#Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (journal)

[southeastasianarchaeology]

[Paper] Glass circulation in late Iron Age Southeast Asia: New Compositional and Isotopic Data of Beads found at Non Ban Jak in Northeast Thailand

Study of glass beads from Non Ban Jak, Thailand, reveals Iron Age trade links with India, Sri Lanka, and possibly the Mediterranean/Middle East.

via Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 01 March 2024: A study by Dussubieux et al. analyzing glass beads from Non Ban Jak in Northeast Thailand reveals their origins and trade connections during the mid-late Iron Age (CE 200-850). The majority of the beads fit into the mineral soda – high alumina glass group, tracing back to Sri Lanka or southern India. The research identified three…

[blueiscoool]

New Mexico Footprints are Oldest Sign of Humans in Americas

Fossil footprints date back to between 21,000 and 23,000 years ago, upending previous theory that humans reached continent later.

New research confirms that fossil human footprints in New Mexico are probably the oldest direct evidence of human presence in the Americas, a finding that upends what many archaeologists thought they knew.

The footprints were discovered at the edge of an ancient lakebed in White Sands national park and date back to between 21,000 and 23,000 years ago, according to research published on Thursday in the journal Science.

The estimated age of the footprints was first reported in Science in 2021, but some researchers raised concerns about the dates. Questions focused on whether seeds of aquatic plants used for the original dating may have absorbed ancient carbon from the lake – which could, in theory, throw off radiocarbon dating by thousands of years.

The new study presents two additional lines of evidence for the older date range. It uses two entirely different materials found at the site, ancient conifer pollen and quartz grains.

The reported age of the footprints challenges the once conventional wisdom that humans did not reach the Americas until a few thousand years before rising sea levels covered the Bering land bridge between Russia and Alaska, perhaps about 15,000 years ago.

“This is a subject that’s always been controversial because it’s so significant – it’s about how we understand the last chapter of the peopling of the world,” said Thomas Urban, an archaeological scientist at Cornell University, who was involved in the 2021 study but not the new one.

Thomas Stafford, an independent archaeological geologist in Albuquerque, New Mexico, who was not involved in the study, said he “was a bit skeptical before” but now is convinced.

The new study isolated about 75,000 grains of pure pollen from the same sedimentary layer that contained the footprints.

“Dating pollen is arduous and nail-biting,” said Kathleen Springer, a research geologist at the US Geological Survey and a co-author of the new paper.

Ancient footprints of any kind can provide archaeologists with a snapshot of a moment in time. While other archeological sites in the Americas point to similar date ranges – including pendants carved from giant ground sloth remains in Brazil – scientists still question whether such materials really indicate human presence.

“White Sands is unique because there’s no question these footprints were left by people, it’s not ambiguous,” said Jennifer Raff, an anthropological geneticist at the University of Kansas, who was not involved in the study.

[city-of-ladies]

"Centuries ago, two people were buried arm in arm on top of a horse in what is now Austria. The unique burial prompted archaeologists to think that the two were a male-female married couple from medieval times. But it turns out they couldn't have been more wrong.

A new analysis of the remains suggests that the couple was actually a mother-daughter pair who died around 1,800 years ago during the Roman era.

"It's the first genetically proven mother-daughter burial in Austria in Roman times," study senior author Sylvia Kirchengast, a professor of evolutionary anthropology at the University of Vienna, told Live Science. "We also disprove a long-held misconception about the kind of relation between the two individuals.

In the new study the researchers re-evaluated the remains via radiocarbon dating, ancient DNA analysis and a visual inspection. They found that the bones belonged to individuals whose ages at death were 20 to 25 and 40 to 60 years old and lived around A.D. 200 when the Roman Empire held sway over the region. In a twist, both human skeletons turned out to be females, according to an anatomical analysis. DNA results confirmed their biological female status and showed they were first-degree relatives — meaning they were either sisters or mother and daughter, according to the study, which was published in the May issue of the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.

Due to the pair's DNA results, their age difference and other factors, the researchers concluded that individuals were mother and daughter, with the daughter embracing the mother in the grave. "It's very unlikely that two sisters have an age difference of 20 years during those times. So we felt that it's more likely that they are a mother-daughter pair," Kirchengast said. 

The inclusion of a horse and gold pendants strongly hints that the women were of high social status. It also indicates they were non-Roman elites. "To our knowledge it's extremely uncommon for Roman people to be buried with horses. They were not a 'horse-people'," study lead author Dominik Hagmann, an archaeologist at University of Vienna, told Live Science. He suspected these two individuals were from a Celtic culture still existing in Roman times. The Celts were more commonly buried horses with their owners.

There are other signs that the deceased were familiar with horses. "What I find odd is that the older skeleton shows signs of frequent horse riding," Kirchengast said. "Maybe both women were enthusiastic horse-riders.""

[viasplat]

I typed up the Pentiment bibliography for my own use and thought I’d share it here too. In case anyone else is fixated enough on this game to embark on some light extra-curricular reading

I haven’t searched for every one of these books but a fair few can be found via one of the following: JSTOR / archive.org / pdfdrive.com / libgen + libgen.rocks; or respective websites for the journal articles.

List below the cut!

Beach, Alison I, Women as Scribes: Book Production and Monastic Reform in Twelfth-Century Bavaria. Cambridge University Press, 2004

Berger, Jutta Maria. Die Geschichte der Gastfreundschaft im hochmittelalterlichen Mönchtum die Cistercienser. Akademie Verlag GmbH, 1999

Blickle, Peter. The Revolution of 1525. Translated by Thomas A. Brady, Jr. and H.C. Erik Midelfort. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1985

Brady, Thomas A., Jr. “Imperial Destinies: A New Biography of the Emperor Maximilian I.” The Journal of Modern History, vol.62, no.2, 1990. pp. 298-314

Brandl, Rainer. “Art or Craft? Art and the Artist in Medieval Nuremberg.” Gothic and Renaissance Art in Nuremberg 1300-2550. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1986

Byars, Jana L., “Prostitutes and Prostitution in Late Medieval Barcelona.” Masters Theses. Western Michigan University, 1997

