#it also said i had dna from spain and western europe

[minnesotadruids]

I applaud your stand on racism. Could you give examples of the racism you see in the druid community? What exactly has been said or posted. Also would there be any history supporting the isolation of the druids? Did they ever come in contact with people of africa ever?

The first one that comes to mind is one of my ex-grovemates whose membership I terminated a year or two ago when someone sent me video proof of him harassing people in public. I actually don’t want to give out specifics on that incident because it actually made local news briefly. At the time he did have symbols of racial bias. He later attended a private social gathering and allegedly harassed a transgender person and got into a verbal altercation before being removed from the vicinity. After he was booted from Oakdale Grove, other grovemates came forward with complaints against him I wish I would have been informed of sooner, as he was an all-around asshole in addition to being a racist.

My YouTube videos on druidry occasionally received comments from people who subscribed to racist channels. One of them commented that since I’m hispanic I can’t be a druid because they don’t have Celtic blood. I’ve stated before there’s no genetic requirement to be a druid, so not only was this racist individual incorrect about that, but he’s also wrong about me not having Celtic blood. There were Iberian Celts in far western Europe in the Iron Age, including what is now Portugal and Spain. They’re still there - the Basque people are ethnically Celtic still today.

I don’t need to defend myself with caveats that I do have Iberian Celtic ancestry, nor do I need to tout my DNA test results for validation. A mantra growing in the druid or Celtic pagan community is (paraphrased) leave genetics out of it. Don’t let ancestry be the sole reason for exploring any given modern spirituality.

As a morbid fascination, I watched a couple YouTube videos of a conservative druid in Poland to try to understand how they rationalize their way through their beliefs, and he started rambling about protecting “white heritage” in Europe, and called it a dying culture. He segued into promoting total abstinence until marriage, and restoring women to what he described as their proper submissive roles. The longer I watched, the more disgusted I was with his backwards rhetoric. He kept circling back to rambling about white culture and pride. I watched one more video and it was just more of the same, ranting against interracial marriages, claiming it’s “white genocide” and right then I was just done with him. 

Unfortunately YouTube’s algorithms assumed I was interested in watching more of his videos and kept recommending them to me. That’s when I remembered to just report his content and channel. A few of his videos got taken down, but YouTube said some of them did not violate their guidelines and his channel stayed up, so I just blocked him.

Then there was the Neo-Nazi who liked Oakdale Grove’s Facebook page. His profile page banner was a photo of a Nazi flag over his bed. On his timeline he said he was a self-described asshole and didn’t care what anyone thinks. He had also posted a selfie of his swastika tattoo. His Likes page was rife with Folkish, Heathen, Odinist interests. Heathenism in itself is fine, but it’s being hijacked by racists. He also had Celtic and general pagan interests. But there were a lot of Neo-Nazi likes and a lot of confederate flags to boot. I felt nauseated that a person of that character had liked Oakdale Grove’s page. Luckily I was able to remove his “Like” from my end, and banned him from the page, then reported his profile and Facebook suspended his profile (whether permanently or until he cleaned up his content, I do not know).

As for your questions about ancient druids, I don’t believe they were very isolated, as some may have traveled beyond the druid schools to acquire more knowledge. One druid who we know by name, Divitiacus, was an acquaintance of Julius Caesar and served as a representative of the Aedui tribe of Celts. The ancient druids did not write down their own customs, but some druids were probably literate. It is possible that some druids may have made their way to Alexandria, Egypt to visit the Great Library to acquire more knowledge. 

Unfortunately I don’t think there is any surviving documentation from ancient times that would indicate to what extent they had much interaction from the peoples of Africa. Furthermore when the Great Library of Alexandria was burned, so much of the historical record was lost forever. However, during the Bronze and Iron Ages, tin ore was widely exported from southwestern England, and copper ore was exported from Wales. This fostered a vast trade network of other goods circulating around the known world at the time, and I think there is archaeological evidence that these trade routes that extended to North Africa and the Middle East, but it’s been about seven years since I’ve read about it so I’m foggy on the source.

[euroman1945-blog]

The Daily Tulip

The Daily Tulip – Archeological News From Around The World

Friday 10th August 2018

Good Morning Gentle Reader…. From the Costa del Sol Spain, where the Mediterranean divides the continents of Europe and Africa, where in the past Romans and Phoenician’s visited and built homes and forts, where for a long period of time Christianity was rejected and Islam ruled the daily lives of the inhabitant.. Southern Spain where I now call home, .. and every morning very early in what they call the “wee” hours take my dog Bella for a walk before the heat builds up and makes it impossible and when the walk in over we arrive back at the house, Bella has breakfast and fresh cold water and I drink coffee and write the Daily Tulip for you every day.. the Daily Tulip is read by approximately 57,000 people a week and its sister paper The Daily Thistle giving news about Scotland is read by over 100,000 people a week just on Facebook (Figures are from Facebook Statistics) so if you enjoy what I scribble in the early morning, please click on the LIKE Button it costs absolutely nothing but it does bring a smile to my face.. Every Friday, we look at the archeological discoveries from around the world, so as its Friday today, let’s see what the Archaeologists have dug up for us this week….

HEATWAVE REVEALS CASTLE OUTLINE IN IRELAND…. COUNTY OFFALY, IRELAND—According to a report in The Irish Times, heatwave conditions in Europe have revealed the outlines of former structures at Birr Castle, located in Ireland’s Midlands Region. The castle is well known as the home of the “Great Telescope,” or “Leviathan of Parsonstown,” which was built in 1845 by the third Earl of Rosse. It remained the largest telescope in the world for 75 years. The outlines revealed in the grass include paths taken by astronomers from Birr Castle’s main gate to the telescope. Portions of the so-called Black Castle, which fell into ruin on the site in the early seventeenth century, can also be seen in the scorched grass. Scholars were aware the structure existed, but did not know not exactly where it stood. The scorch marks suggest the Black Castle’s main gate was located where the main hall of today’s Birr Castle now stands.

