SV: Is the Aryan Invasion a Myth?

[Lars Martin Fosse]

Nath wrote:
>
> > The reason why we don't =
> > believe in them is that the ancients had no knowledge of the necessary =
> > principles, nor the technology to make them.
>
> So, physics and engineering do matter, at times at least.
> And we need to point to evidence of metal-working in Andronovo
> sites to satisfy Mark Hubey. Not knowing Russian, I have little
> ability to read original reports. But isn't there some survey in
> English/French/German of Andronovo culture, written >without<
> any reference to the ``Aryan problem''?

Yes, physics and engineering do matter, and particularly when we are dealing
with physical things and processes. However, I have the disturbing feeling that
many people in the sciences think that the humanities should function the way
natural science functions, and that is not necessarily the case. Cultural and
linguistic processes must in many cases be described in a different manner
using different methods. For one thing, cultural and historical processes are
not subject to "laws" (pace Marx), and even if we assume that these processes
function according to statistical trends, we have - at least! -  a VERY severe
sampling problem when we try to evaluate such trends. Another problem is that
we cannot make experiments with the past. BUT: Having said that, I'll say once
more what I have said many times already: The humantities (and Indology) could
do with a bit of statistics and mathematics. As for physics and engineering,
you should have noticed that archaeology uses such methods already.

Lars Martin

Dr. art. Lars Martin Fosse
Haugerudvn. 76, Leil. 114,
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Norway
Phone/Fax: +47 22 32 12 19
Email: lmfosse at online.no