Author Description

From hominin to Homo sapiens, the story of the human ape's relationship with other species and Earth has been more tragic than not. From human origins, ever emerging brutal lifeways turned humans' predators into prey, paving a blood path of conquest over the planet. As the growing human brain honed inventiveness of the hunt, it too cultivated an intensified compassion. This palpable incongruence sparked a mind adaptation utilizing language to rationalize killing. Rationalizing through mythologies and rituals served as an evolutionary strategy to overcome anxiety in slaying other animals. 'Man the Hunter' entwined humans with other animals onto an apocalypse-bound course. This thesis picks up from the 1990's debate between Feminists for Animal Rights (FAR) and Deep Ecology. Through the lens of resistance anthropology observing wildness, the 'Man the Hunter' narrative is reinterpreted as eco-patriarchy, a trap set in the roots of the origins of early humans' adaptation into hunting. "Ria Montana takes us closer to truths about human nature. She sees that hunting (and later domestication) stifled human empathy for and kinship with our animal cousins and contributed to false ideas of male supremacy and female inferiority. Her stuff is vital now in this era of re-defining gender and discarding the lies and myths of patriarchal culture." ~Jim Mason, author of "An Unnatural Order: Why We Are Destroying the Planet and Each Other" "If there is a meaning to humanity and our being here, our journey here, this is it, without a doubt." ~Kenneth Damro hunter turned vegan and author of "A Northwoodsman's Guide to Everyday Compassion" "This intense essay hits hard, tearing apart years old analysis of hunter-gatherer absurdity." ~Flower Bomb, creator of Warzone Distro and co-organizer of Green Scare Anarchist Bookfair "Let animals be our teachers... a radical change that Ria is promoting, for which many thanks." ~