Well this is just billiant! Why don't we just derail the discussion of these weapons altogether and step out on a long and drawn out debate on whether or not Greece is in Europe or not. I'm sure that is exactly what Jim had in mind when he questioned why this thread hasn't attracted more attention.
Factually, Greece is now and always has been in what is considered Europe. The Greeks invented the word. Their own geographers in ancient times placed them on the western side of the divide between Europe and Asia and so has every geographer since. We cannot, therefore, "reclassify" something as European that has
ALWAYS been considered European. That is common sense.
As far as Greece's influences as a "building block of history and regional traditions", i would have to say that the Greek culture had far more influence on the West than the East. As your own Wikipedia posting point out it is considered the cradle of
Western civilization (not Eastern), "the birthplace of democracy, Western philosophy, the Olympic Games, Western literature and historiography, political science, major scientific and mathematical principles, and Western drama, including both tragedy and comedy." In other words, it is the birthplace of European culture.
As to what is to be considered "ethnographic", lets look at the definition of the word. From Miriam Webster:
Ethnography: the study and systematic recording of human cultures; also : a descriptive work produced from such research.
Descriptive study of a particular human society. Contemporary ethnography is based almost entirely on fieldwork. The ethnographer lives among the people who are the subject of study for a year or more, learning the local language and participating in everyday life while striving to maintain a degree of objective detachment. He or she usually cultivates close relationships with “informants” who can provide specific information on aspects of cultural life. While detailed written notes are the mainstay of fieldwork, ethnographers may also use tape recorders, cameras, or video recorders. Contemporary ethnographies have both influenced and been influenced by literary theory.
Note there is no mention of geographical place in this definition. Ethnographic study is therefore not limited to Asian cultures as ethnographic studies take place in cultures from ALL parts of the world, including Europe itself. In fact, many ethnographic studies have been done of certain aspects of European cultures. A weapon is not, therefore, "ethnographic" because of where it is from. Common sense would dictate that this is a strategy of understanding that is of prime importance to our understanding of the nature of ethnographic weapons.
I would suggest Ibrahiim, that if you really wish to discuss or debate this question further (and it is indeed a fine question that is of great concern to all our discussions here) that you start a new thread entitled "What is the meaning Ethnographic study". I think it is really good for us to re-examine how and why we make certain categorical divisions in our discussion of certain weaponry. For now i would suggest that we get back to the real questions at hand here about Drac2k's weapons. Continuing this discussion here will only distract from the original purpose of this thread and have the opposite result that i think Jim was really hoping for when he questioned why no one was responding here.
