The Cusp, Part XVI

The summer was a time of plenty. The band moved camps as needed to prevent taking too much from any one spot. They believed that they were obligated to let mother earth heal. They were at a camp on a forested hill overlooking a river. It was the hot part of the summer, but it was cool in the shade, and the river ran in all seasons. The hunter and the woman were happy together. They had a few arguments over small things, but their bond was strong. The hunter spent much of his time making tools for the band. After a morning hunt he would sit in a spot at the edge of the camp and work. He was careful to toss the flakes into the brush to prevent someone from stepping on them. He enjoyed losing himself in something productive. The tools he made were practical and helped the band, but to him they were more. Each spear point, arrowhead, or scraper had a little of him in it. Sometimes when a piece was especially good, he would hold it up to the sun. The light would shine through the thin parts of the stone. It was as if the point had light inside it, almost a spirit.

One day as he was working, a young one of three summers joined him. She watched as tools emerged from the stone. She was too young to be trusted with flint or obsidian; she would surely cut her fingers. A compromise was reached. The young one was given two river stones and “practiced” tool making by hitting them together. The clacking of the stones made her happy and she smiled. The cousin found them and spoke.

“You have an apprentice.”

“She has a lot of enthusiasm. We are still working on the finer points.”

The girl held up a piece of stone that had broken off one of the rocks and extended it to the cousin.

“You have made a tool. Maybe you can help scrape hides with it.”

The girl beamed and ran down into the camp looking for someone working on a hide.

The cousin looked into the distance and pointed to a group of four people on the trail. They were carrying heavy packs and walking staffs.

“They look like they have traveled far.”

“They are carrying heavy loads. They may be traders.”

The cousin went to alert the camp while the hunter stayed on the hill to watch. The men of the camp joined him. They met the four at the edge of the camp. There were two men and two women in the group. The hunter could see that they were couples. The four stopped and the oldest man introduced himself formally including tribe and band. The rest of the four did the same. The hunter’s father, as the senior man in the camp, introduced himself. The trader spoke.

“We have traveled far today and would welcome a place to camp and to trade with you.”

“You are welcome at our fire. There is plenty of food and we are always ready to trade.”

Traders were generally welcome in a camp. They often brought things that were not readily available to the people as well as news. Good traders would have jokes and stories. Entertainment was always appreciated. The traders set up their shelters and were invited to eat as hospitality required. One of the women went to her pack and brought a package of dates which she passed around the fire. A woman of the band spoke to her.

“These are delicious, where did you find them?”

“They came from the city, but we did not get them there. We traded for them from another band.”

“The things you have pass through many hands?”

“It is the way of trade.”

After they had eaten the traders spread hides in front of their shelters and displayed their goods. There were bundles of linen, colored stones for making beads, finished beads, needles, ornaments, and dried fruits. The hunter saw that there were large pieces of obsidian. He held a piece half the size of his head up and examined it closely. It was very good stone. The woman was looking at come green stones that varied in size from an acorn to a walnut.

“What type of stone is this?”

The senior trader spoke to her.

“It is unusual. Watch.”

The trader sat one of the green stones on a rock and struck it with another stone. The green stone flattened out and began to shine. When the stone was flattened the trader rubbed it against a piece of sandstone and it shone.

“It is called copper. The people in the city love it.”

“What is it used for?”

“They make ornaments from it. The city people like ornaments and fancy clothes. Appearances mean a lot to them.”

The people wore ornaments according to their individual tastes. Necklaces were popular and some decorated clothes for special occasions. Men would braid or trim their beards; women would style their hair and sometimes weave beads into their braids. Some men and women wore earrings of bone or ivory from boars’ teeth.

The hunter spoke to the trader.

“What do the people in the city trade for.”

“They are always interested in dried meat, good tools, ornaments, and decorated clothes. Well finished leather is popular, but they mostly wear cloth. They trade dates, grain, lentils, figs, and sometimes dried fish. The city is on the river.”

“Are there no hunters in the city?”