Cashion, Debra Taylor. “The Art of Nikolaus Glockendon: Imitation and Originality in the Art of Renaissance Germany.” Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art, vol.2, no.1-2, 2010

de Hamel, Christopher. A History of Illuminated Manuscripts. Phaidon Press Limited, 1986

Eco, Umberto. The Name of the Rose. Translated by William Weaver. Mariner Books, 2014

Eco, Umberto. Baudolino. Translated by William Weave. Boston, Mariner Books, 2003

Fournier, Jacques. “The Inquisition Records of Jacques Fournier.” Translated by Nancy P. Stork, San Jose University, 2020

Geary, Patrick. “Humiliation of Saints.” In Saints and their cults: studies in religious sociology, folklore, and history. Edited by Stephen Wilson. Cambridge University Press, 1985. pp. 123-140

Harrington, Joel F. The Faithful Executioner: Life and Death, Honor and Shame in the Turbulent Sixteenth Century. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2013

Hertzka, Gottfied and Wighard Strehlow. Große Hildegard-Apotheke. Christiana-Verlag, 2017

Hildegard von Bingen. Physica. Edited by Reiner Hildebrandt and Thomas Gloning. De Gruyter, 2010

Julian of Norwich. Revelations of Divine Love. Translated by Barry Windeatt. Oxford University Press, 2015

Karras, Ruth Mazo. Sexuality in Medieval Europe: Doing Unto Others. Routledge, 2017

Kerr, Julie. Monastic Hospitality: The Benedictines in England, c.1070-c.1250. Boydell Press, 2007

Kieckhefer, Richard. Forbidden rites: a necromancer's manual of the fifteenth century. Sutton, 1997

Kümin, Beat and B. Ann Tlusty. The World of the Tavern: Public Houses in Early Modern Europe. Routledge, 2017

Ilner, Thomas, et al. The Economy of Dürnberg-Bei-Hallein: an Iron Age Salt-mining Centre in the Austrian Alps. The Antiquaries Journal, vol. 83, 2003. pp. 123-194

Làng, Benedek. Unlocked Books: Manuscripts of Learned Magic in the Medieval Libraries of Central Europe. The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2008

Lindeman, Mary. Medicine and Society in Early Modern Europe. Cambridge University Press, 2010

Lowe, Kate. “'Representing' Africa: Ambassadors and Princes from Christian Africa to Renaissance Italy and Portugal, 1402-1608.” Transactions of the Royal Historical Society Sixth Series, vol. 17, pp. 101-128

Meyers, David. “Ritual, Confession, and Religion in Sixteenth-Century Germany.” Archiv für Reformationsgeschichte, vol. 89, 1998. pp. 125-143

Murat, Zuleika. “Wall paintings through the ages: the medieval period (Italy, twelfth to fifteenth century).” Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, vol. 12, no. 191. Springer, October 2021. pp. 1-27

Overty, Joanne Filippone. “The Cost of Doing Scribal Business: Prices of Manuscript Books in England, 1300-1483.” Book History 11, 2008. pp. 1-32

Page, Sophie. Magic in the Cloister: Pious Motives, Illicit Interests and Occult Approaches to the Medieval Universe. The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2013

Park, Katharine. “The Criminal and the Saintly Body: Autopsy and Dissection in Renaissance Italy.” Renaissance Quarterly, vol. 47, no. 1, Spring 1994. pp. 1-33

Rebel, Hermann. Peasant Classes: The Bureaucratization of Property and Family Relations under Early Habsburg Absolutism, 1511-1636. Princeton University Press, 1983

Rublack, Ulinka. “Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Female Body in Early Modern Germany.” Past & Present, vol. 150, no. 1, February 1996. pp. 84-110

Salvadore, Matteo. “The Ethiopian Age of Exploration: Prester John's Discovery of Europe, 1306-1458.” Journal of World History, vol. 21, no. 4, 2011. pp. 593 - 627

Sangster, Alan. “The Earliest Known Treatise on Double Entry Bookkeeping by Marino de Raphaeli”. The Accounting Historians Journal, vol. 42, no. 2, 2015. pp. 1-33.

Throop, Priscilla. Hildegard von Bingen's Physica: The Complete English Translation of Her Classic Work on Health and Healing. Healing Arts Press, 1998

Usher, Abbott Payson. “The Origins of Banking: The Primitive Bank of Deposit, 1200-1600.” The Economic History Review, vol. 4, no. 4, 1934. pp. 399-428

Waldman, Louis A. “Commissioning Art in Florence for Matthias Corvinus: The Painter and Agent Alexander Formoser and his Sons, Jacopo and Raffaello del Tedesco.” Italy and Hungary: Humanism and Art in the Early Renaissance. Edited by Péter Farbaky and Louis A. Waldman, Villa I Tatti, 2011. pp. 427-501

Wendt, Ulrich. Kultur und Jagd: ein Birschgang durch die Geschichte. G. Reimer, 1907

Whelan, Mark. “Taxes, Wagenburgs and a Nightingale: The Imperial Abbey of Ellwangen and the Hussite Wars, 1427-1435.” The Journal of Ecclesiastical History, vol. 72, no. 4, 2021, pp. 751-777.e

Wiesner-Hanks, Merry E. Women and Gender in Early Modern Europe. Cambridge University Press, 2008

Yardeni, Ada. The Book of Hebrew Script: History, Paleography, Script Styles, Calligraphy & Design. Tyndale House Publishers, 2010

[stephofromcabin12]

(🗣️) I'm trying to write a PJO fanfic and my oc is a daughter of Athena, so my question is how would you make the oc different enough from Annabeth to make her seem like her own charecter. I think I asked something like this before.

Good question!

Firstly consider what similarities they *don’t* share. Its fine to have similarities — they are half siblings after all — as long as you can balance it with some things that set them apart! It doesn’t have to be huge, and they don’t have to be polar opposites.

Examples:

- Appearance, age.

- Place of birth, family situation.

- Interests, skillsets (reading comic books and being into spelling bees is also a sign of intelligence + counts towards being a bookworm, just saying)

- Humor, cultural knowledge (im never going to let the show writers live down that they wrote Annabeth to have never seen a movie. Even before she ran away? Ur telling me Frederick Chase didn’t sit his baby daughter down for A land before time or Labyrinth? Winnie The Pooh? The dark crystal?? JURASSIC PARK????But he’s so nerdy???? Huh????)

