Blog of Andreas Eschenbacher

Note : Some referenced books, articles and illustrations are very explicit. Viewer discretion strongly advised. Remark : this selection of literature may be biased and does certainly only scratch the surface of available publications (both Pro and Con). Picture: Lascaux Caves (France) - Prehistoric Paintings. A man with a bird head and a bison. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license / Author: Peter80   History ·        Male Genital Representation in Paleolithic Art: Erection and Circumcision Before History. Conclusions of the authors: The erection in Paleolithic art is explicitly represented in almost all the figures defined as unequivocally male that have survived to the present and in many objects of portable art. Circumcision and/or foreskin retraction of the penis are present in most of the works. Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0090429509000831 ·        History of Circumcision from the dawn

It is strange that in modern times with all our technological advances and understanding of how nature / technology works … there are still 30% of all adult males circumcised (thereof two-thirds being Muslims). The current male circumcision rate is about 5,000 per day, or 1,8 million per year.   For female circumcision (all types): about 2 00 million girls and woman have suffered some form of female genital mutilation, and about three million are considered at risk of undergoing FGM annually. Source: https://www.who.int/teams/sexual-and-reproductive-health-and-research/areas-of-work/female-genital-mutilation/prevalence-of-female-genital-mutilation   All this means that ancient rites and traditions are still a significant ‘indicator’ of humanity (better: human conditions). So, on the one hand quantum computers and on the other: ‘knifes and stones’ (including surgical tools). And not to forget: at least two monotheistic religions do not conceive male circumcision ( and parti

Now, finally, I would like to come back to my original questions about who/how/why invented such ideas of ‘circumcision’ . Here I drew much helpful information from the book ‘Genesis of Symbolic Thought’ by Alan Barnard (highly recommended)   Genesis of Symbolic Thought, Alan Barnar d A person can only grasp the concept of ‘ circumcision ’ if they are enough evolved (like homo sapiens (sapiens) ) to understand the meaning and implications of doing this. Furthermore, in order to connect this practice with cultural or religious identity and embed it into the cycle of life, more abstract concepts and s ymbolizations must be understood and communicated.   Theories of mind and the understanding of levels on intentionality must also be available.     The generation of symbolic thought could have occurred about 100,00 years ago but most certainly around 50,000 years ago , as can be derived from cave art. This came together with the use of tools for ornamentation (and possibly mod

      ·        In Africa , FGM/C is known to be practiced among certain communities in 29 countries : Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zambia. ·        Certain ethnic groups in Asian countries practice FGM/C, including in communities in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. ·        In the Middle East , the practice occurs in Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen, as well as in Iraq, Iran and the State of Palestine. ·        In Eastern Europe , recent info shows that certain communities are practicing FGM in Georgia and the Russian Federation. ·        In South America , certain communities are known to practice FGM in Columbia, Ecuador, Panama and Peru. ·        And in many western countries ,