“They hunt, but the larger animals avoid the city. The city people have to go further into the countryside to get bigger game. Some of the tribes resent them. They say that they take too much.”

“What do they eat?”

“Grain, grain, and grain with some lentils and peas. The poor people eat grain and little else.”

“What are poor people?”

The trader tried to explain rich and poor people to the hunter. He was unable to understand. Among the people there were those who had status and perhaps a bigger shelter based on the number of people in the family and the skill of the hunter and the women at working hides. There were no rich or poor people. No one owned more things that they could carry or drag.

The traders stayed for two days. The hunter and his wife traded for obsidian, dates, cloth, beads and some ivory to make more beads from. The ivory was very old and had washed out of a riverbank far to the north. The traders left with finished arrow points, tanned hides, and some clothes the woman had decorated with beads and ocher. The traders had told many stories about the tribes they met on their travels and what they had heard about the city. City people had strange customs and were obsessed with trade and their gods. The city gods were different than the mother and the ancestors. The city gods were angry and had to be constantly placated with offerings, praise, and sometimes, a sacrifice. The traders traveled all summer and then returned to their band in the winter. They hoped to get more of their tribe interested in trading and be able to bring more goods. They wanted to bring goods to tribal gatherings in the future. The hunter paid close attention. The traders told what they had heard about a fierce tribe to the north. The tribe was not interested in trade and was very large. Smaller tribes were being pushed out of their territory, and some bands had been killed for their land. The hunter’s band was shocked. There was violence in the tribal regions. Usually among the young men over a woman or some other dispute. Organized group violence was almost non-existent. There was so much land and so few people.

The next day the hunter and his uncle returned from a hunt. The mother and the ancestors had blessed them with two goats. While the goats were being butchered a group of young ones approached. They ranged in age from three to five summers. The children carried toy bows the hunter had made. The arrows ended in a round knob. Others carried sticks as spears. The oldest spoke.

“We want to go on a hunt with you.”

The hunter spoke.

“You are a determined looking group.”

“We want to help the band.”

The uncle spoke.

“Helping your band is part of being a hunter. You have listened well.”

“We have been practicing with our weapons.”

The hunter nudged his uncle and spoke.

“Meet us here at sunrise day after tomorrow and we will hunt.”

When the young ones left the hunter told his uncle his plan and he agreed.

The “hunters” arrived at dawn. Some of the youngest were barely awake. It was decided they would hunt gazelle. Just outside camp they came on fresh tracks. The hunter and the uncle pointed them out and the young ones began following the trail. The gazelle was clever and the trail twisted and turned. When the trail was lost the hunter and his uncle guided the group back on to it. They made sure that each young one had a turn at following the tracks. The group was careful to use the wind. An hour after full daylight the uncle motioned everyone to be still and crouch down. The gazelle had been spotted just over a small rise where the water had formed a gully. The young ones spread out along the bank and peered over. The “gazelle” stood in the clearing. It was made of grass and reed mats with sticks serving as horns. The cousin had helped make it. The older children started to speak but the hunter and his uncle motioned for them to be quiet. The hunter spoke to the oldest child.

“How will your group hunt this animal.”

In a whispered conversation it was agreed where the archers would stay while those armed with spears circled around. When everyone was in position the archers loosed arrows. Several hit the vital area of the “gazelle.” The youngest closed in with their “spears” and finished the “animal”. The children approached the “gazelle” carefully. Then gave it a last bit and thanked the mother and the ancestors. The hunter spoke.

“Now the work begins. Who will dress this animal.”

A girl of four summers stepped forward. The hunter handed her his knife with instructions to be careful. The “gazelle” was turned on its back and the reed mat cut open. Inside were many small bundles wrapped in leaves. When one was opened it contained the cooked grain, nut, and date bars that the hunter’s mother made on special occasions. The uncle spoke.

“What will you hunters do now?”

The children talked for a while then the oldest spoke.

“We will take our kill back to camp.”