TWO MIDDLE KINGDOM BURIAL CHAMBERS UNCOVERED IN EGYPT…. MINYA, EGYPT—Ahram Online reports that two burial chambers dating to the Middle Kingdom period have been uncovered in Upper Egypt’s Beni Hassan necropolis by a team of Egyptian archaeologists and researchers from Maquarie University. Ayman Ashmawi, head of the Ministry of Antiquities’ Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Department, said one of the chambers, located at the bottom of a ten-foot-deep shaft, belonged to an official named Rimushenty, and was probably emptied by British Egyptologist Percy E. Newberry sometime between 1893 and 1900. Pottery remained in the rooms to the east and west of Rimushenty’s main tomb chamber, however. Gamal El-Semestawi, General Director of Middle Egypt Antiquities, said the second chamber had the same design as the first, and it also contained pottery. This tomb had been decorated with well-preserved wall paintings dedicated to an official named Baqet II. The paintings will be cleaned and restored as the study continues.

SCIENTISTS MEASURE MAYA DROUGHT WITH “FOSSIL WATER”…. CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND—According to a report in The Washington Post, analysis of sediments from Mexico’s Lake Chichancanab has quantified the severity of the drought that has been linked to the collapse of Maya civilization. Scientists from the University of Cambridge and the University of Florida developed a geochemical technique to measure the levels of the different isotopes of “fossil water” trapped in crystals of the mineral gypsum found in the lake’s layers of sediment. Lighter isotopes of water would have evaporated more quickly, leaving behind higher proportions of heavier isotopes of water in the gypsum, depending upon the length of the drought. The study indicates there was a 50 percent decrease in annual precipitation between A.D. 800 and 1000, rising to as much as a 70 percent drop at times. “Drought does have the potential to be a driving force for a lot of the issues that can cause civilization stress,” said Nick Evans of the University of Cambridge.

PREHISTORIC FISHING GEAR RECOVERED IN SOUTH KOREA…. SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA—According to an AFP report, 14 small fishing net sinkers were discovered in northeast South Korea’s Maedun Cave. The limestone sinkers, carved with distinctive grooves so that they could be tied to the bottoms of nets, range in age from 28,550 to 29,460 years old, based upon radiocarbon dating of charcoal that was also recovered from the cave’s four layers dating to the Paleolithic era. An official from the Yonsei University Museum director Han Chang-gyun said the net sinkers push back the use of fishing with nets by about 19,000 years.

3,400-YEAR-OLD FORTIFICATION FOUND IN ROMANIA….CLUJ-NAPOCA, ROMANIA—According to a Romania-Insider report, a team of researchers led by Rüdiger Krause of Goethe University and Florin Gogâltan of the Institute of Archaeology and History of Art of the Romanian Academy have discovered an ancient citadel made of wood and clay in western Romania. Called the “Old Citadel,” or Cetatea Veche, the structure covered some 220 acres and is thought to have been one of the largest and more impressive fortifications built in the area during the Bronze Age. So far, the team members have found a palace measuring more than 300 feet long and 130 feet wide within the citadel. “Our purpose is to find out why this fortification was made, why the construction was needed,” Krause explained.

NO LINK FOUND BETWEEN “HOBBITS” AND MODERN FLORES POPULATION…. PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY—BBC News reports that a new genetic study led by Serena Tucci of Princeton University suggests the small-statured people who live on the Indonesian island of Flores today evolved separately from Homo floresiensis—the small-sized hominin known as the “Hobbit,” whose fossils were discovered in the island's Liang Bua Cave some 15 years ago. It had been previously thought that Flores' ancient population might have mixed with Homo sapiens when the latter arrived on the island thousands of years ago, producing the ancestors of the modern so-called pygmy population. Tucci explained that, because scientists have not been able to recover “Hobbit” DNA from the fossils, the team members employed a statistical method to look for ancient DNA in the modern Flores population. The researchers found traces of Neanderthal and Denisovan ancestry, but no “chunks” of DNA of unknown origin. They did, however, identify gene variants associated with short stature, which also occur in other current Homo sapiens groups, and genes associated with plant-based diets. Since smaller individuals have lower energy requirements, they may have been better adapted to survive on the poor diet available on the island. “Together, the evidence makes it unlikely that the pygmies are in any way derived from Hobbits,” concluded team member Richard Green of the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Well Gentle Reader I hope you enjoyed our look at the archeological news from around the world this, morning… … and guess what, you can find more if you go to “Our Past Beneath Our Feet” of Facebook here is the link…. https://www.facebook.com/groups/OurPastBeneathOurFeet/

Our Tulips today are very Pink and Orange ...

A Sincere Thank You for your company and Thank You for your likes and comments I love them and always try to reply, so please keep them coming, it's always good fun, As is my custom, I will go and get myself another mug of "Colombian" Coffee and wish you a safe Friday 10th August 2018 from my home on the southern coast of Spain, where the blue waters of the Alboran Sea washes the coast of Africa and Europe and the smell of the night blooming Jasmine and Honeysuckle fills the air…and a crazy old guy and his dog Bella go out for a walk at 4:00 am…on the streets of Estepona…

All good stuff....But remember it’s a dangerous world we live in

Be safe out there…

Robert McAngus #Archeology #Travel #Spain #Bella

[1tawnystranger]

(based mainly on David Mac Ritchie’s Ancient and Modern Britons Volume 1, ISBN 9781592322251)

In keeping with accuracy, Britain does not mean just England. I mean it as synonymous with British Isles (the collective name of the island containing England, Scotland & Wales – what used to be called Albion/ Prettania/ Brettania/ Alouíōn), Ireland (Northern & Republic – what used to be called Ierne/ Hibernia/ Iouernía), and the surrounding smaller islands.

When I first heard of this book I knew I wanted it. Now I’ve got it, it’s quickly becoming one of the most fascinating books on ‘race’ I’ve ever read. Mac Ritchie was a ‘white’ Scottish historian & folklorist, yet the information he delivers will probably be nothing short of miraculous to ‘black’ people interested in ‘black’ history.