On that note:

- There are many ways of being the same thing. Intelligence and strategising can play out in a million ways.

They might both be smart, but in what areas do they excell?

Where are their interests? Annabeth has her love of architechture, maybe your oc is super nerdy about geography and cartography (good for battle strategising) or even cooking (it is a science after all) — the list goes on!

Places that require intelligence, science and logic:

Art restoration and archival work

Cooking and baking (candy making is straight up wizardry, and Demeter kids are unlikely to be into that specific area of cooking)

Finances and business

Painting/sculpting (art in general)

Music, composition especially but also mixing and producing.

Film and stage managing (techies for theatres is a very Athena kid career)

Logistics in general. Every field ever needs people who can work a spreadsheet and calculate all the possible outcomes of a situation before it happens.

Cleaning (if you mix the wrong chemicals ur gonna poison yourself with mustard gas or something worse)

Teaching

Politics

Journalism

Law

Running a non-profit org/organizing events and protests

Archeology (Must be into: dirt and ugly shoes, sincerely, and lovingly, an archeology dropout)

Anthropology, Psychology, Linguistics

Learning languages in general

Vis dev and animation

I could go on but you get the point I think

Basically: Don’t focus on the core areas they have some overlap. If your oc isn’t named Annabeth, likes archaeology and wears a yankee’s cap, you’re probably good to go.

Remember that everything shapes a person (and character) so it’s not so much about the trait or skill itself but more the effects those things have on your character. Same goes for their relationships.

Lastly consider their purpose and goal (purpose is outside the story: You as a writer deciding what role the character will play. Goal is inside the story: The ‘thing’ your character strives for)

It’s probably not the same as Annabeth’s — so work from there until the venn diagram isn’t a flat circle; some overlaps are fine but they’re not one and the same.

I hope that helps!

[buffythevampirelover]

Monday, January 15th

Ahhhhh. I’ve been so stressed about school. Not the classes themselves, especially since I’m a week in, but a lot happened this past week and I almost dropped out of uni and moved provinces to attend a college to get an environmental science diploma. The issue is my local uni doesn’t have the science major i actually want, and geology is the closest option. Which I have loved so far, but I’m more interested in palaeontology or archaeology which we barely even have classes for. So I could transfer to semi-close city for their uni, except my uni does have an amazing film department and that school doesn’t. I’ve also been thinking about whether I should get a double major, or a major and a minor. And then I have to decide which one I’m more passionate about and what should be the major. My parents of course think I should get a science degree so they’re super biased and no help. Sorry, very long rant but this is eating my brain away! Otherwise my first week this semester was great :) I’m taking anthropology of death, a political journalism class, a black and white photography class (my favourite by far! I’m so excited to learn how to use the darkroom and the prof is super cool), and a film production class.

Recent watches: Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret, Liz And The Bluebird, Saltburn, Belle, and I plunged through both seasons of The Sex Lives Of College Girls

Recent reads: reread Solitaire, and now I’m trying to read Pride and Prejudice

Recent works: besides homework I’ve been working on what I’m now calling Safe As Burning Houses (my horror film screenplay)

[iscariotten]

Please explain byour tagging system I am fascinated

this is so funny and i’m surprised it took so long to happen. okay i have to admit that my emoji thing is. extensive. and i often forget parts of it myself so i will probably make a tag page at some point but for now here is an attempt at a directory. i've used quite a few tags over time so i'll just include the ones i've used in the last month or so.

so first there are basic tags for each type of post;

01 - aesthetic images

02 - art

03 - textposts

04 - longer posts, posts with multiple reblogs included

05 - quotes/prose

06 - polls, tag games, the like

07 - posts in photo format (like memes, twitter screenshots, whatever)

08 - original posts by me

09 - gifsets

10 - web weavings

(also: 💌 - asks)

sometimes a post will have more than one of these but usually not.

then there are emojis for further classification. these are usually themes or subjects. (shoutout to @8pm (i think) for inspiring this whole thing. you've created a monster and thank you for doing so). here are a few of them:

🫀 - favorite posts

🎙️ - ramblings by yrs truly

🌱 - silly short textposts

📸 - photography i like (different from 01)

✒️ - quotes/prose formatted specifically Like That

🔧 - political/current events

🪑 - southern gothic

🩻 - trans/gay coded gore

🏛️ - archaeology & anthropology

🥼 - fashion

🖇️ - mixed-media art + art journaling

❄️ - i don't really know how to describe this one but look through it, you might be able to figure it out

🦴 - dog motifs (+ dogs in general)

🧬 - science

there are also some emojis that correspond to people in my life or my own characters; i tag posts that remind me of them with their emoji. currently those emojis are:

🧿🐦‍⬛🧸🦑🐀🔭⭐️🎸🃏

the 🧿 is me, so those posts are the ones that make me go Oh Me Fr.

AND THEN (im so sorry) there are some themes/aesthetics/subjects/whatever that i assigned phrases to instead of emojis. for some reason. these are:

days like this

two moons in the lake

swarms of flies

produce aisle angels

despite despite despite

maybe i’m a fool

love letter to theatre

people are people too

there are also a few descriptive tags that are just one or two words and i think are pretty self-explanatory (religion, corecore, linguistics, gender, people...). fandoms are tagged with the media name as well (but most fandom posts are on @drownedbythenarrative).

OKAY THATS IT idk why this is so complicated but im glad you asked because i needed a motivator to make one of these anyway. hope this makes some sort of sense.

[elizaellwrites]

My Main Characters' University Majors (if they had one)

Annamarie: Archaeology & Anthropology; ur girl is a culture nerd, surprise!

Jacob: Astrophysics, but his father wants him to study Political Science.

Cameron: Linguistics, which is not a shock at all. His room is practically a library.

Elaine: Biological Psychology; she's out there to figure out why her father is so messed up in the head and what her chances are.

Rachel: Graphic Design, since just being an art major was highly frowned upon by her mom.

Ben: Music Therapy, to pursue his love of music and help others the way he wishes he was helped.

Ryan: Nursing. No, not a doctor. That would be ridiculous, he wouldn't even take himself seriously.

Eleanor: Journalism, but she would rather die of starvation than become paparazzi.

Amber: Criminal Justice. Don't lie, you all saw this one coming; no explanation needed.

