Customer Reviews

The Oldest Europeans: Who Are We? Where Do We Come From? What Made European Women Different?

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1 star:		(2)

 

 

I enjoyed this book so much I want to read it through again! Without mentioning Marija Gimbutas, J.F. del Giorgio seems to pick up the trail where she left off. He follows the Cro-Magnon, the first modern humans in Europe, through the Ice Age to modern times. While Indo-Europeans eventually invaded, they never really eradicated the early culture they encountered. Del Giorgio looks to the Basques and their relatives in Northern and Western Europe for clues to what happened to that culture.
Indo-European languages largely displaced the original languages but many words, especially place names, are tied to the earlier inhabitants. These people intermarried and largely remained where they had been for millennia. In the earlier matrilineal tradition, the most powerful individuals were queens, who were actually priestesses of the female centered religion. Kings gained their power by marrying princesses. It was apparently a very temporary power, as they were sacrificed for the good of the community frequently, giving us our concept of heroes. As the Indo-Europeans became more and more powerful, they limited the power of women and installed patrilineal kingship.
Del Giorgio interprets the clash of cultures as a religious war between the followers of the old Mother Goddess in all her forms and the patriarchal pantheon. This war, while it seemed to have been won, continued to break out periodically in such episodes as the frenzy of witch burning. Since the main icon of the Mother Goddess with her Son has been adopted into Christianity along with the concept of the hero's sacrifice, it is clear that it was more of a compromise than a victory.
In language that is vigorous and engaging, never boring; del Giorgio tells his tale and documents it beautifully. I found it charming that in spots he doesn't quite get the idiom and makes it clear that his first language is not English. That never gets in the way of the clarity of his message or its importance. This book puts into perspective much that I have read before. I recommend Jean Clottes `magnificent photos in Cave Art and Brian Fagan's word picture of the lives of the first modern Europeans in Cro-Magnon and of course Marija Gimbutas' The Goddesses and Gods of Old Europe and The Living Goddesses.
Cro-Magnon: How the Ice Age Gave Birth to the First Modern HumansThe Goddesses and Gods of Old Europe: Myths and Cult ImagesCave Art

The Oldest Europeans: Who Are We? Where Do We Come From? What Made European Women Different?

I ordered this book since it looked very interesting. I still think that the book and the topic could be interesting, however, it has been written by someone who is clearly not a native English speaker and needs some serious editing assistance. I labored through it, simply because of my interest in the thesis, but found it almost incomprehensible given the mangled grammar and syntax. I would not recommend that anyone spend $$ on this book. The experience will ultimately be very frustrating. The author's thesis is that The Oldest Europeans, today represented by the Basques and other Celtic descendants, had primarily matriarchal societies. This forms the basis of the author's statement that European women are different -- they are more independent and of higher status than women in the rest of the world because their ancestors functioned in matriarchal societies, which pre-dated the Patriarchal societies of the Indo-European/Aryan invaders. The history and culture of The Oldest Europeans, who pre-date the Indo-European invaders, are explored in great detail by the author through examination primarily of legends and myths. This examination meanders wildly throughout the text, ultimately obscuring what seem to be the author's key points. A strong editor and complete rewrite might work to illuminate what could be a fascinating volume.

This book deals with history and miths in a serious and at the same time, entertaining way. I enjoyed it very much. It makes you want to know more about the theme, and thankfully it has a very ample further readings section.
I hope to read more books from this author.

Although this was an interesting read, I was annoyed by the lack of documentation. The writer constantly makes assertions but never gives specific sources for the material. What should have been a professional text slides downward into hearsay.

I must have a soft spot for authors who are biotechnologists writing a book that's catalogued under Women's Issues/Anthropology/History...it honestly deserves 3-3 1/2 stars. However, I really find this book charming. Maybe, it's the feminism, or the jargon-dropping flurry through various academic disciplines from genetics and linguistics, to religion and art history...altogether, it's like a manic journey through the humanities. I hope to sit down and research some of his facts that loosely connect throughout the book and see if they're accepted by their respective academic communities. I would have also appreciated notes and references. As well as reprints of the ancient and prehistoric artwork discussed, instead of illustrations of them.

Verdict: find at your local library.