Disclaimer: As informative as it is, it must be remembered it was written in the 1800s before knowledge of DNA was available to corroborate. It was also the time when scientific racism was at its peak. I just present this info as a potentially useful guideline and insight into the mindset of the past. If you want to see how true the claims are, please do your own research to independently verify. 

To my regular readers this won’t be news, but the main premise is that ‘white’ people were not the first Brits. There were several distinct stocks of melaninated people here, tens of thousands of years before. Makes sense considering ‘whites’ have existed for no more than 8,500 years yet Europe has been inhabited for about 40,000 years. In short, while they were probably a homogenous tribe at first, today’s ‘white’ people are an extremely heterogenous group with ancestry from pretty far-flung parts of the world. Even pre-Columbian America. All their physical variations are almost exclusively a result of being so… well, mixed-race.

The very first inhabitants of the west Asian (“European”) mainland had skull shapes either identical to or approaching those of Australian Aborigines (known back then as “Australioids”, which also included Tasmanian Aborigines, hill-tribe Indians and ancient Egyptians [wtf?]), Bantu Africans (“Negroids”) and Negritos so it’d be weird if their skin colour wouldn’t have been identical.

“Negroid” face (albino)

“Negroid” face (normal)

“Negroid” skull

  “Australoid” face (albino)

“Australoid” face (normal)

“Australoid” skull

(unless they were all albino?…)

Further evidence of this may be gleaned from so-called Venus figurines, statuettes of prehistoric European women. Though it’s not known if they represented real women, fantasy women or goddesses, the fact is they more closely resemble Khoisanid women of southern Africa like Saartjie Baartman than the average 21st century west Asian.

Then there’s the men, who according to new research were definitely ‘black’ but blue eyes were common among them. Which may link to other research that says blue eyes came about 10,000 years ago near the Black Sea.

To be sure, there are NO pure descendants of those original Europeans left.

Mac Ritchie goes into some detail on the particular melaninated groups that existed, aboriginal and newcomers:

Picts (formerly known by the 2 omni-tribal confederacies’ names of Caledonii & Mæatæ) – original

Scots (ancient not modern) – original? Though there’s a legend that they descend from a Kemetic princess called Scotia

Moors (aka. Mors, Morrows & Morays) – newcomers/ original (depending on definition; more below)

Saracens – see Moors

Silures/ Euskarians, whom Tacitus likened with Spaniards (pp. 156-7, 186-7) – original?

Gypsies (aka. “Egyptians” – incorrectly, Gipsies & Romanis) – newcomers

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Danes (ancient not modern) – newcomers

Huns – newcomers

Phoenicians* – newcomers

Chaldees/ Jews – newcomers (though Davie seems to doubt their presence)

An unspecified copper-coloured race – newcomers?

Native Americans (at least Pocahontas) – newcomers

* BUT Phoenicians’ racial status was debated. It depends on the meaning of red. Red was a common synonym for ‘white’ even thousands of years ago, and at the time of this book’s writing was sometimes still used as such. This isn’t ludicrous; technically pink (not to be confused with magenta) is light red. The confusion comes from whether they mean that definition, or red as synonymous with Professor Huxley’s chocolate brown, (which was near enough the same as Italian archaeologist Gennarelli’s red) or Davie’s aforementioned copper-coloured. Talk about confusion! 

As well as several unspecified mythical/ legendary/ folkloric people (pp. 150-1), likely to have been inspired by memories of actual living ‘black’ people, since Mr. Campbell (one of Mac Ritchie’s references) asserts that Breton & Gaelic tales are full of ‘black’-skinned club-wielding giants. Though Mac Ritchie doesn’t mention it, I’ve also read that south Asians were in London at least since the 1200s-1400s.

Read this for more info on what they and Africans thought of London back then. You might be surprised…

As for ‘whites’ their ancestry is speculated about at length. 1,800 years prior to Skene’s book Celtic Scotland, which would be around 2,000 years before present, there were 2 distinct races of Brits:

Fair ones who resembled Belgic Gauls and were physically identical to what the Romans called Germanii/ Germans (red hair, wild blue eyes, large bodies) – dubbed the “formidable title” Xanthochroi, literally yellow-skins,

And dark ones who resembled the Aquitani of southwest France & Iberians of Spain & Portugal* (dark wavy hair, short stature, definitively darker than the former) – dubbed Melanochroi, literally black-skins.

* their ultimate origins are debated, but they were definitely regarded as non-‘white’ even centuries before Moors invaded. 

It is implied that the Xanthochroi are the original pure ‘white’ people but exactly who they were, where they came from or how they self-identified remains unclear. What is clear is that modern ‘whites’ who think they’re pure descendants of British Islanders are deluding themselves (pp. 123-5). They are descendants of Flemings from north & west Belgium and Normans (mixed French & Scandinavian), who are synonymous with Huxley’s Xanthochroi & the Romans’ Germanii, who mixed with other newcomer & aboriginal groups. Hence why Mac Ritchie distinguishes between ancient and modern populations so much.

Just in case anyone was confused about where Scandinavia is.

In chapter 2 he claims Scythians are likely to be the ancestors of ‘white’ Britons, though he admits the word is vague and already falling into disuse. This is possible, as in ancient times Scythians were seen by the Greeks as the ‘whitest’ people on the planet. They are defined thus by “Lord” Strangford, Mac Ritchie’s authority:

“Some of the Scythian peoples may have been Anarian, Allophylic, Mongolian; some were demonstrably Aryan, and not only that, but Iranian as well, as is best shown in a memoir read before the Berlin Academy this last year.”

