#4800 years old skeleton

[happyzenmonk]

Special CT reconstruction of a 4800-year-old skeleton named Mása,  found in the village of Bojt (Hungary)

University of Debrecen Biomechanics Laboratory

We are involved in a special CT reconstruction. We are trying to decipher the 3D model of the approximately 4,800-year-old skeleton of Mása found in the village of Bojt (Hungary) on the basis of high-density CT images taken with the help of the staff of the Oncoradiology Clinic.

In connection with the archeological case, the professional details are described below by Dr. János Dani, Deputy Director of the Déri Museum: 

Másenyka went to the doctor… Not once in his life. At least in today's sense, he certainly couldn't see a doctor, at most a shaman or wizard of the tribe… However, approx. 4800-4700 years after his death, Másenyka was examined by doctors for the second time, this time under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Zoltán Csernátony at the Orthopedic Clinic of the Clinical Center of the University of Debrecen, where his remaining bones were examined. 

Based on the carbon isotope (AMS C-14) age determination, the approx. The burial of a young woman who died and was buried at the age of 19-22, with a probability of 95.4% (expressed in calendar years) between 2890-2674 BC, was excavated in 2014 on the northern border of the village of Bojt (Hungary), in the northern part of Kis-Körös. i coast. Today we can see a working highway at the site in the former steppe-like landscape. The members of the exploration team (Prof. Volker Heyd, Dr. János Dani, Dr. Gabriella Kulcsár, Dr. Piotr Włodarczak) gave the excavated human bone remains the name Másenyka. 

Following the funeral ceremony, an artificial mound, now completely destroyed, was erected above the plank covered with planks. Who built this kurgan? The nomadic community of which he lived his short life as a member in the first half of the 3rd millennium BC. 

Based on the bioraeological analyzes we have done so far, we have learned quite a bit about it. We know that approx. He was 165 cm tall, strong, muscular, could be a better guarantor and had not yet given birth. 

Based on genetic analysis, the woman, clearly traceable to K-European ancestors, was fair-skinned, with brown-blonde hair, brown eyes, and lactose intolerant. 

A few years ago, a dental examination was carried out thanks to the Faculty of Dentistry of the University of Debrecen, Dr. Árpád Barna Kelentey and Dr. János Angyal: caries was not identifiable on the teeth, but (especially on the incisors) traces of hypoplasia are clearly visible. malnutrition (sometimes perhaps starvation) during its development. The lady also had a fairly large amount of tartar and tooth wear on her front teeth. Thanks to CBCT examinations, it was found that his mandible and its head were broken on the left side, however, these injuries had already occurred post mortem, cf. it may have been caused by a rupture in the wood decking of the grave pit. 

The analyzes of Dr. Zsuzsa Lisztes Szabó (ATOMKI Isotope Climatology and Environmental Research Center) on tartar also point to poor nutrition, which showed that Másenyka bar vsz. millet (in the form of vsz. porridge) was also eaten regularly, but was sometimes forced to consume grass and even the needles of several types of pine. The proportions of pine needle phytoliths found in tartar and the 87Sr / 86Sr and d18O isotopes detected from the teeth (incorporated into the tooth enamel from the food and water he consumes) suggest that, together with his trunk, , i.e. transhumated), migrated their livestock. 

Dani János PhD archeological ig.h. Déri Museum (Debrecen)

source:https://www.facebook.com/BiomechanikaiLabor/

[sp4c3-0ddity]

2018 Year-in-Fic

so following @rueitae‘s example (because i’m curious about what i’ve been up to this year too) and building off my 2017 list, a Summary of Fic: 2018 Edition:

(For convenience, you can also find my fic master list here and ao3 account here)

STATS:

Gen/non-plance fics:  15

All right, let’s start with the fic that is not plance from oldest to most recent. An asterisk* denotes if it’s tumblr exclusive

Assassins (3109 words) - Allura tries to go about business as usual, despite their “guest” - Gen, mild Allura/Lotor, canon compliant through season four

Marathon (1081) - Pidge just wants Lance to get off her back about team bonding. / (She has fun anyway.) - Gen, Garrison Trio, pre-canon

Imprinting (540) -  A flock of baby "ducks" adopts Hunk as their mother - Gen, canon compliant

