Dragging nets;
working sweeps and capstans;
cleaning, salting and pickling the catch;
furling or unfurling heavy sails;
harvesting driss and fruitweed;
felling trees;
shaping wood with stone tools.
Dances;
athletics;
endless lovemaking;
bawdy songs;
seagrain beer.
Van Rijn would like to employ the skillful, hardworking Diomedeans of the Fleet and to do business with the commercial Diomedeans of the Flock.
5 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
And that has to be one of the better covers for any of Anderson's books! Far too often, he had to put with simply ghastly covers for his stories.
I agree, Old Nick would like to do business with both the Fleet and the Flock. And it's amazing how much both cultures managed to achieve on a world as poor in metals as Diomedes.
Cutting and shaping trees with only STONE axes??? (Shudders)
Ad astra! Sean
It can be done. Stonehenge was built with Neolithic technology, and some of the multi-ton stones were transported all the way from Wales. And the archaeologists have found evidence of "wood-henges" much bigger.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Oh, I agree! But it must have needed back breaking and heart breaking labor to achieve.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean: to a degree, it all depends on what you're used to. Farming peoples work to a degree that hunter-gatherers find repulsive. And steady labor in factories was extremely stressful for agricultural workers, used to working to the task rather than the clock, and to strong seasonal variations in output.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
True, re what you said about what you are used to. And I recall you discussing how, during the early Industrial Revolution, many factory managers had great difficulties with workers not used to the different pace required for factory work, compared to farm work.
Ad astra! Sean
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