However others have said:

���Ethnographers are not unanimous in respect to the ethnic position of the Scythians. Bockh, Niebuhr and many others set them down as Tatars. But Humboldt, Grimm, Donaldson and others maintain … their ethnic affinity with the Aryans. Rawlinson, in his essay, ‘On The Ethnic Affinities of the Nation of Western Asia’ … distinctly ranges the Scythians among Tatar nations. He even maintains that a Tatar element is manifest in the oldest records of the Armenians, Cappadocians, Susianians and Chaldæans of Babylon. … F. Müller is of the opinion that some of the Scyths were Ural-Altaic and others Aryan…”

He further goes on the authority of Lempriere that Scythians consisted of several disunited nomadic tribes who hated money, lived off milk (VERY interesting in the light of this) & wore cattle skins, ate human flesh & drank their enemies’ blood, and used travellers’ skulls as vessels to carry sacrifices to their gods. They also managed to take over Asia Minor (Turkey) for 28 years beginning in 624BC, and even extended their conquests in Europe, Egypt &, with the “kindred” Sarmatians, Rome. The Sarmatians were likewise given to war, lewdness, painting their bodies in wartime, and drinking mixed horse milk & blood, and were known to the Romans & Greeks under various tribe names – Huns, Vandals, Goths, Alans, etc. During those days they conquered all of north Europe & much of Asia. One of Davie’s authorities, Mr. Howorth, identifies them also with Ugrians who hunted, fought with bows & arrows, and scarred their faces (which Mac Ritchie seems to think is the same as tattooing?!?).

On p. 30 it’s stated the word ogre ultimately comes from Ugri/ Ugrians. Also called Huns (e.g. Attila, p.35), they were a tribe whose descendants live predominantly in Hungary (which also came from the word) but also in north Siberia, some of whom were a solidly yellow-brown complexion (p.37), some “almost black” (p.35), and strongly resembling either the “Australioid” or “Mongoloid” aborigines of southeast Asia & the Malay Archipelago. To him these represent two strongly divergent races, especially in regards to the shape of their skulls, but this is explained as due to being mixed themselves. Throughout chapter 2 he states that Ugrians were counted among the Scythians by other historians, and this is explicable by the fact that Scythians were heterogenous and their ethnic “status” is unknown.

Can’t explain the green skin though

In east Europe & Asia, black & white were used to describe a nation’s or tribe’s status relative to another’s, black (kara in Tatar) being subservient & white (ak in Tatar) being dominant. While this doesn’t refer to skin colour anymore it did originally, due to ancient battles waged between the groups (explained further below). And you can guess which side won.

Many melaninated Europeans were still alive up to about 200 years before Mac Ritchie. Since the book was originally published in 1884, that means there were still brown-skinned native Europeans walking around in the late 1600s! And while none were purely ‘black’ anymore, they were visibly distinct from ‘whites’ and many were “as dark as mulattoes”! No wonder Founding Father of the USA Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) didn’t regard most Europeans as ‘white’!

You get it now, right?

Modern Brits, and Europeans in general, are descendants of the colossal admixture. It’s just more obvious in the melanochroi, similar to modern South America. Apparently even a tinge of colour in the skin shows mixture; the original pure ‘whites’ were so pale they were almost translucent! And I’ve heard the translucent-skin thing before. As a child I read a hadiyth where Muhammad described the huwr (virgins of paradise) as so radiantly ‘white’ you can almost see their bone marrow through their flesh – like that was supposed to be attractive! And according to other works highlighting the ‘blackness’ of the original Arabs, Turks used to be so pale they were sometimes called silver and likened to the moon.

Lemme finish getting through the major blood vessels and I’ll be beautiful as a huwr too! Allahu akbar!

Other features that give away ancient ‘black’ ancestry in modern ‘white’ people:

Curly hair (regardless of colour)

Black hair (regardless of texture)

Freckles

Certain facial structures & bodily features

Lips, & probably lower jaw too

Do I even have to say it?

Davie asserts that any one of these features alone means the possessor is not 100% ‘white’, no matter how “pure” all the other features are. Those non-‘white’ features may show up with no known pattern, even if you trace someone’s ancestry 100 generations back and not come up with a single ‘black’ or brown person among them. However, judging from Onyeka’s Blackamoores: Africans in Tudor England, that may be because skin colour wasn’t usually deemed important enough to point out in people’s genealogy. Not to mention that Africans even then often changed their names to European-language names for whatever reason.

Certain modern clans & families can also be traced back to ‘black’ clans. Obviously over the course of time people intermarry and adopt new names whose meanings don’t apply to them, but that’s over time. Originally people’s names were taken as literal descriptions, e.g. Macintyre = son of a carpenter, MacDonald = son of Donald, etc.

Though colour terms can refer to people’s hair (as some modern ‘white’ history buffs are adamant to assert) this wasn’t normal. If the speaker meant to describe someone’s hair they would normally describe them as red-HAIRED, black-HAIRED, yellow-HAIRED, etc. Without such adjuncts, colour descriptions were understood to refer to skin as it’s the most obvious distinction. (p.57-8)

(p.59-61) There are still many place names in the British Isles (Scotland/ Ireland) that are nowadays taken to refer to natural features of the places themselves or of local fauna. However, it makes most sense to think they refer to the aboriginal people who lived there, e.g. Falkirk (speckled church, i.e. church of speckled people).

Here’s a non-exhaustive list of terms that related to ‘black’/ brown people or their descendants in ancient British history:

Grim (origin of Graeme/ Graham!)

Dubh, like in Dublin

Dun/ donn (synonymous with tawny)

Breac/ bhreac (pronounced vreck, postulated as the origin of freckle as it means spotted)

Niger (original Latin)

Swarthy/ swart/ schwarz

Graafel (lit: grey-skin, in reference to a quadroon – p. 120) – so it has caught on!!!

Gorm/ woad-stained (lit: blue or green, Gaelic), because aboriginal ‘blacks’ of the British Isles very often painted (or tattooed?) themselves such

Moor and all its variants – Mauri, Morienses (referred to at least some Indians!), Moravienses, etc.