Roselle: Government & Public Policy; throw in a little protest action and petitions on the side just for good measure.

[troublejournal]

QUESTIONS FOR 15 FRIENDS tagged by @veditas

ARE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?: actually, yes. my mom named me after some soap opera character lol (and now everyone knows that i'm latina)

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?: when a friend messed with me about losing in mario party in new years eve

DO YOU HAVE KIDS?: nooo i'm the kid

WHAT SPORTS DO YOU PLAY/HAVE YOU PLAYED?: when i was a kid, swimming. now i try to run and i dance ballet

DO YOU USE SARCASM?: what? no!

WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?: idk, probably how they treat random people as waiters, cleaning staff and etc.

WHAT’S YOUR EYE COLOUR?: light brown!

SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?: happy endings (in fanfiction), bittersweet endings (in everything else)

ANY TALENTS?: pick cute outfits and doing a killer eyeliner :p

WHERE WERE YOU BORN?: São Paulo, Brazil

WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES?: cooking (probably this is my love language) and reading. i do love writing as well, but ever since i've got into academic stuff i'm kinda tired, so i'm only journaling for now (and writing my freaking research proposal)

DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS?: i had a dog for 15 years and she passed last year. i'm still grieving and i miss her every single day.

HOW TALL ARE YOU?: 5' 3"

FAVOURITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL?: early modern history, archaeology, classical anthropology, history of science

DREAM JOB?: i don't dream about working lol but my main goal is to be a fulltime researcher and teach brazilian archaeology as professor.

[juvenalesque]

Why the world is *gestures around at everything* opinion

No TL;DR here.

Pride month has me dwelling on what i've been thinking about a lot in the last few years, as I'm sure many have, the way the world is heading. Many of us feel out of control and helplessly riding along with an apocalyptic and terrifying demise of the world we know. As we individually fight for just causes, we should seek intersectionality in every facet of our lives. I'd like to share my thoughts on why this is true and more. The cure to the world's problems is as basic as what we tell children: "share." I mean this in more than a literal sense of sharing objects. These problems that I dwell on, we all know about stem from something else. I am speaking of the concept of divide and conquer as it applies to our society and the negative consequences of this. It all begins with organization. I am not going to claim I am an expert on everything on Earth, but these are my thoughts as an educated individual who keeps up to date with credible sources such as academic journals and primary sources. Definitions I list here are both verbatim and paraphrased.

A group exists that most of us are aware of in some capacity, which coordinates together to promote propaganda separating everything that makes humans people. Organizations like the United Nations have a Human Rights Council and a Declaration of Human Rights, but this declaration, and ONLY if properly utilized, plucks only a feather on the bird of prey that divides the Human Earthlings: preventing peace, advancement, and unity; I will not elaborate on the topic of other Earthlings here.

This may sound like digression, but try to humor me here.

There are "hard sciences" such as S.T.E.M. fields. These are held in high regard. People dismiss the social sciences, sometimes called "soft sciences": history, anthropology, archaeology, philosophy, sociology, psychology… This is done systematically through the use of pervasive propaganda even in academia. This reduces interdisciplinary study, which has numerous benefits. Imagine if all of this knowledge could be combined to be utilized for its full potential. We could have advances beyond our dreams. As the old saying goes, "a jack of all trades and master of none, is often better than a master of one." Sharing information is invaluable. Communication of information is invaluable. It is why we have agriculture, medicine, metalwork, machines, and the internet. These are only some extraordinarily vital bits of knowledge that are not utilized to their full potential. Let us peel back another layer of this concept or turn back a page, as they say.

Even literacy is minimized in its importance purposefully. This is a large part of communication. There are different levels of literacy. What is most common in our American society is a gray area between nominal and functional literacy in scientific terms. "Nominal literacy" refers to one who can recognise scientific terms but does not have a clear understanding of the meaning. "Functional literacy" refers to the capacity of a person to engage in all those activities in which literacy is required for effective function of his or her group and community and also for enabling him or her to continue to use reading, writing and calculation for his or her own and the community's development. In a scientific sense, functional literacy is when the person can use scientific and technological vocabulary but usually this is only out of context as is the case for example in a school test of examination or basic correspondence. "Structural: conceptual and procedural literacy" means that the individual demonstrates understanding and a relationship between concepts and can use processes with meaning. "Multidimensional literacy" is when the individual not only has understanding, but has developed perspectives of science and technology that include the nature of science, the role of science and technology in personal life and society. Multidimensional literacy is what it is called when someone is "fully literate," "entirely literate," or "completely literate." They can comprehend entirely. We should, as a society, be trying to assist all persons to reach the highest level of literacy possible for them to understand in the most efficient way. Instead, literacy is kept minimal at best for each individual use by design, even per subject in an academic setting. This is why interdisciplinary study isn't utilized nearly as often as it should be for a more complete understanding of the world as science can inform us and assist in advancement of the scientific pursuit of knowledge and cultural development.

People who are completely literate are perceived as intelligent purely due to their ability to learn and communicate more efficiently than someone who is less literate. People who have the skill of multidimensional literacy are called "advanced" when truly they are the baseline of true understanding. Even those who have not yet reached multidimensional literacy are considered advanced or above average. Literacy is so underrated and avoided in our educational system that a person with an extensive vocabulary is considered more intelligent than someone with a more limited vocabulary, which is blatantly incorrect. The most intelligent people may never have an opportunity to become literate even nominally, but that does not make them less intelligent. It creates a communication barrier just as strong as any language barrier. It prevents a mind from communication. This is a tragic loss, the inability to communicate.

>Side note, that is why accessibility for communication is vital and should be prioritized. Accessibility in all parts of life, a world built for all, not just the "typical."<

Communication barriers in our society have examples such as levels of literacy or understanding of different subjects and perspectives. Communication barriers are also intensified when people are divided by cultural conflicts. These culture clashes are the most well-known form of division of people. People who are united under certain principles or agreements can accomplish radically more than people divided by disagreement, bias, or any other thing that stands in the way of cooperation. The more division, the more discord. That means more distraction and less cooperation. Cooperation and knowledge are what allow a common goal to succeed. The knowledge and how to learn from as many prior mistakes and successes as possible is vital.

