Are humans the only species who revere our ancestors?

QUESTION: Are humans the only species who revere, or are even aware of, our ancestors?

Elephants are known to commonly engage in ritualistic behaviours surrounding death. Humans take this awareness a step further through religious, cultural and societal practices.

The complex social structures and emotional intelligence of African elephants are well documented. Groups have been observed paying homage to the bones of their dead, gently touching the skulls and tusks with their trunks and feet. While this behaviour may not equate to human-ancestor veneration, it indicates a clear awareness of the past and the presence of the dead within their social group.

Furthermore, in research recently published in the Journal of Threatened Taxa, two scientists described five instances where Asian elephant calves had been found buried in a legs-upright position within irrigation trenches of tea plantations in Bengal. 

The area close to the burials had been compacted by the feet of several elephants and the bodies bore marks indicative of them being dragged there after death, suggesting they were deliberately buried there. If so, these observations could indicate a clear understanding of death and grief.

Cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) are also candidates, since they have complex societies and systems of communication intricate enough that they could possibly express genealogical information. For instance, orcas have cultural practices that are maintained within family pods and passed down, which hints at an understanding of lineage.

Tomorrow’s questions:

Q: Is Valiasr Street in Tehran the longest residential street in the world?

John Watson, Glasgow

Q: When Dutch windmills stop rotating, do owners position the blades in an X or a cross depending on their beliefs?

John Hague, Stanley, West Yorkshire

Q: How do the various types of warship differ from each other?

David Martin, Ashtead, Surrey

Some killer whale communities exhibit distinct dietary preferences, specialising in hunting and eating other marine mammals or in catching salmon or schooling fish.

Mrs S. L. Moore, Bath, Somerset

QUESTION: Does the Church of the Universal Bond still exist?

The Church of the Universal Bond was a druidic movement established in the 20th century. It lives on through its successor, The Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids.

At the dawn of the 20th century, a charismatic spiritualist called George Watson MacGregor Reid was exploring a range of religious systems including Buddhism, Baha’i, the Occult and the Golden Dawn. However, it was Celtic druidism that most resonated with him.

In 1912 he established his movement, called the Church of the Universal Bond. A popularly accepted theory at that time was that Stonehenge had been built by druids as a solar temple, and his church started to hold rituals there. The owner of the land, Sir Edmund Antrobus, was neither pleased nor impressed by this and declared that there would be ‘no political or religious meetings’ on his land. MacGregor Reid ignored him, claiming he was acting ‘as the direct successor of the chief druids that have been’.Battles over druids using Stonehenge continued over the years. Archaeologists pointed out that the stones were erected millennia before druids were known in Britain.

MacGregor Reid used the Universal Bond to energetically promote social justice, socialism, anti-imperialism and workers’ rights. When he died in 1946, his son, Robert Arbuthnot MacGregor Reid, was elected chief druid. Under his tenure, the Universal Bond evolved into the Ancient Druid Order. When Robert died, the Church’s most prominent member, Ross Nichols, rebelled against the election of a new druid chief and established his own group, The Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, which became the premier druid order in Britain.

Nicholas Chambers, Stroud, Glos

QUESTION: Was there a natural nuclear fission reactor in Gabon?

A natural nuclear fission reactor was discovered in Oklo, Gabon, in 1972. About two billion years ago, conditions in that area existed that allowed for nuclear fission to happen naturally. Groundwater flowed through uranium-rich rock deposits, acting as a ‘moderator’ by slowing down neutrons. This allowed the uranium-235 atoms in the rock to split, releasing energy in a controlled reaction similar to that in a man-made light-water nuclear reactor.

Scientists from a French nuclear facility discovered this by noticing that uranium samples from Gabon had less uranium-235 than expected, suggesting it had been ‘used up’ in a nuclear reaction. It was revealed that natural nuclear fission had occurred in pockets across the site, cycling on and off for 150,000 years without a meltdown or explosion.

It has been speculated that an uncontrolled natural reactor could explode, and some scientists believe the Moon was created when a natural nuclear reactor at the core/mantle boundary blew the Earth into two pieces four billion years ago.

Peter Finch, Reading, Berks