Murrey, variant of Moor but signifying copper-coloured/ dark red

Kara/ Ciar (Tatar or Ugrian language)

While ‘white’ terms include:

Ban

Finn/ fionn (origin of Fiona)

Sar/ sarni/ sorni/ sairan (purportedly origin of Sir, p.32)

Ak (Tatar or Ugrian language)

A lot is mentioned of what happened to those original pure ‘black’ clans. In short, they used to live side by side with the ‘whites’ and “dark whites” until the Roman invasion beginning in 43 AD. Over the centuries they all lost power & influence to the ‘whites’, especially with the spread of Christianity. An example of this is the 4th century Czernii Ugri (‘black’ Ugri/ Huns) of chapter 2 who were conquered by the ‘white’ Ugri/ Huns and many of whom fled to the British Isles. Many intermixed with the growing ‘white’ populace, and the few die-hard rebels & dissenters were relegated to the outskirts of society. Many of them, trying and failing to hold onto their historic power & status, descended into petty crime. Certain areas of London became renowned for Gypsy presence. Others died off – naturally & otherwise. Many others took up different trades, especially in the entertainment biz, in such numbers that certain professions were associated with ‘black’/ brown people themselves, like clown, juggler, jongleur, minstrel, mountebank, tinker, prygge/ prig, sorcerer, acrobat, etc (p. 359). The so-called melanochroi, or “dark whites”, had been making a much larger presence since the time of the Danish Conquest in the early 1000s AD and were much more distinct from “fair whites” than today. According to Davie-boy not a single sector of British society escaped this racial amalgamation; neither rich nor poor, educated nor uneducated, business owner or unemployed, pure ‘black’ nor pure ‘white’ – the majority of living British people (and back in his time) have melanochroi blood, to the point that the then-common phrase “English people like ourselves” bears no meaning. No-one alive remembers what “true” English people or culture are because melanochroi were effectively a new race that didn’t fully identify culturally with either of their ancestral sides. Even Christianity “or what passes for Christianity” (p. 358) has been diluted with so much heathen/ pagan influence that it can’t be relied on to identify anything or anyone. Much of what many mistook for quintessentially English mores, rural fairs for example, were originally from gypsies. The Morris dance likewise originated from Moors*, and it looked absolutely nothing like its much tamer modern form. Even the word “boo” was an aboriginal Irish war-cry. From the 1400s-1600s gypsies were famed for roaming the isles north & south, as well as London theatres, in bands of a few hundred and were ‘black’ as Moors but had since been reduced to small families, were “merely tawny” and almost completely abandoned their ancestral ways.

* Very interestingly, Sir Walter Scott (from whom this claim came) meant native British Moors, aka. Picts. He fully denied the Moorish invasion from north Africa in the early 700s, or at any point in European history! 

On a slight tangent, it is my personal belief that modern stories of drows (dark elves) are semi-mythical recollections/ re-tellings of those pure ‘black’ Europeans.

Warning for anyone who wants to read the book: Mac Ritchie is NOT sympathetic to ‘blacks’ at all, he is not a “‘white’ ally”. He makes it explicitly clear in damn near every chapter that he considers melaninated people to be inferior. Just because he admits ‘black’ people were his ultimate ancestors doesn’t mean he has to like them – or us.

Examples:

The Australioid first people of Britain were “of the very lowest type of humanity” (p.8)

An African people discovered by Major Serpa Pinto, a race of ‘white’ Khoisanids who were “hideous beyond belief, like caricatured Mongolians, and evidently lower even than the Fuegians of South America in the scale of humanity” (p.18) and were “abject and hideous” (p.20)

The Australioids’ skulls “still bear witness to their depravity” (p.19)

The xanthochroi are “exquisitely handsome” (p.20)

The Barbarian Prisoner, an example of what xanthochroi were thought to look like, bore “noble, manly features” and his face was “charged with dignity and force”. Such a face may have “rightly” been seen by his contemporaries as that of an aristocrat or of the ruling class (p.39)

Yet fails to explain why he was a prisoner. 

Heraldic representations of Moors are “ugly” (p.55)

The Black Morrow of Galloway legend, assuming he actually existed, was of unimpressive appearance and “it is easy to see why they [other members of his race] were remorselessly hunted down” (p.55)

400-500 years before, the kings of Ireland accepted English rule. But they were completely “savage and uncivilized”, not just because they went naked and rode horses barebacked “like the wildest Indians [native Americans]”, but also because they hated wearing clothes, and their savagery was comparable to “a conquered Zulu King, or a Maori chief” failing to adopt English customs (p.74) – however at this point he wonders whether more clothes really do make a man more civilised, and accepts that his contemporary definition of “savage” and “civilized” are entirely subjective

A group of people called the wild Mac Ra’s from 1715, although having miscegenated for over a century before, still displayed some native Scot features. Some were “as black and wild in their appearance as any American savages whatever” (p.81)

And yes, it was no secret that at least some pre-Columbian Americans were ‘black’.

I will go into more detail on this fascinating work in Part 2.

Pure ‘white’ race – did it ever exist? Part 1 (based mainly on David Mac Ritchie's Ancient and Modern Britons Volume 1, ISBN 9781592322251) In keeping with accuracy, Britain does not mean just England.

[robertmcangusgroup]

The Daily Thistle

The Daily Thistle – News From Scotland

Wednesday 22nd November 2017

"Madainn Mhath” …Fellow Scot, I hope the day brings joy to you…." The weather forecast says partly cloudy this morning, but the clear part must be somewhere else, because the heavens are covered up with cloud… and it’s cold, 7c again this morning, but wrapped up in a warm jacket and scarf I don’t mind venturing forth with Bella and it’s certainly not as cold as parts of Scotland or the USA, so I’m not complaining…

NEW RECORD FOR AN OBJECT SENT INTO SPACE FROM UK…. A new record for the largest and highest object launched into space from the UK was set earlier this year, it has emerged. The Terrier Oriole rocket was launched from Benbecula in the Western Isles during Nato exercise Formidable Shield. The rocket, used by US space agency Nasa and almost 4m (13ft) long, reached an altitude of 198 miles (320km). The Terrier Oriole was used to represent a ballistic missile and was tracked and then destroyed. The Hebrides Range, which is managed by Ministry of Defence contractor QinetiQ, was used for the launch. QinetiQ confirmed the setting of the new record. Sites in Uist in the Western Isles and on Hirta, the main island in the St Kilda archipelago, which lies about 40 miles (64km) west of North Uist, form parts of the range. The range involves a large area of sea.