This is why, repeatedly, throughout known human history, it has been shown that a ruling class cooperates to design a system that all people follow to maintain some form of basic organization for how the society operates. While some have started altruistically and with the reciprocity that allowed our species to survive near extinction many times, most become or begin as a means of hoarding power through resources.

This is where we get the Malthusian myth of scarcity and horrific events such as poverty and war. If people can be convinced that resources are truly limited rather than just improperly managed, they will all follow the rules they are told will allow them the share of these resources they need to thrive or even survive.

Again, it is somewhat common knowledge that these organized people create a class of people that utilize an attempted control of information with the tool of propaganda to maintain their positions of power. It was discovered that using informational controls to prevent other people from organization was an effective tool against losing their power. This is why when the non-powerful or "common" people eventually tire of a system's injustices and inequities and revolt in anger, society often collapses all together. This is why "education" has traditionally been conducted for a limited number of people and why those people are often the ones next in power should one leader fall. There is no coordinated allegiance or cooperation among those who pursue justice because they have been trained from birth to be driven from everything that could help unite large masses of people that are vastly different from one another. Fundamentally, it is because of an inability to communicate information, from academic knowledge to simple concepts, that we can not cooperate as humanity to solve painful problems.

So, this would mean that at the core of what I am saying is this: we all want equity and the best lives for ourselves, our loved ones, and often all people. However, we do not take the individual responsibility to attempt to communicate, teach communication, and teach utilization of this communication for cooperation. If a large enough group of people took this individual responsibility to promote this TRUE education, which you might call "well rounded," we could improve upon it every generation and interaction to create real change. We need to apply the principles we use selectively universally in our lives without hypocrisy. We need to encourage every human to learn as much as they can about as much as they can and, most importantly, how to communicate this information to others in every way possible.

So, give the most of your time to what you do or enjoy best, but share it. Share everything in your mind and abilities freely and with peace and the pursuit of spreading true and valuable information.

Every skill, every tool, share. It might just save us.

Next, maybe i'll tell you why I think AI could be the savior we need to accelerate this process & that is why there is so much fear mongering in attempts to slow its development and why I love the character "Data" from Star trek so intensely.

-Laura Renee West

06/14/2023

If you like what I have to say and would like to share it elsewhere or in a different format (or think that they might take this down), here's a link these drafted ponderings as a google document.

[aboutanancientenquiry]

Herodotean Studies in the Twenty-First Century

“Despite the frequent “observations” from our non-specialist and non-academic friends and peers that we as classicists have almost exhausted the topics for discussion when it comes to the study and analysis of ancient Classical primary texts and therefore the study of the Classics no longer has a way forward in terms of original research, as “experts” and “specialists” we frequently (often indignantly) respond to these “ignorant” observations by retorting that there is still a vast range of topics and themes to be explored when it comes to our beloved Classical literature. On one level at least and regarding one text in particular this retort is (perhaps surprisingly) fully justified. When it comes to the study of Herodotus’ famous work, the Histories, despite the work ’s great antiquity and the plethora of modern scholarship on this classical text, we have arguably only scraped the surface when it comes to the exploration of the riches afforded by this extraordinary text. What do I mean by this? Have we not already exhausted the now legendary  “to-do-list” left to us by the great Felix Jacoby? Herodotus’ Histories is a text that is unique among sixth-, fifth- and fourth-century BCE Classical literature in that it is a broad, multifaceted, unlimited and largely indefinable inquiry of everything, everyone and everywhere. It is the Classical period’s one and only  “world history ” that has survived intact. Within the Histories we find a host of  “disciplines,” which modern scholarship has compartmentalized and divided, all meshed together and turned into a complex mélange by its protean author, Herodotus.

Because of this extraordinary  “interdisciplinarity ” the Histories can become the subject of study for Anthropology, Ethnology, Archaeology, Political Science, International Relations, Geopolitics, Biology, Zoology, Medicine, Comparative Literature, World History, Global History, Regional Histories, Languages and Literature, Philology, Near Eastern Studies, Central Asian Studies, Inner Asian Studies, Religious Studies, and so forth, just to name a few! And it is this aspect of  the Histories, its omnivorous appetite for everything, everyone and everywhere,which Herodotean scholarship of the twenty-first century should be focusing on with a greater sense of urgency. This area review will briefly outline the state of the scholarship in Herodotean Studies over the past decade and identify some new directions in which that scholarship is arguably headed or should be looking towards. It is not intended to be a review of all the publications on Herodotus in this decade, but merely an analysis of important trends in scholarship and the irimplications for future Herodotean scholarship.”

Hyun Jin Kim “Herodotean Studies in the Twenty-First Century: Developments and Directions”, Journal of Ancient History 2016 ; 4 (1): 1-15 (introductory paragraphs)

The whole article is available on https://www.academia.edu/31246667/Herodotean_Studies_in_the_Twenty_First_Century_developments_and_directions

Hyun Jin Kim is Associate Professor in Classics, Historical and Philosophical Studies, University of Melbourne and a Fellow of the Australian Academy ogf Humanities.  Many of his books, including his first monograph Ethnicity and Foreigners in Ancient Greece and China (2009; Duckworth), are comparative studies of Ancient Greece, Rome and China. His other monographs, most notably The Huns, Rome and the Birth of Europe (2013; Cambridge University Press), and edited books are studies of the Inner Asian Huns, Geopolitics and Eurasian Empires in Late Antiquity.  

[southeastasianarchaeology]

[Paper] New evidence of metal exchange in Southeast Asia during the Iron Age: scientific analysis of excavated bronze in Vilabouly, Laos

Paper by Yang et al. Vilabouly's bronze artifacts reveals Laos' key role in Iron Age Southeast Asia's metal exchange, with complex trading patterns and cultural links.

via Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 15 January 2024: The 2018 excavation at Thengkham East site in Vilabouly, Laos, has brought to light bronze artifacts that underscore the region’s role in the Southeast Asian metal exchange network during the Iron Age. Scientific analysis reveals that these artifacts share metallurgical traditions with others in the region, suggesting a widespread…

[parksprout]

Sprout Journal 11/18/24

Hey Tumblr! This is a little later in the day than I wanted, I was really distracted at work earlier and didn't wanna bother with typing at the moment. It's been sorta a dreary day here. The weather has changed maybe three times if not more. The first part of the day was slightly foggy, unseasonably warm and too humid for my liking. Then it got rainy, a light drizzle that made me wanna take my shirt off and enjoy the cold air. Now it's bright, with the sky open directly above my city and the whole horizon ringed with gray clouds. They've all been pretty in their own ways! I wish that the fog had stayed longer, and that the mist was a little colder. I love driving through a fog when it's light enough for me to still see, and nothing feels better on my skin than the gentle kiss of autumn rain.

