In reply to your post about Colonials and Early Man: the Taurons spoke Ancient Greek and Gemenese spoke Modern Romanian (as of "Caprica"). The only explanation given (I believe it was by RDM at some point, I am not sure) was that they did absolutely NOT speak English, or anything we now know as a language, rather that the series translated their language into something we'd understand (ie, the languages were, essentially, "dubbed"). If Lee (or the Colonials) gave Early Man any language, that probably continued to evolve, and change, as time went by. It is also illogical to assume that the names of Gods or constellations survived intact. We just heard them as such on the show because they were "translated" into something we know. The concepts were common, the nomenclature not. :DHowever, the interbreeding and Hera being Mithocondrial Eve does make sense (a little bit). Anthropologists now believe that about 200,000 years ago there were two different strands of humans around. They probably evolved together, then separated and continued evolution on their own (no contact between them). The strands re-combined at some point. I believe (and I might be wrong) that this is the theory RDM & Co based their series finale on. As for why Hera works... well, because she needn't have mated a human from Earth. Nor did all the Colonials but her die (as I've seen some articles online state, erroneously). What it does mean, however, is that through combination and recombination everyone ended up (over a long period of time) somehow related to Hera, through their mother's side. If she had something that made her "special", that would be transmitted down the line too, most likely strengthening existing human DNA. Pure-blooded Colonials could exist for quite some time (thus forgetting their own customs and individual language down the line, or acquiring new ones through contact with Early Man) before completely merging with Earth Humans. I'm pretty sure you didn't need to know all that. It's just that the Anthropologist in me really was quite satisfied with the Finale, even though it oversimplified certain things (ie, one can't really FIND the bones of Mithocondrial Eve, as she's more or less just theoretical). ;)PS. Sorry for being anonymous: don't have a Tumblr, I just have a few of them (like yours) bookmarked for reading/following because they're awesome! :D
Oh my god. You. You are my hero. I can't even begin to explain how impressed I am right now. YOU PUT SO MUCH THOUGHT INTO THIS. Anon, I bow down to you and am just going to leave this here for the nerd masses to enjoy. I adore you.
Actually, how would people think the entirety of Colonial society died off, leaving only Hera behind? How. BSG fans are smart (LOOK HOW SMART YOU ARE, THAT IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE), to think that is...mind-boggling. As for the language issue - I have a bit of a tiff with them sort of copping out a little by saying, "Oh, well, we translated it into Colonial language and that's why you recognize the constellations, the gods, and the names attached to them." I think they had a real chance to integrate Colonial society into ours, and to do it successfully. I go back and forth on the future flash-forward and its implications. Scientifically, I see the reasoning behind the language evolution and as a writer, I see the need for loop holes. As a fan, I SCRUNCH MY NOSE at this business. But yeah, your explanation makes perfect sense and I am delighting in mulling over its implications. Two years later! Everything old is geek again.Again, you are my hero. And thank you for your time AND your compliments!