Fanfiction (884) -  Pidge has a skeleton in her closet, but she made the mistake of saving it to her hard drive - Gen, canon compliant

Everywhere Cats (7363) -  A mysterious mishap transforms the Lions of Voltron into...cats, who are more troublesome for their Paladins than for Zarkon's Empire - Gen, canon compliant crack

A Rational Fear (3786) - Alteans aren't as fragile as humans, but they aren't invincible. / Or, Allura's injuries demand a stint in a healing pod; her reluctance can be easily explained - Gen, very mild Allura/Lance, canon compliant

Adrift (1621) -  Krolia's translator breaks, but that's not why her sadness is so hard to bear - Gen, pre-canon

Displaced (1318) - Keith confuses his target for someone else. / Neither of them are happy about that - Gen, Keith/Matt, time travel AU

Seek Water’s Run* (~2300) - Gen, Garrison Trio, Abhorsen (Fantasy/Zombie) AU

Crushed* (~900) - Allura/Lance, canon compliant whump

Knowledge or Death, Gun or Blade* (~2000) - Acxa and her Blade trials - Gen, canon divergent/speculative

Pigeon Bait* (~1200) - Hunk rescues a pigeon - Gen, modern/college AU

Price of Pride* (~550) - Matt talks to the Green Lion - Gen, canon compliant

Trickle* (~1000) - Keith wanders a death-scape - Allura/Keith, canon divergent (probably) 

Viable Pets* (~2000) - Hunk adopts a space chicken - Gen, dubiously canon compliant

Okay, this is where it might get a little confusing because i’m a dumbass sometimes...

plance fics (not collected): 32 wtf

Ordered from oldest to most recent; does not include anything posted (or to be posted) in this collection; anything exclusive to tumblr is denoted with an asterisk*

Growth (14042) -  Lance finds his soulmate; Pidge does not - soulmate AU in canon

Misdirection (5328) -  Lance pays attention, and Pidge just may come to enjoy a camping trip - modern AU

Fakeout (7840) -  Shenanigans turn dangerous when Lance and Pidge overhear what they should not - canon compliant

A Promise Broken, a Promise Made (5294) -  Pidge getting caught up in a project is nothing new, so why, exactly, is Lance so upset this time? - canon compliant

Facing Reality (14182) - Lance skips Fourth of July weekend with his family to spend it with his girlfriend's family instead... / ...only Pidge isn't his girlfriend. And her family is missing. In a completely different reality - modern/roommates AU...of a sort

Spill Your Thoughts (24962) - Mom bought me this notebook hoping I’d “organize my thoughts” or “find therapeutic value in it” or something like that. Personally, I think she’s just hoping I’ll leave it lying around somewhere so she can snoop into what’s going on in my life when I don’t want to tell her. / Mom, if you’re reading this, it’s not going to work because I do not need to keep a journal. So what if I don’t have any friends to vent to? / aka an AU where Pidge's journal is just that and nothing more - modern/high school AU in journal format

Infatuation, Actually (10418) -  Pidge never learned basic gun safety. Lance suffers the nonfatal consequences - love spell AU in canon

Fatalistic Daydream (27873) -  Being a low-ranking Galra soldier stationed in a virtual backwater isn’t stopping Pidge from finding out what happened to her family. But the secrets she’s keeping from her friend Keith on top of the unwanted attention of an Altean prisoner-of-war are definitely...slowing her down - somewhat Gen, everyone’s an alien AU

Living Nightmare (1892) -  Lance's isolation doesn't seem to be ending anytime soon, even if he's out of solitary confinement - outtake of Fatalistic Daydream, technically gen

Frog Pond* (~3000) - Lance kisses a frog on a dare - modern/fantasy AU

Water Rescue (19229) -  They start as strangers, but one day they may grow to be something more...familiar - fantasy AU inspired by @rueitae‘s Seasons of Magic

Dip* (~400) - They dance - canon compliant (?)

Sleep Cute* (~450) - Sleepy cuddles - canon compliant (?)

Tidal Lockdown (20937) -  An ex-rebel enlists Pidge and Lance to find her missing grandson, but on a planet populated by criminals and where the sun never sets, they can only trust each other... - canon compliant (?)

