Here are some posts I enjoyed from around the web this week:
Along Hadrian’s Wall in Britain volunteers found a Roman bronze figurine of the goddess Ceres, goddess of grain. Quite appropriate divinity for this location since the army’s grain was stored here. The figurine was probably mounted on furniture. She’s quite graceful and miniature. Click here for “Ceres Figurine Found in South Shields”
Learning how to write from a hummingbird: Melissa Crytzer Fry tells the daring tale of a newcomer to her hummingbird world of southern Arizona and the ensuing battles. She draws some interesting conclusions about what makes for good writing. Whether you love learning about the desert creatures or the process of writing, this is an inspiring post. Click here for Melissa Crytzer Fry’s post “Desert Duel”
Dot Direnzi sent me a link to an excellent article about the mysterious ancient mass burial in Athens of at least 80 shackled remains. I’d love to know how other historians of Athenian history are viewing Dr. Chryssoulaki’s theory that they are the followers of Cylon’s coup attempt. It’s such a vivid moment if she’s right in her id. You can see the young upper class men who tried to bring in Cylon huddled in the temple for sanctuary and then slaughtered anyway. Cylon slips away just in time, abandoning his men. Is he a villain in this telling or the hero? All set for someone to put it into a novel. Democracy is such a vulnerable state of governance. The history of Athens before and as democracy emerged is a key moment for us to understand. Click here for YahooNews “Shackled remains at ancient Greek site tell tale of intrigue”
On Jessica Cale’s blog Dirty, Sexy History she’s spilling the secret language of fans in Victorian England. Most amusingly, the whole thing was mostly a sales gimmick. And such a successful one. Read on for fun. Click here for Dirty, Sexy History post “Flirtation, Victorian Style: The Secret Language of Fans”
“Tracking down the First Chefs” That’s a title I will fall for. Digging in, I discovered the article is about experimental archaeology to figure out whether bones found at prehistoric sites are left by early human cooks or later animal inhabitants of the same cave or other location. To find the baseline data about the kinds of marks humans leave as opposed to animals (for which there is information) they required volunteers to use nothing but hands and teeth while eating lamb “prepared” three ways: roasted, boiled and raw. That last one would have got me eliminated from this study. Not going to gnaw raw lamb bones even in the pursuit of the history of early human cooking. But I’ll be happy to hear what they learned! I have subjected my family to a number of cooking experiments while I sort out Hittite cuisine, but I did not make anyone eat raw meat. Favorite “experiments” everyone? Click here for Archaeology News Network “Tracking Down the First Chefs”