MAN JAILED FOR FIRING BB GUN AT DUNDEE TAXI DRIVER…. A man who fired a BB pistol at a taxi being driven by his girlfriend's ex-partner has been jailed for 14 months. Darren Anderson fired shots from the small black gun at Roddy Balfour's car in Dundee's Morgan Street. Dundee Sheriff Court was told that the weapon was powerful enough to be described as a firearm. Anderson, 28, of Dundee admitted committing the offence in November 2016. He originally claimed Mr Balfour had invented the incident, but forensic testing of the weapon found Anderson's DNA on both the gun and a container of ammunition. The court was told that Mr Balfour saw Anderson running towards his taxi carrying a small black handgun. Mr Balfour heard what sounded like three shots being fired and he drove away and, as he did so, Anderson ran up the street, pointing the gun directly at his taxi. Police traced Anderson 90 minutes later and the gun was found by a member of the public two days afterwards in a nearby street. Sheriff Alastair Carmichael told Anderson: "That kind of behaviour is simply unacceptable. "Because of your record and the nature of this offence, I regret - from your perspective - the only option is custody."

BORDERS NATIONAL PARK BATTLE BEGINS…. Campaigners have launched a plan to turn part of the Scottish Borders into a national park. Scotland currently has two - in the Cairngorms and at Loch Lomond and the Trossachs. Proposals to create a third in the south of Scotland are still at an early stage. However, initial suggestions are for a park that stretches from Melrose down to the Scotland-England border, with Jedburgh at its heart. Jane Bower, who is from the campaign, said the area was perfectly suited for the status. She said: "On the one hand it has all the perfect characteristics for a national park - great cultural heritage, marvellous landscapes, wonderful things to visit for tourists and things to do. "And on the other hand it has got severe socio-economic problems - local incomes are declining, people are leaving, there are no good jobs for young people here. "A national park would bring in visitors, would bring in more people to live here." However, there are concerns about the impact national park regulations might have on homeowners and business. Planning consultant in the Borders, Tim Fergusson, said it could have an effect. "It would have a fair impact on domestic and commercial type development in terms of it will be adding an extra level of detail in terms of the quality of the build that would be required," he said. "It would also probably remove permitted development so people wanting to extend their homes maybe would have to go back into planning for that whereas at the moment they may not need planning permission for certain aspects. "It is trying to get to an understanding of the extra level of detail that developers will have to go through because we don't want to discourage things from an investment point of view."

INVERNESS GAELIC SCHOOL'S 10TH ANNIVERSARY MARKED…. Celebrations have been held to mark the 10th anniversary of the opening of Scotland's first purpose-built Gaelic medium education school. Bun-sgoil Ghàidhlig Inbhir Nis in Inverness was officially opened in 2007 by the then first minster Alex Salmond. At the time, there were 100 pupils and 45 nursery pupils. The current roll is 232 pupils and 80 nursery children. Since 2007, Highland Council has gone on to open a Gaelic school in Lochaber and is having one built on Skye. Events held to mark the 10th anniversary of Bun-sgoil Ghàidhlig Inbhir Nis have included an evening featuring poetry recitals and Highland dancing.

THE HERO RESCUER WHO WAS SWEPT TO HIS DEATH…. Bill Deacon was a "quiet and unassuming" hero who, in mountainous seas off Shetland, saved the lives of 10 people before losing his own. The helicopter winchman was washed off the deck of the cargo vessel Green Lily by a 50ft wave as he waited to be lifted to safety himself. After his death, exactly 20 years ago, Mr Deacon became the first member of the Coastguard service to receive the George Medal. His bravery and that of the Coastguard and RNLI lifeboat crews involved are being remembered at a wreath-laying off the coast of Bressay. Before Mr Deacon, from Ellon in Aberdeenshire, had helped the final 10 of the Filipino and Croatian crew to safety, the first five were taken off by lifeboat. The coxswain of Lerwick Lifeboat, Hewitt Clark, said at that time that the Green Lily crew failed to realise the gravity of the situation and had behaved as though they were "on a picnic". Twenty years later Mr Clark, one of the most decorated lifeboat crew members in history, said he was "frustrated" the crew had not abandoned their stricken vessel when he had told them to. The 3,500 tonne vessel got into trouble 15 miles after setting sail from Lerwick carrying a cargo of frozen fish to the Ivory Coast. By the time the lifeboat arrived the tow line from a tug boat had snapped and the Green Lily was heading towards the rocks in a force 11 storm. Mr Leask, who is now retired, says there have been many improvements in the years since the Green Lily rescue. He says he has thought about the events of that afternoon every day for 20 years. "The whole thing from starting to winch to finishing took 15 minutes," he says. "It seemed like a lifetime."

On that note I will say that I hope you have enjoyed the news from Scotland today,

Our look at Scotland today is of the Lerwick Lifeboat in action…

A Sincere Thank You for your company and Thank You for your likes and comments I love them and always try to reply, so please keep them coming, it's always good fun, As is my custom, I will go and get myself another mug of "Colombian" Coffee and wish you a safe Wednesday 22nd November 2017 from my home on the southern coast of Spain, where the blue waters of the Alboran Sea washes the coast of Africa and Europe and the smell of the night blooming Jasmine and Honeysuckle fills the air…and a crazy old guy and his dog Bella go out for a walk at 4:00 am…on the streets of Estepona…

All good stuff....But remember it’s a dangerous world we live in

Be safe out there…

Robert McAngus

[horizondawn]

Back in December I turned in a DNA sample to find out where exactly my heritage comes from, and while there were some things I expected there were a few surprises as well.

So my results: 36% Great Britain, 25% Western Europe, 10% Ireland (which also includes Scotland and Wales for their Celtic roots, a lot more than what I expected actually), 10% Scandinavia, 8% Finland/Northwest Russia region, and 5% Greece/Italy. The other trace amounts are from the Iberian Peninsula (Spain/Portugal), the Eastern Europe/European Jewish area, and even Northern Africa and Middle East Asia (Iran/Iraq/Saudi Arabia, etc).

