People Who Need People ... Or They Don't

The African Pygmies are particularly known for their usually vocal music, usually characterised by dense contrapuntal communal improvisation.  Simha Arom says that the level of polyphonic complexity of Pygmy music was reached in Europe in the 14th century, yet Pygmy culture is unwritten and ancient; some Pygmy groups being the first known cultures in some areas of Africa. Music permeates daily life and there are songs for entertainment as well as specific events and activities.

Polyphonic music is found among the Aka–Baka and the Mbuti, but not among the Gyele (Kola) or the various groups of Twa.

WIKI:  Pygmy peoples

The Mbuti are of high interest because they're "The Forest People" in one of the books from the Anthropology Nostalgia series.  The other is "Yanomamö - The Fierce People" and the first is an example of shy and retiring culture whereas the latter is an example of exceedingly warlike people.

The pygmies aren't midgets or Little People but rather they're among the few of the most ancient peoples of the Earth.  They originally split off from other African genotypes about sixty thousand years ago.  (WIKI:  same link as above)

Ref:  "The Forest People" by Colin Turnbull and "Yanomamö - The Fierce People" by Nelson Chagnon, both published in the early sixties.

It's not clear in the Rockhouse whether these books, while now present, will actually be read again but their presence rekindles thinking along the lines of societies and their behavior without the influence of military/industrial complexes, etc.  What do they do when that's not present and the question is important to me because differences between they and we must, at least to some extent, come from that modern military influence.

(Ed:  not to mention (cough) the Industrial Revolution, etc)

Fair enough but how much that affects intercultural relationships is different because it's largely economic whereas the influence of any military components is likely to result in behavioral changes.

(Ed:  economic upheaval results in behavioral changes as well)

Also true and we can see that in America right now where economic disparity causes enormous problems but they're still not necessarily the same kinds of changes.

(Ed:  or are they?)

Exactly.