Double Life (2312) -  By day, they’re a secretive criminal-entrapping hacker and her minion; by night, they’re a flashy magician - excuse me, escape artist - and his ‘brilliant’ assistant - modern AU

Spellbound* (~3500) - urban fantasy AU

scaled to size (14747) - Lance returns to Altea triumphant, claiming to have slain a fearsome dragon and intent on collecting his reward from Prince Lotor. But not all is what it seems... / Or: The tale of how Lance survived a dragon despite leaving his heart behind - fantasy AU featuring dragon!Pidge

a prince, missing* (~7000) - Lance is a kidnapped prince and Pidge is his reluctant bodyguard - fantasy AU

a small step and a giant leap (47005, WIP) - Lance wakes when he shouldn’t to an angel of death standing over him. / It’s a first, but it won’t be the last - vague fantasy/modern AU

Full Circle (10275) - “I’m happy to be back, but I kind of don’t want to be.” / Lance, surprised, stared at Pidge. “What do you mean?” / “It feels like the end, doesn’t it? We’re back on Earth - back where we started - and it feels like we’ve come full circle.” / “Yeah, but circles just keep going, don’t they?” / Or, Lance and Pidge return to where they started, but it will never be the same again - canon divergent

Breakfast Date* (~600) - post-canon

(don’t) call an ambulance* (~3700) - modern/mafia AU

Final Lifeline (14466) - Pidge always plays to win, but this time the odds are not in her favor. / And if she loses, Lance may get worse than being fed to the Snick... - canon divergent

Misfortune Favors the Brave (26492, WIP) - Foreknowledge of a death doesn't make it any easier to prevent, but Lance is determined to try. / Even if it means breaking Pidge's heart. - canon divergent

Found and Lost* (~4800) - post-apocalyptic AU featuring android!Pidge

why not?* (~100) - drabble

Dueling Hearts (36213) -  The king of a planet that Voltron is attempting to sway to the Coalition misinterprets the nature of Lance’s relationship with Pidge…and promptly challenges him to a duel for her hand in marriage. Lance accepts immediately, much to his teammates’ (especially Pidge’s) mortification. The only problem? Lance still hasn’t figured out how to unlock his bayard’s broadsword form at will - canon divergent

And Everything Was Fine (6416) -  Pidge finds the reality where everything turned out fine; needless to say, she’s pissed - mostly Gen, mild post-canon fix-it

No Sky Like Home (6808) -  Pidge hesitates to say yes when Lance asks her on a date - post-canon

plance fics in collaboration: 3

And now the fics i did in collaboration

Smack, Kiss, Fall in Love (19589 / 2) - Pidge was only at the Garrison to find her family, not her soulmate. Lance had always had a picture of a his 'perfect' soulmate in mind. / ...until reality smacks them both - soulmate AU in canon done round robin-style with @hailqiqi

To Sail, To Break, To Earn (10268 / 3, WIP) -  Cursed by the witch Haggar, Lance, with the crew of the Blade of Marmora, sails the sea and preys on Zarkon's fleet. They are confined to the waves and forbidden from dropping anchor at port. But the deadline draws nearer, when they'll become the soulless servants of the same emperor they forswore, unless they rejoin Zarkon willingly...or earn the heart of a mermaid - in collaboration with @rueitae

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot like A Christmas Carol (14384 / 3, WIP) - Lance is no Scrooge, but when he gives up a family vacation and declines an invitation to his friends' holiday gathering, he finds himself the target of a ghostly intervention. / It's a tale as old as time...or as old as the nineteenth century, and if Lance doesn't learn his lesson, he just might be forgotten - post-canon, in collaboration with @hailqiqi and @rueitae

plance fics, collected:

I’m cheating on this one. Referring to my collection Strangeness and Charm, from about Chapter 48 onward are the 2018 chapters. Last year’s word count was 73407 and this year’s word count is (with the exception of some fic saved as chapters not yet posted) 200794. here are the longer/more notable (in my opinion at least) samples that probably should’ve been posted separately:

Future (~6000) - prompted historical/arranged marriage AU

Captive (~5200) - moderately gen AU where Pidge, Lance, and Hunk are captured by pirates

Another Time (~3700) - reincarnation AU in conjunction with canon

Masquerade* (~1300) - super tease-y fantasy AU and if you don’t have the song from Phantom of the Opera stuck in your head from just reading that title i envy you

Tease (~800) - “If you love it so much then why don’t you marry it?” - canon compliant