Yesterday was a good enough day! I had a fun time at school. All of my professors are really hammering in the idea that we're running up on the last few days of class before it's over, which is simultaneously really exciting and something I dread. On one hand, I need time away from school so that I can reassess myself and breathe. On the other, I'm almost afraid of that alone time - school has been a nice distraction with everything I've been going through these past few weeks. At the same time, I'm clearly burnt out. I need a break from school that the month of December will surely provide - I've fallen a little bit behind in a couple of classes and keep working up just enough energy to claw myself back to where I'm supposed to be, never enough to get ahead. I was such a great student before everything that happened happened!! I'm sure that I can find that part of myself again, it's just tough! I need the reset.

The exams aren't all that scary, though. I have four classes this semester and out of all of them, only the Archaeology exam seems to have that make it or break it heft to it. My intro to Anthropology course has had a bunch of assignments and there's a few more before the exam, too, all of which have been relatively easy and do a bunch to boost my grade. During that class on Monday we talked about race and racism. Mostly about how the concept of race was originally invented by Anthropologists past, and that it is our duty as modern Anthropologists to make up for the sins of our predecessors and craft a legacy of inclusion, understanding, science and sociality that invites people of all ethnicities into the fold. I'm excited to be entering Anthropology at this time of all times, I don't think the field has ever been so accepting. We need Anthropologists during the era of fascists and hatred we're currently living through; academics who understand that despite our varied physical appearances, we are all humans worthy of love. The Spanish final should be intimidating, but I don't really see myself failing it. I can bullshit just enough to pass, and passing is all I need. To continue my degree I need a final score of a 60% or higher in that course, which unless I get a literal 0 on the final exam and the few remaining assignments before it is almost impossible to fall below. My creative writing course is a little further into the stressful side of things. I wrote this big story about the struggle of accepting childhood grief that was supposed to include the main character struggling somewhat with relationship issues while also recollecting on the death of someone familiar to them, but then the breakup happened and... it doesn't even feel like I'm the one who wrote that story, now. It's like I'm looking at it through an audiences lense. I think I'm a little traumatized, as silly as that may sound. My partner was the first and only trusted reader I've ever had... it felt like such an intimate part of our relationship, me sharing my writing with them. Now it's... something I'm afraid to start again. That's really keeping me in this spot where I'm delaying the story crafting process, I wish I could find the motivation to start it again.

After school ended I immediately drove to a cafe to meet up with a new friend! We met on this friend making app, and they were the first person who wasn't an actual weirdo towards me. They're literally in a relationship right now, and I made it very clear that even though I'm not dating I am very much taken and not interested in sex, polyamory, relationships or whatever. They don't want that either, which is such a relief. The last person who reached out to me on that app before them was this guy who called me yummy ToT it made me feel.. gross. Anyways we met up at a coffee place and talked about stuff for a bit! Specifically we talked about relationships, school, work, aspirations. We talked a lot about the books we're both currently reading and where we hope to live five years from now. I told them that I originally wanted to live out west, and that I'm still hoping that's where life takes me because of love but truth be told I wanted to move out that way regardless for my career and... to escape fuckass OHIO. I'll be another midwesterner moving out west chasing dreams, watching the sunset from the beach someday instead of from between endless parking lots and litter filled forests. Anyways it was a fun, but brief, little hangout! It's hard meeting new people - we all have so much lore and history, so unless you find an immediate common ground it can be hard to feel like you've got that spark that even platonic relationships take. Maybe I'm just too analytical of friendships, though.

After I got home from that hangout I hit up the gym and absolutely killed it. I'm really proud of where my body is going. I managed to rep the rowing machine at 160lbs 30x, the shoulder press machine at 110lbs 25x, the leg press machine at 175lbs 25x, and I hit up every other machine at moderate weights for 30 reps as well. The real thing I'm proud of is my running. I ran for 5.66 miles yesterday. It took me exactly an hour to do that... I didn't stop once, and only ever slowed down to take a drink from my lil setlzie water because I am bougie as hell and jog with seltzer water alksjdhfakljsdf I'm sure that the carbonic acid is technically unhealthy and that filling my tum up with gas might not be the best (I didn't burp :p) but I love my seltzies. Anywayz that pace is super close to a 10 minute mile! Which is one of my big goals. When I was running two years ago the fastest time I managed a mile in was 8 minutes, but I wouldn't run more than that one mile - I had no need to pace myself. I've been taking pictures of my progress and... ough. I am starting to see ab lines very very faintly through my tum. I've always had them slightly, but they're becoming more defined. I'm still not happy with how my torso looks, but I'm making progress. My arms look great. I have some under arm flab still but they keep getting tighter each day with more defined muscles and veins approaching my skin. My shoulders are becoming more rounded and defined, stronger too. My collarbone is more obvious, and chest is getting tighter. My legs were already really good I'm not gonna lie. My butt also needs work but alkjsdhflakjsdf I don't really mind it being squishy (^//^).

After my workouts I came home, grabbed a super quick shower, and then immediately headed out to the grocery store! I actually got into a bit of a confrontation there ToT some guy was lurking over my shoulder so when I turned around I got kinda startled and made a face while saying "oh", and then I walked away while listening to a podcast in my earbuds. I was walking and I could hear him shouting, then he called me a pussy & a bitch and said I'd never be a real man (which I AM LITERALLY AN ENBY THIS IS OAKY) so I turned around and said "huh???" really loudly. I was honestly originally super hot for a second, I thought about escalating it but... that immediately disappeared so I said "dude this is a Kroger and I didn't say anything to you" and walked away. It was weird. We ended up in the self checkout line together and neither of us said anything at all lkjashdlfkjasdf. I got myself some stuff to make spaghetti with italian seasoning lamb sausage and some hardy whole grain bread with butter, but I came to find out that I had actually bought big ol' macaroni noodles instead of spaghetti because I grabbed them quickly from the aisle while that guy was cussing me out ToT so my spaghetti plan turned into more of a goulash.