That is, unless, you enjoy learning about people and places of Europe like the Mediterranean, the Basques of the Pyrenees Mountains, and Northern Europe. Not to mention, ergot poisoning, Rh-negative blood type, and mythology-history.

This is a splendid piece of research combining all kind of sources to offer a plausible explanation to questions that remained unsolved, until now. A book full of answers for those who wonder how was the world like when God was a woman, and men adored Her.
Time, History, Literature, Linguistics, archeological sites and DNA findings serve the author to take the reader, in a humorous and daring manner, through unsuspected paths enlightening the odd nexus between such unlike characters such as James Bond, Vikings and today's Basques. A finely polished amalgam of theories and research!
Francesca Cordido, journalist

What I mean by the title I have given this review is that much of history described now-days is in terms of the history of peoples thoughts. There is a dogma in a lot of historical presentation that all people are the same and that the history of thought is all that matters. In short, most of modern history is from an existentialist point of view. Mr del Giorgio has written this history unprejudiced by this dogma.

The premise of J. F. del Giorgio is that different peoples do have different preponderances of traits that give rise to different cultures. In other words, who people are, does matter, different types of people make different sorts of choices, and the culture and history emerges from people. This results in a very different view of history from those that presume that history is simply a result of different choices that people make.

As a result, I believe that Mr del Giorgio's work is likely an accurate view history. As well he is a very good writer and the book is a pleasure to read.

For those that may dismiss Mr del Giorgio's work, I would like to point out that the only true existentialists are psychopaths!

Th fate of tyhe cromagnon dwellers of Europe deserves a far better book than this. Above Erich von Däniken but more worthy of Parade than NY Times Sunday Magazine.

There are bits so charm here ... speculation that the fecund venus figures may resemble an African rather than a European woman was my favorite idea. But few of these ideas are well-developed. As a biologist I found myself going "hinh???" when he tried to explain the large rumps and mummeries he sees on African women as ana adaptation to the heat.

Worse the author conflates eras by trying to make the pre-aryan people of Greece into siblings of the cave painters ... a great culture that preceded the last ice age and the Arians by over ten thousand years. He even tries to tie Homer and Herodotus into his tale. The result is an effort to imagine the lost religions of the Achaeans and Etruscans as s fantastic remnant of the culture that created the Venus figures.

My theory is that this book started out as a sincere effort to imangineer the lost civilization of the cave painters but ran out of stuff to say because we just know so little.

Exciting the book of Jofe Del Giorgio (although I am afraid that it will give wings to the pretensions of independence of the Spanish Basques, with which I do not sympathize of any form). In particular, he quotes as example of erudition Sabino Arana, obviating his numerous offenses on the most elementary political and intellectual decency. But good, I suppose that that does not exclude the possibility of his anthropological erudition. Neither Celine or Heidegger have impeccable curricula.

Jofe starts by gaining himself the sympathies of all the readers of "Asterix" insinuating the possibility that that fistful of " unyielding Gauls " was, actually, a group of Basques (in fact, all the Celtic groups - between them, the Gauls - would be related with them). And not only that: such it seems that the Iliad, the Odyssey and the Aeneid are based on the exploits of the same ethnic, most ancient group of Europe (between 5.000 and 40.000 years). Neither it is doubt that D'Artagnan was a Basque (gascón). And Cyrano de Bergerac, of course.

But I hurry to make a point. Although I am radically an anti-male chauvinist, I assume the values of the feminism as been opposed against the boor, coarse and inconsiderate imposition of the masculine values. And I must point out that it would never assume the "Dark Reverse" of the machismo. That is to say, an equally unjust imposition of the values, rights and privileges of the woman. And of the work of Jofe it seems to be inferred that the situation was this in the world "euzco", pre-Aryan.

Neither I would like to live in a world as that one. We might even venture a dialectical interpretation, according to which the current machismo would be the "antithesis" of a previous feminist dictatorship. And this would allow us to dream of one -I hope, pretty close- synthesis of balance. I point out also that the network of speculations Del Giorgio is very well woven. None of them seems to be planned lightly, they all sound coherent and consistent (amen of fascinating).

I'm looking forward for the next Del Giorgio's book.