Evening talks around the fire helped early human societies form complex social networks , according to research led by University of Utah anthropologist Polly Wiessner.
This scientist has studied the Ikung Bushmen of a community in Tanzania and Namibia for 40 years and has compared their day and night conversations. What he has found is that, during the day, the exchange of information focuses, as in modern urban societies, on productive issues.
34% of the dialogues are criticism and gossip about the behavior of others, a type of interaction that regulates social relationships and that abounds in offices in any country. Another 31% focus on how to get food, which is the Bushmen’s main economic activity. 16% are jokes and humorous comments – another wild card for socializing, very common in the workplace. The remainder is devoted to conversations about property rights, inter-ethnic relations, and miscellaneous issues.
On the other hand, at night, when the Bushmen gather around the fire, the talk no longer focuses on the work of the day, but rather the “tertullians” let their imaginations fly and engage in talks loaded with symbolism . According to the study, presented in the journal PNAS , in those moments of night relaxation there are nostalgic memories of hunts of the past, there is talk of premarital, conjugal and extramarital relationships between men and women, of the dangers that lie in wait – forest fires and wild animals. and from individuals from other communities.
Wiessner says that when night falls, “people really relax and look for entertainment. There are tales and stories about people who are not present but are part of a larger social network, and thoughts about the spiritual world are exchanged. There are also songs and dances that help to strengthen group bonds ”.
Research has been limited to the IKungs of the Kalahari desert, but Wiessner recalls that these communities “live by hunting and gathering, just as our ancestors did for 99% of our evolution.” According to the anthropologist, “there is something in a fire in the middle of the darkness that unites people. It is a time of intimacy, to share social information, distractions and emotions.
During the history of humanity, this could have favored the development of cognitive capacities to form communities with people who are not present in the same place and time but are present in our minds. Electric lighting and digital communication are turning the hours of darkness into economically productive time and are eliminating time for social relationships and storytelling. The day ends without us having spent time reflecting, reviewing and fixing our relationships ”.