I’ve always had a special connection with England, Scotland, and Ireland since I was young, even though my mom said I was more German because of her side. I guess I inherited a lot more from the British Isles on my dad’s side than she thought.

[robertmcangusgroup]

The Daily Tulip

The Daily Tulip – The Archaeological News From Around The World

Friday 27th October 2017

Good Morning Gentle Reader….  Friday, it’s that day again when we all ponder of heritage and past, and often question should we get that DNA test done that we have always been promising ourselves…. The only problem that I see with DNA is that it may not give you what you wish for, perhaps you always wanted to be Celtic and the test comes back that you are more Serbian and have no Celtic… while there is absolutely nothing wrong with being Serbian it’s a disappointment.. but don’t worry Gentle Reader, we will still love you if you come back Eskimo … and that will explain the extra pound/kilo of weight this summer.. getting ready for the cold spell…

STORM OPHELIA UNCOVERED 1,500-YEAR-OLD SKELETON IN IRELAND…. COUNTY WEXFORD, IRELAND—The Irish Post reports that people walking on the beach at Forlorn Point in southeast Ireland after Storm Ophelia discovered skeletal remains eroding from the soil. A forensic anthropologist thinks the bones could possibly date to the Iron Age. The remains have been removed from the site and are in the custody of the National Museum of Ireland.

AN UPDATE FROM CANADA’S OLD PARLIAMENT…. MONTREAL, CANADA—Excavators have uncovered two nineteenth-century copper alloy stamps at the site of the old Parliament of the United Province of Canada, according to a report in The Star. The building was destroyed by fire during a riot on April 25, 1849. The stamps, which would have usually been kept in the Parliament’s archives, were found in areas corresponding to the office of the clerk of the legislative assembly, and the legislative council library. “The fact that it was a quick and violent fire resulted in them being left on site and rediscovered more than a century-and-a-half later,” said Louise Pothier of Montreal’s Pointe-à-Callière Museum. The fire also destroyed the two parliamentary libraries and documents dating back to the beginning of French colonization of Canada. The excavators recovered about 30 charred document fragments in one of the libraries. Scientists at the Canadian Conservation Institute in Ottawa determined the pages were minutes of the lower chamber of France’s parliament dating to 1830.

ANCIENT STONE WALLS SPOTTED IN SATELLITE IMAGES OF SAUDI ARABIA…. CRAWLEY, AUSTRALIA—David Kennedy of the University of Western Australia and his colleagues discovered nearly 400 low stone walls in west-central Saudi Arabia with satellite imagery, according to a report in Live Science. Most of the walls, which resemble field gates, had been built in the lava fields of Harrat Khaybar. Some were covered with lava flow, or were even placed on the sides of old lava domes. Kennedy said the smallest of the gates is about 43 feet long, while the longest is about 1,700 feet long. Some of the structures are rectangular-shaped, while others are “I” shaped, or have one stone wall with piles of stones at each end. The gate-like structures may be about 7,000 years old, and are thought to be older than other stone structures in the lava fields, such as those known as kites, which are thought to have been used in hunting.

ARMY TRAINING BASE YIELDS 1980S AMMUNITION…. FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN—Archaeologists investigating the Army training center at Fort McCoy uncovered more than 30 .30-caliber blank cartridges and metal ammunition belt links, according to a report from the Westby Times. The cartridges were stamped with the identification “LC 81,” which indicates they had been manufactured in 1981 at the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in Independence, Missouri. Markings were also found on the belt links, which were shipped with the blank cartridges for use with the M60 machine gun.

GENOME OF 40,000-YEAR-OLD "TIANYUAN MAN" ANALYZED….  BEIJING, CHINA—According to a report in Science Magazine, scientists led by Qiaomei Fu of the Molecular Paleontology Lab at the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology examined genome material extracted from the thighbone of a 40,000-year-old skeleton discovered in China’s Tianyuan Cave. The study indicates that “Tianyuan Man” was a modern human carrying only four to five percent of his DNA from Neanderthals, and no detectable DNA inherited from the Denisovans. It had originally been thought that Tianyuan Man was the offspring of a Neanderthal and a modern human. Tianyuan Man was found to share DNA with a person whose 35,000-year-old remains were discovered in Belgium’s Goyet Caves. The study indicates that about nine to 15 percent of the DNA of the Karitiana and Sururi peoples of Brazil and the Chane people of northern Argentina and southern Bolivia came from an ancestor also shared by Tianyuan Man, making them distant cousins. But this ancestor was not common to Native Americans living in North America, thus suggesting there were two different source populations for Native Americans.

SCULPTURE OF QUEEN ANKHNESPEPY II UNEARTHED AT SAQQARA….  GIZA, EGYPT—Ahram Online reports that a wooden sculpture, thought to represent the head of Queen Ankhnespepy II, has been discovered near her pyramid at Saqqara. Ankhnespepy II ruled during the 6th Dynasty as regent for her young son after the death of Pepy I, around 2350 B.C. The sculpture measures about a foot long, retains traces of paint, and shows the queen wearing earrings. Earlier this month, the Egyptian-Swiss excavation team recovered the upper part of a granite obelisk that may have been part of the queen’s funerary temple, in addition to a pyramidion, or the capstone for a pyramid. “It is a promising area that could reveal more of its secrets soon,” said Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities.

VIRTUAL REALITY PROJECT DOCUMENTS WORLD WAR II–ERA SHIP….  NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND—Live Science reports that a 3-D model of the British freighter SS Thistlegorm has been created by divers and archaeologists from the University of Nottingham and Alexandria University. The merchant ship was sunk in 1941 by German bombers while carrying Allied war supplies, such as tanks, train engines, trucks, and motorcycles to Alexandria, Egypt. The wreckage has since become a popular dive spot in the Red Sea, and has been damaged by dive-boat anchors and looters. “What we hope this website will do is help to monitor what is going on,” said marine archaeologist Jon Henderson of the University of Nottingham. “One of the basic things for finding out how sites have been damaged is to carry out a baseline survey such as this, and then we can start to chart changes over time.” The Thistlegorm Project will also allow non-divers to explore the wreckage.

