Thanks, this is a really important thing I think, to see that 'nomadic' usually meant 'nomadic within a very well-know area'. Have you read 'The Other Side of Eden' by Hugh Brody? It deals quite sensitively with the extent to which the early Biblical stories of Eden, Abel & Cain reflect the actual historical shifts between hunting-gathering and agriculture. Especially the counter-intuitive fact that 'settled' agricultural societies were ultimately more restless and mobile than 'nomadic' hunter-gatherers.
I think one aspect of this is probably reflected in how the sky and stars are systematised (or not) in culture. My sense is that hunter-gatherer stellar myths aren't very systematised, and they use local earthly landmarks such as rivers and hills for orientation - because they always knew the land well. But more systematic stellar models evolved in agricultural societies - and this enabled longer-range migrations, using the sky for orientation, which would remain relatively constant unless you went *really* far.
Thanks, this is a really important thing I think, to see that 'nomadic' usually meant 'nomadic within a very well-know area'. Have you read 'The Other Side of Eden' by Hugh Brody? It deals quite sensitively with the extent to which the early Biblical stories of Eden, Abel & Cain reflect the actual historical shifts between hunting-gathering and agriculture. Especially the counter-intuitive fact that 'settled' agricultural societies were ultimately more restless and mobile than 'nomadic' hunter-gatherers.
I think one aspect of this is probably reflected in how the sky and stars are systematised (or not) in culture. My sense is that hunter-gatherer stellar myths aren't very systematised, and they use local earthly landmarks such as rivers and hills for orientation - because they always knew the land well. But more systematic stellar models evolved in agricultural societies - and this enabled longer-range migrations, using the sky for orientation, which would remain relatively constant unless you went *really* far.