A Pirate’s Life for Me (~4000) - Pidge is captured by space pirates - canon compliant

Absence Makes the Heart Grow (Fonder) (~7200) - Pidge finds Lance on Earth - canon divergent AU that was hilariously accurate in retrospect

like a masochistic moth to dragonflame (~3200) - the aftermath of the battle against the Coranic Dragon - piklavar, Monsters & Mana AU

Steal to Save (~800) - Pidge “loses” her glasses - canon compliant

to trust a thief (~3800) - followup to other piklavar fic

Deadline (~1000) - Stressful countdown to Lance confessing - canon compliant

Glint of Silver (~5200) - Pidge’s double life just might endanger her werewolf roommate - roommates/urban fantasy AU

masks for two* (1500) - Lady Katie learns she and her fiance have more in common than expected - historical/thieves AU

Bad Press* (~1500) - It’s not easy pretending to date your celebrity friend - fake dating AU

a personal mission* (~780) - Lance is on a mission - canon compliant (?)

the eve of it all* (~1800) - Lance stands Pidge up on game night - season eight fix-it, canon divergent

okay that ended up being way longer than i expected...

BREAKDOWN:

Ship breakdown:  

plance wins so easily it’s not even funny. oddly enough considering my current feelings on the pairing Allura/Lance takes second place (though only by very weak implication in one case and...by a very wide margin). and then there are the other mostly implied (Allura/Lotor, Keith/Matt) that occur once each plus an Allura/Keith fic and a gen fic that’s also technically Krolia/Keith’s dad

and then there’s my apparent thing for Hunk bonding with birds

Character breakdown:  

Pidge and Lance because *jazz hands* plance. i suppose Hunk and Allura may be split for third place

Characters that had the main focus:

*sweats* hilariously i think it might be...Lance?? i feel like many of my longer fics (whether one-shots or multichapter) end up in his point of view, notably a small step and Misfortune. Pidge is an easy second place though, and which of the two i favor changes. Pidge is, in a sense, a little easier to write but Lance, depending on the tone i’m going for, can be wild fun because he’s so ridiculous sometimes

SPECIFICS:

Best title?

uh...i’m capable of having decent titles?? thing is, my titles tend to be on the nose or else something i forget i need till the point i’m posting a fic, but i like Everywhere Cats partly because it was very much inspired by a simple children’s song i remember my sister playing when she first started learning piano. i also like Facing Reality as a title because of the word play i can be clever

...okay i’m going to stop here because i keep looking back and realizing i like more of those than i thought i did

Worst title?

many of them are so...plain that i’m not sure i can pick just one. sure, they tell you what the story is about, but there’s nothing hidden in them...they’re so bland. throw a dart at a board with all my one-word titles and you’ll probably hit something

Best first line?

let’s go with a masochistic moth to dragonflame:

Pike is smitten the moment he sees her, and it only grows worse when the words family heirloom cross her lips.

Worst first line?

i think my first lines in general are...decent?? nothing spectacular, just meant to convey what’s going on and why it’s important (or that’s what i try to do at least), but out of laziness i’m going with the one from Everywhere Cats:

Hunk settled his helmet onto his head as he walked into the Yellow Lion’s hangar, feeling wonderfully light at the prospect of this mission.

Best last line?

Adrift made me so emotional when i was writing it that i have to use this one:

“Love,” [Krolia] said, “can you turn off the lights? I’m showing Keith the stars.”

Worst last line?

i tend to end my fics rather abruptly (i really really hate unnecessary bits tacked on when everything is pretty much resolved) and/or on dialogue and i’m usually thoughtful of how i end it so i’m not even gonna skim through the rest of my fics because this one from Assassins is just so boring:

She followed General Sahr inside, and this time both Coran and Lotor came with her.

GENERAL:

Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted?

yes, yes i did. also looking back at last year’s list i didn’t even get any of the goals i set accomplished...whoops??

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted last year?

uh...Keith/Matt i guess?? maybe Allura/Lance too because i really don’t like that pairing now (though i used to be indifferent or else somewhat like it) so it’s like a retrospective “well i can’t believe i managed to write them as a romantic pairing”

What’s your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest.

always will i answer this question with scaled to size because it actually does make me happy, especially thinking of all the pain and suffering i’m only somewhat exaggerating i went through while conceiving of it thanks to a computer mishap (and, tbh, my own neglect), and ultimately all it took to revive it was a timely prompt from the Pidgance Positivity Discord and dare i say it ended up far better than planned??

