Hi Andrew,
Actually I don't know. The reason I asked that question is because I hear
the problem stated in the fashion you did all the time. It is an argument
from personal increduility. Example "I don't believe that oral tradition
can be passed down that long." What you and I believe or don't believe is
not relevant to the problem. In the mid-16th century men didn't believe
that we would ever fly. But their belief was irrelevant. Data is the only
thing that should be relevant.
While I don't know the answer to the question there are several items that
indicate that oral tradition can be much longer than we normally think. The
Maori's of New Zealand passed down 40 generations of ancestors, which is
twice that of the pre-Abramic patriarchs. They knew that they had come from
the west and could tell you the names of all the ancestors. Since 40
generations is approximatly 1000 years, this fits well with the
archaeological evidence showing that New ZEaland was first inhabited around
1000 AD.
See Ivar Lissner, The Living Past, translated by J. Maxwell Brownjohn, (New
York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1957), p. 233
Men in Australia have worshipped the Rainbow Serpant for at least 9,000
years which implies some ability to transmit theology for that long.
see Christopher Wills, The Runaway Brain, (New York: Harper Collins, 1993),
p.147
Bear worship seems to have been first seen with the Neandertals, 80,000
years ago. Many tribes in the circumpolar regions last century still
worshipped the bear and did similar things with the bear bones.
The burial of the Mungo Man indicates some ability to transmit info over
62,000 years.
I don't know the answer, but I sure can cite some data that indicates that
the time was much longer than most christians believe. But then, belief is
irrelevant to the problem.
glenn
Foundation, Fall and Flood
Adam, Apes and Anthropology
http://www.flash.net/~mortongr/dmd.htm
Lots of information on creation/evolution