The young ones began to carry and drag the “gazelle” to camp. When they arrived the uncle shouted,

“We have hunters coming with a kill.”

The camp gathered as the children dragged the “gazelle” into the clearing. Two of the children, walking solemnly carried bundles to the oldest couple in the camp. The old man, concealing a smile, spoke.

“Thank you, hunters. You have remembered our customs”

A bundle was distributed to each shelter, then the rest of the bundles were laid out on a hide, and the youngest child turned her back on them. The oldest pointed to a bundle and asked who it belonged to. The youngest pointed to one of the group. The process was repeated until all the “hunters” had received one of the treats. The oldest child spoke to the hunter and his uncle.

“Thank you for guiding us on our hunt.”

“Your group listened well and worked together.”

Everyone sat at the fire eating the treats while the uncle sang a song about the hunt.

Three years passed. The hunter sat watching the band. He was as happy as he had ever been. He smiled as he watched the woman nursing their daughter. She was just starting to try to stand. As he watched the woman chewed some gazelle meat to a paste and nudged the little one’s cheek with her chin. The baby looked up and opened her mouth. His woman pushed the meat from her mouth into the little one’s mouth. She was already showing a preference for certain meats and vegetables, but still preferred milk. They called the little one “cub” because she was chubby and made grunting noises when she lifted her arms wanting a cuddle.

The cousin had wedded the younger brother as she had promised. Her belly was just starting to swell with their child. She had spent three summers apprenticing with a skilled healer in another band and had been a good student. She had attended his woman during the birth of their child with the other women of the band. It was very rare for a woman to give birth alone. Her memory held scores of plants and their uses in healing. She had learned to identify the plants and when to gather them. The hunter was proud of her. The cousin had not lost her love of spending time with children and teaching. She would be a good mother and was an asset to the band.

The brother had matured into a skilled hunter and a thoughtful man. His archery skills were extraordinary and he taught young ones. The hunter and his uncle had spoken for him when he was invited to join the wolf pack, their hunter society. There were several societies. The wolf pack, the bear, the aurochs, the boar, and the lion. Each society had its own songs, stories, and traditions but were similar in most ways. To be admitted a man had to show skill and character. Members vowed to put the needs of their people first, always share a kill, and come to the aid of other members. The various societies were close. They engaged in competitions at the tribal gatherings with each society having its own cheering section. Foot races, wrestling matches, and tests of skill with weapons were popular with the crowd. The brother had chosen the wolf and the boar for his tattoos, one from each of his sponsors. The wolf for loyalty and the boar for courage. The tattoos were healing well but still looked new.

After much discussion among the band, it was decided that they would take a trip to the city to trade and learn. The fierce tribe to the north was a concern. At the gatherings the hunter societies and the tribes had agreed to stand against the fierce people if they tried to invade their territory. The alliance included seven tribes and representatives had been sent to others. The web of kinship was extensive. The hunter had found many pieces of copper in gravel bars and stream beds. He kept it in a sack, and it weighed as much as a child of two summers. The woman had been experimenting with copper and had made beads from it. The hunter had made her drills that would make holes in stone and copper while at the same time cutting it from the larger piece. The drill had a center bit and another on the outer edge. There were drills for several different sizes. The woman had made shirts, blouses, and dresses of her best deer skins and had decorated them with beads. She was taking them to the city to trade. One especially ornate shirt had a mosaic of beads dyed with plant extracts and ocher, depicting an aurochs head with copper discs for eyes.

Ther had been a hunt involving several bands during the fall migration of the plains animals. The hunt involved gradually pushing animals into a V that ended in an enclosure in a canyon. The V started out over a hundred paces wide. All the able bodies people in the bands had spread out and walked slowly. The animals had gradually moved away from the people and into the V. The people followed gradually getting closer to each other until they formed a solid line. The hunters waited in the enclosure. They had made much meat, and the drying racks were weighed down. The meat had been divided by band. The hunter’s band had more than enough meat for the winter and were going to take three-man weights to the city to trade. They would leave in two days.