Okay, NOW your most popular story.

on ao3 by kudos and excluding my collection that’s Smack, Kiss, Fall in Love (i can’t tell if it’s the magic of collaborating with someone like @hailqiqi or the allure of a soulmate AU or a fic with that many chapters). most by comments/bookmarks and second most by kudos is Dueling Hearts.

by notes on tumblr would be Sleep Cute

Story most underappreciated by the universe?

oh gosh i don’t know. throw a dart at my gen fics and you’ll probably hit one?? or else To Sail, To Break, To Earn, my collaboration with @rueitae, could use lots more love i thought you guys liked mermaids

Story that could have been better?

all of them??

Sexiest story?

uh well i’ve never posted anything more explicit than simple foreplay so i suppose that would be Final Lifeline but i also want to make note of like a masochistic moth to dragonflame because i think i did well with a touch of Unresolved Sexual Tension and Bad Press was almost candid about that sort of thing and Lance almost propositioned Pidge by accident

Saddest story?

it’s probably a toss-up between  Final Lifeline (major character death on top of a possible awful future), Misfortune (predicted character death), and a small step (they can’t really be together)

Most fun?

Bad Press was a riot while i was working on it. Everywhere Cats was a lot of fun too, as was scaled to size (though tbh i have fun writing a vast majority of my fics...)

Story with single sweetest moment?

nothing really stands out to me at the moment so this is mostly a cop-out (and Pidge and Lance are at their best when they’re teasing each other anyway) from scaled to size:

“Is there…any room for the brave and dashing knight that rescued you in that future?” Lance whispered.

“Maybe, if you find him.”

“Hey!” Lance exclaimed, pulling away from him slightly.

Pidge snickered and wrapped her arms around his neck. “But there’s room for the brave boy that grew into his too-big britches.”

“Yes, but I’m a knight now too,” Lance pointed out.

“Should I call you Sir Lance now?” Pidge raised an eyebrow while one of her hands wandered into his hair and pulled his head down. “But I think I like Lance better…”

Their noses brushed, and Pidge’s warm breath caressed his face.

Lance’s eyes slid shut when he kissed her.

Hardest story to write?

most likely Displaced because i’m not really into Keith/Matt as a romantic pairing (and it ended up more gen anyway) and i wasn’t really enamored by the idea so i was mostly just trying to wrap up what i had without getting into the concept too much

Easiest/most fun story to write?

the night i bolted out of bed possessed by a spark of inspiration thanks to this art to hammer out Masquerade will forever live in infamy

Did any stories shift your perceptions of the characters?

i don’t think so??

Most overdue story?

scaled to size if only because of the frustration i associate with its inception ;_;

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?

collaborations, for one, not that it’s especially risky, but i’d never done one so that was fun!! Smack, Kiss, Fall in Love oddly enough validated by typical “write on impulse” style though...

for another, i published a fic in a zine!! also i participated in a Bang and a gift exchange, neither of which i’d done before

also posting the start of a multichapter fic not yet finished is a risk that hasn’t quite payed off yet *sweats*

What are your fic writing goals for next year?

no idea. i’m decidedly not a very goal-oriented person, but for now i think i’ll keep it simple and finish my four dubiously active WIPs, write something amazing for the Plance Mini Bang (which i’m also mod-ing oh boy), and outline as often as possible to ease the writing

[steveskafte]

TIME-WORN TUMBLEWEEDS Heavy-hearted barns contain no history, constantly gutted and rearraged with new owners – all their tales in the skeleton shape. These beams are things with stories, chapter and verse and chorus of rattling metal. Tin and steel and aluminum, always missing too many nails, keeping some of the weather out. Things out here just whisper away, blow off three fields before they're ever noticed lost. I can hear them in my head, time-worn tumbleweeds skipping east. There's an old cemetery out back, one stone, so I suppose this structure serves as its church. Some bluntly pointed spire stretching bony to the sky, wind whistling in and out like an organ. The sun is still raking, setting straight down the narrow Valley. I'm never happier than when it sets on me. January 1, 2021 Upper Granville, Nova Scotia Year 14, Day 4800 of my daily journal.