A Cambridge PhD student in the fields of archaeology/anthropology/ethnography overheard a conversation about networking, and responded with an anonymous letter, some key excerpts of which are below.
We may all intuit that our digital gadgets are merely new tools for age-old human behavior, but here are some specifics from the loupe of academia:
" ...many archaeologists are now beginning to realise that the behaviour of people (I am referring to stuff that was going one about 20,000 years ago when mobile art, figurines and parietal—cave—art largely first appeared in Europe) had much to do with building and maintaining networks, not just with people but also with other elements of the world."
" ...some archaeologists are now discussing the role of possessing and interacting with mobile (e.g. animal) figurines as a means of creating and maintaining human identity."
" ...the way that people engage with objects and media (e.g. mobile phones) in the Western’ world today is not so different to 20,000 years ago."
—Anonymous Cambridge PhD student in the fields of archaeology/anthropology/ethnography, in response to a discussion about networking between Alan Moore and a colleague. Full text at The Do Village.
Something for designers and marketers to keep in mind.