Human Diversity: Life in Petra

I love to study human beings wherever and whenever I find them-in Petra, in the River Nile, in the hottest plateau of the Sahara desert, in north Benin, in the south of Niger, in the south of France,...

I love to explore human diversity in time and space and my dream is to study the whole of the human condition, past, present, and future; biology, society, language, and culture.

We don't know, and probably never will, when our ancestors acquired the ability to speak. We do know that well developed, grammatically complex languages have existed for thousands of years.

Cultural forces mold human biology, including our body types and images. Societies have particular standards of attractiveness.

Culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, arts, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society (Tylor, 1871).

I do not have an ethnocentric position on the matter of displays of affection. Ethnocentrism is the tendency to view one's own culture as superior and to apply one's own culture values in judging the behavior and beliefs of people from other cultures.

I have visited the Bedouins in Petra . I was amazed about the region and its customs and their hospitality. Life in Petra is organized around social relations and maintenance of those relations. Hospitality is just one expression of this social dependency. Bedouins visit regularly with friends and relatives, needing no special occasion or purpose. Dropping in is not discouraged or seen as an inconvenience.

Guests are always welcomed and accommodated! The guest is the most important person in the house and it is deeply rooted in the young generation mentality and is expressed in many folk tales.

Once you enter the home of your host, you are immediately invited to the table. No matter the time of the day, you will be offered food and drink.