After I ate my dinner I was feeling pretty tired, but my friend Sammy wanted to call me and play video games :3 so I thought y'know, what the hell? I'll hang out on the phone and watch him stream to me for a bit. It was really fun! I probably should've spent my time doing chores or catching up on homework, but talking to my bestie is always nice.

AFTER THAT I didn't do a ton besides sleep askldjfhasdkj it was a super eventful day yesterday! Probably one of the one's I've felt the best mentally since the breakup and election. It was a good time :3 <3

Okay so after this selfie I'll probably talk about my feelings about my love life again? I think? I'm saving this as a draft and coming back to it so we'll see!!!

Honestly? Today is the first day I can really say I'm seeing signs of personal growth that... are real, tangible, and in the right direction. I've been working my ass off trying to become a better person for myself, but also because... if I'm ever going to be someone the Bnuuy can love again? I need to be much better than I was. After putting out all of my emotions in that vent post the other day I feel.. different. Like a weight came off of my chest. Like I finally have an opportunity to be normal, to heal from the trauma of losing their love, and to grow in positive ways that aren't fully directed at appealing to them. I'm still very much hoping to be their partner in the future, that's not going away, but I'm also excited to just... be better because I want to be, too. I know I'm lovable in a trillion ways, and frankly? I think I love myself, too. Here soon I'll be finishing up the final touches of the first present I've ever gotten to send them, but honestly? I really don't feel like it'll be the last anymore.

I was developing this fear since we broke up that... maybe after they get this really special gift, they'll have a good enough capstone to our relationship to move on. But I don't think it's so simple anymore. A lot of people were whispering that in my ear, honestly. No one I'm too close with, no one who really understands how me and Aaron loved each other before, but still people were giving me the anxiety that... maybe I'm being used and lead on again. I am really prone to both akdsjfaskdhf I got led on by my last breakup for six months because she kept saying that she would be ready to try again soon, but it turned out that she was really just using me for emotional gratification while actively dating another person. Then I've also been led on by friends who used me financially, and by family members who took a lot of emotional energy from me and never gave any back. What I'm saying is that I am a little bit naive, and... really trusting. Really very loving. But after thinking about it, reflecting and even asking the Bnuuy about it... I feel ashamed for thinking that they'd ever be that way towards me at all. They didn't even want to hurt me the first time... they said that if they could choose their emotions, they would choose to love me. But now? I think that... maybe it'd be nice if I could get them a birthday present/valentines day gift, too. It'd be so nice to be able to get them a valentines day gift as a partner someday, that's really one of my biggest wishes. I wanna be a romantic with them askdjfaskdf. But for now that's a dream that's a long way off (month to months minimum probably) and I've gotta stick level with what I have now. I gotta be on the square, I gotta be on the square, on the level.

Anyways!!! I think that... we're doing better these days. We're talking and having fun a lot more, I've lowered my expectations for how fast things should progress and.. I'm being generally a lot more chill than I was. I really enjoy talking to them every day and... they seem to wanna talk to me, too. I love them a lot, and.. I'm still really hopeful about us :) they're my best friend and the person I love more than anything.

It's been good writing this as always! I hope everyone is having a really good night. I love you tumblr! BYEEEEEE

[clubsmarties]

"Fancy. A Chicago man. I wonder if he's seen Chicago. You should take him to that drive in movie thing you were telling me about. See, if he likes broadway shows turned movies. And there is your first date." Juju smiled satisfied with herself. "Sometimes you have to make the first move otherwise you will never move. If I had waited Aaron would still just be my friend. He is very interesting. I am still stuck on why he doesn't post pictures of himself. That is so weird for a guy in this day and age. Can kind of assume he doesn't think too much of himself and that is so much better than the normal college boys."

"Listen, don't get ahead of yourself here. He may have meant date like the general way you have something important to do. You and I have dates and we aren't romantically involved. So, before you throw in the towel talk to him and ask him point blank. You won't be a second piece." she laughed and shook her head. "Lala don't be silly. He'd be a clown to not go for it with you." One of the things they'd swoon over were accents and this time was no different. "He has an accent? Oh my god no wonder you fell." she giggled, covering her mouth as the thought alone made her laugh. "Is it a nice accent at least not like the weird accented letters they do?"

If Laurel was looking for Juju to say it was not a good idea she was not going to find it. "Did he give you a good vibe like if you did get into bed with him he would take care of you and he would let you come first?" Girl talk often revolved around the naturally important points. A total honesty moment. "If that a yes across the board then going back to his room would not be an issue. You still got that pepper spray I gave you?" One could never be too careful still.

"I know. I love you for that." she sighed unsure if Aaron would go for it. "We will talk and I'll update you but one thing I know for sure is visiting is a yes. No need to ask. I think we both have a block off in the next three weeks so get ready to have us?" maybe by that time laurel and accent boy would be closer to dating than anything else. "Easy. What are your classes? Maybe you could switch to one of his. Don't do journalism. You want to be causal about it not a full out creep. What's your counselor's name? Never mind found it." as she scrolled she hummed and logged into the student link. "C--Ph- or huh C is Carmichael. How nice is that. He's got AAR, applied archaeology which is three hour lectures a week. Also has biological anthropology and then has oh! bingo. Lala, this is your chance. He just picked up Astronomy Discovery Laboratory. This has you working in small groups. He also takes something in geological sciences. Holy shit he is hella smart. Are you kidding me? If he is your future husband your kids will be geniuses."

"Okay okay. We'll agree to disagree," she said in response to Julia's observations of her roommate. Laurel didn't really get any odd vibe from Jenny, so she didn't really understand where she was coming from. And given that she was in a school housing contract with the girl for the school year, she rather not dig into it. They were friendly, that was okay with her, though she did keep a decent distance with her. Nowhere near as close as she was with Julia. Besides, she wanted to continue focusing on her boy talk, missing the days they'd spend giggling on the couch gushing about dumb boys, Julia's boyfriend included. A constellation picture? Did he share that interest with her? That was exciting, and something she wanted to ask about next time she saw him. Then again, he'd probably be confused how she even knew. Stalker alert. The Chicago mention caused a winning buzzer to go off in her head, "yup! that's him. I forgot to mention that, he recently moved from Chicago."

