "The Mystery Man of Stonehenge," Smithsonian August 2005 63-66.) It was also believed to have been left by early visitors to Massachusetts. It wasn’t! The structure is Stonehenge (from EarthMysteries.com) The First Stage of Stonehenge: The Earthworks (Henge) At about 3100BC an earthworks ditch, bank with fifty-six Aubrey holes was built at Stonehenge, The holes are round pits in the chalk. They have flat bottoms and are about one cubic meter. Together they create a circle of about 284 feet in diameter (later moved to 330 feet). There are human remains in the chalk pits. These were probably not graves but part of a religious ceremony. Shortly after this was built, the site was abandoned for about 1000 years. The Second Stage The Bluestones About 2150 BC 82 bluestones weighing 4 tons each were transported by land and barge nearly 240 miles from the Preseli Mountains in Wales. They were placed in an incomplete concentric circle with the Aubrey holes. The second circle was open at both ends. Heel Stones were installed to form an "avenue" which aligned with the midsummer sunrise. The larger circle was widened at this time. Bluestones may have been hauled from a great distance because they were suspected to have healing powers. (Jones, Dan. " New Light on Stonehenge," Smithsonian, October, 2008, 36-46.) The Third Stage The Sarsen Stones About 2000BC new stones weighing as much as 50 ton were brought by land from Marlborough Downs 25 miles to the north. Estimates range to 600 men to move a single stone. The original stones in these positions were bluestones. The Bluestones may have been placed as early as 2550 BC. Thirty new sandstone blocks replaced these. These stones were arranged in an outer circle with a continuous series of lintels (like the top of a doorway). Inside, five freestanding trilithons were arranged in a horseshoe. The remains of these we see today. they are arranged according to height with the largest pair at the center. Another oval of bluestone may have been added and subsequently removed during this period. The Final Stage About 1500BC, the original 60 bluestones were reset in a horseshoe and circle. Parts of these remain today. Also present are two Station Stones, two Heel Stones and and a dressed sandstone altarstone of Cosheson Beds Sandstone unique to Stonehenge.(www. stonehenge.uk.co)
- No one knows why the structures were constructed. What we do know is that The structure is oriented to the winter and summer solstices. There was a festival nearby at the time which involved the mass consumption of food. Some burials were performed at the site. One was the Amsbury Archer who may have brought the idea of Stonehenge from Continental Europe. Many small communities were involved in the construction. But what does all this have to do with the !Kung Bushmen? We might consider how a society of growing sophistication might develop specialized skills. The !Kung may be nearly all hunter/gatherers. They make few items, ornaments or structures. There may be a few specialized “job titles” like leader or healer, but most people share a single role. Building Stonehenge, on the other hand, required specialized skills in carpentry, masonry, barge navigation, carting and dozens of other job titles.
- The US Department of Labor collects details about employment by job title, locations, salaries and a variety of other factors. http://www.bls.gov/bls/blswage.htm Let’s examine the site’s databases for statistics Databases and Tables Pay/National Compensation/Tables Employment Projections/Occupation Search/Tables Consider the differences among the "job titles" in the primitive societies of hunter-gatherers and construction of Stonehenge. Next we will look at the origins of the modern workforce that constructed the Brooklyn Bridge (in presentation Workforces c).