Eli C. Phillips, that was his name. Woah. It hadn't occurred to her that they only exchanged first names, but nothing more. Still, Juju's skills were unmatched because she was providing her everything. She listened to her best friend as she perused through his social media. "Yeah, that is something. Everyone loves posting about relationships online." She felt the phone buzz in her hand, and knew Julia had just sent her Eli's instagram. "He is an interesting one, isn't he? Very different from the other college guys I've met here so far."

Her head leaned back against her bed frame, knowing that Julia was right once again. A heavy sigh fell from her lips, feeling like her head was spinning. It had only been a few days, and this guy was already taking over her mind. Almost like her head had been spinning she met him. "Yeah that's true. Well, he did pay attention to me the whole time. It was a good time, really. The only odd part is the way he runs away and the date mention. Or, maybe he's just running away from me," she joked with a laugh. "I am honest," she defended completely amused. Her smile was betraying her, face completely flushed once more both with her own comment about going to his room, but also just the babygirl mention. Of course, Julia was clocking every single thing. "I wouldn't mind it at all, I don't know - I think it'd sound nice coming from him. He does have a bit of an accent."

"What?" She asked innocently, though quickly shrugged right after and grinned. "I know, I know. Probably not the smartest thing to follow a guy to his room on the first date. I don't know, just an impulsive thought." Then again, not even a proper date. "You know I'd do anything for you too, go to war if I need to," she asserted. "Can you? You should totally convince him, then we can be neighbors and hang out everyday! At least we still talk everyday, but it's not the same. I miss my sister. Or at least visit me! I'll go out to visit y'all soon too, but Texas is not too bad this time of year." Laurel knew that it was not likely they would transfer here. They were building a life out there, and Aaron was too close to family to move. Asking to visit each other was the next best thing. "Oh, totally. That's understandable. Yup yup, after all those classes, you need your rest. Well, I'm here to keep you company until he arrives! I'm not sleepy at all." Even if she was two hours ahead. Admitting she liked him so quickly after meeting him was bizarre to her. This was not a feeling she was familiar with, but there were no other words to describe it. "Yeah," a chuckle escaping her as she agreed. "I guess I do like him. Huh, you do say to be realistic, you're feeling hopeful. I will, maybe tomorrow. I'm embarrassed to admit I didn't get his number, so kind of at the mercy of running into him again. Or, would it be weird to show up at the diner again? That seems intense, no? I also should probably pass that physics test before I worry about securing a date."

[sarkos]

But in a paper published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances, archaeologists say that one of the cave’s most mysterious motifs, a comblike pattern, first appeared some 8,200 years ago, making it by far the earliest known example of rock art in one of the last places on Earth to be settled by our species. Cave artists continued to draw the same comb design in black pigment for thousands of years, an era when other human activity was virtually absent at the site. The cave art provides a rare glimpse of a culture that may have relied on this design to communicate valuable insights across generations during a period of climactic shifts. “We got the results and we were very surprised,” said Guadalupe Romero Villanueva, an author of the study and an archaeologist at the Argentine government agency CONICET and the National Institute of Anthropology and Latin American Thought in Buenos Aires. “It was a shock, and we had to rethink some things.” Patagonia, which spans the southern tip of South America, was not reached by humans until about 12,000 years ago. These early inhabitants thrived at Cueva Huenul 1 for generations, leaving signs of habitation. Then, around 10,000 years ago, the area became more arid and hostile as a result of climatic shifts. The archaeological record in the cave likewise dried up for the next several thousand years, suggesting that the site was largely abandoned because of environmental pressures.

Mysterious Pattern in a Cave Is Oldest Rock Art Found in Patagonia - The New York Times

[alicemaeisawitch]

An Introductory Post

hi, I'm Alice Mae and I haven't got a clue what I'm doing here!

OK, that's actually a bit of an exaggeration. I don't quite know the ins and outs of Tumblr, I'm fairly experienced at journalling. I have kept journals since I was a teenager - everything from dear diary, to scrapbook journalling, gratitude journaling, reflective, guided... I have shelves of notebooks filled and it always gives me such joy.  

I've never shared these thoughts, so the idea of posting it online gives me some sense of apprehension. I need to work out what level of my life I feel comfortable sharing, how deep this is going to go. Time, of course, will tell and the only way to find out is to jump in. 

So why am I now choosing to bring my journalling online?  Mostly it's because I'm nosycurious about reading others, and it only seems fair for me to do the same. I love people watching, I am endlessly fascinated in the story of human beings, our cultures and the societies we form, and how we interact with each other, within our own societies & cultures and with those from different ones, and with the world around us - there's a reason I have various degrees in anthropology & archaeology (and it's not just because I still want to be either Lara Croft, Sydney Fox, Indiana Jones, Daniel Jackson or Blair Sandburg when I grow up!) I'm looking forward to the opportunity to shares the things that bring me joy, and the chance to get a little glimpse into peoples lives through the things they choose to share genuinely fascinates me! 

It also only seems fair to share a little about me. The basic details are I'm Alice Mae, I'm over 30, I'm Welsh and I live in Devon. I'm a white cis-gender bisexual woman and my pronouns are she/her.  My main interests are Egyptology, archaeology, anthropology and folklore (especially Egyptian mythology and witchcraft, and the witch trials of Early Modern Europe (and beyond)). I have a growing interest in aliens, ufology and the psuedo-history/science of ancient aliens/ancient astronaut theory. No, I have no idea why either, but I've learned to not question random interests - instead I embrace them and see where they go!  I also enjoy reading, crossword puzzles, visiting museums, and am regularly kicked out of coffee shops becase they want to close and I've lost track of time in the back corner! I am fuelled by copious amounts of caffeine, sugar and heavy metal music. 

I am about to make another post about my fannish interests because this one is getting a bit long now. 

If you've made it this far, thank you for reading and welcome to my blog. It's lovely to meet you, please feel free to leave me a comment and tell me a little about yourself (this is obviously not some kind of requirement - it would just be nice to know!).  And, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!