Well Gentle Reader I hope you enjoyed our look at the news from around the world this, Friday morning… …

Our Tulips today are growing in the park...

A Sincere Thank You for your company and Thank You for your likes and comments I love them and always try to reply, so please keep them coming, it's always good fun, As is my custom, I will go and get myself another mug of "Colombian" Coffee and wish you a safe Friday 27th October 2017 from my home on the southern coast of Spain, where the blue waters of the Alboran Sea washes the coast of Africa and Europe and the smell of the night blooming Jasmine and Honeysuckle fills the air…and a crazy old guy and his dog Bella go out for a walk at 4:00 am…on the streets of Estepona…

All good stuff....But remember it’s a dangerous world we live in

Be safe out there…

Robert McAngus

[robertmcangusgroup]

The Daily Thistle

The Daily Thistle – News From Scotland

Monday 9th October 2017

"Madainn Mhath” …Fellow Scot, I hope the day brings joy to you…. I would like for you to indulge me for a moment while I comment on the tragic death of Holly Alexander our first story.. and open with the statement “It’s not the country, it’s the people you mix with” Scotland is no better or worse than England, Spain, Canada or the USA, all countries have their problems, all countries have their Drug Dealers, Rapist, Murders.. Just recently Las Vegas had the attack on a country and western concert resulting in 58 dead and 700+ injured should we blame the country or should we blame the killer… and more importantly, would that stop me from travelling the USA, the answer is NO! .. I have more chance being involved in a car accident than being shot by a crazy sniper.. In Holly’s case she elected to mix with social misfits, people in the drug business.. her mother can shout all she likes, but the blame lays at the doorstep of Holly.. Not Police Scotland, or the Social Services.. sad as it seems you play with fire…..

HOLLY ALEXANDER'S MOTHER: 'I HATE SCOTLAND'…. Holly Alexander moved from the US to Dundee to open a pizza shop with her husband in 2014. Just over a year later the 37-year-old mother-of-three was stabbed to death in the flat she shared with known drug dealer Ronnie Kidd, who was also murdered. The man who killed them, Krzysztof Gadecki, had been served with a deportation notice by the Home Office because he was on parole for a rape and robberies he had committed in his native Poland. During the court case, advocate depute Bill MacVicar said New York-born Ms Alexander was recovering from heroin addiction when she emigrated and she relapsed in Dundee. Her relationship with her husband broke down. Ms Alexander's mother, Lorraine DiPalermo, told the BBC she hated Scotland for letting her down and failing to help when she was trying desperately to get her daughter to leave. She said Ms Alexander had split from her husband and was living with Kidd, who she had met on a methadone programme for drug addicts. Her mother said Ms Alexander became addicted to diamorphine and Kidd was feeding it to her to keep her with him. In October last year, three months before the murders, Ms DiPalermo flew over from her home in New Hampshire determined to take her daughter back to the US to get help. "I went to the doctor and begged them to have her psychiatrically committed because she was not herself," Ms DiPalermo said. Holly Alexander's mother, Lorraine DiPalermo, said she had tried to get her daughter sent home "She could not make a decision. She showed up in pyjamas. It wasn't her because she was so under the influence of drugs, she was psychotic from it. "They would not help me." Ms DiPalermo said she then begged the police to arrest her daughter. "I told them I had been to the apartment and there was drugs and there was a gun," she said. "They went and raided the apartment. They found the drugs, they found other weapons but they said there was no gun. "They never did anything." She said: "Ronnie Kidd was an informer so they didn't want to disrupt him and that's why my daughter's dead." Ms DiPalermo contrasted the attitude of the Scottish police with that of the US authorities. She said: "If someone was in the States and their mother came to the police and said what I said, and showed them what I showed them, they would have definitely got that person out of there. Absolutely. "If someone is asking for help, give it to them."

SCOTLAND BANS FRACKING FOR GOOD….  They don’t have the energy. Scotland’s government has permanently extended its moratorium on the extraction of oil and gas from shale rock, known as fracking, after years of protests. While the practice has revolutionized the U.S. fuel industry, opponents argue that it contaminates water and air, as well as sparking earthquakes. In his announcement yesterday, Scottish Energy Minister Paul Wheelhouse told Parliament the ban would cost Scotland a mere 0.1 percent of its annual GDP. Environmental groups lauded the ban, but deep-pocketed petrochemical companies are expected to challenge the decision.

FORENSIC SCIENTIST HOPES TO END OLD FOX MYSTERY…. A forensic examination due to start on Thursday will seek to end a long-running mystery about the final resting place of a Highlands clan chief. Nicknamed the Old Fox, Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat, was a Jacobite sympathiser who did deals with the cause's enemies. Following his execution in London, it is said his headless body was taken to his family's cemetery near Inverness. Forensic scientist Dame Sue Black is to study what are said to be his remains. After being beheaded in 1747, Lord Lovat's body was buried under the floor of a chapel at the Tower of London, according to the official account. However, according to the Clan Fraser, his body was intercepted by his supporters and taken back to Scotland where it was laid to rest in his family's mausoleum. A body, minus the head, is in a damaged lead casket inside Wardlaw Mausoleum at Kirkhill, near Inverness. With help from a colleague, University of Dundee-based Prof Black will lay out the bones at the mausoleum and check if they are those of a man, reveal their size and show evidence of injuries and illnesses. The forensic scientist hopes to match cuts on the neck bones with the blade of the axe used in Lord Lovat's execution. The weapon is stored at the Tower of London. Some DNA testing is also to be done at Prof Black's university laboratory. The results of the forensic examination are to be released later this year. READ MORE: https://www.facebook.com/ScotlandScotlandScotland/

ARCHAEOLOGY WORTH £4M TO WESTERN ISLES' ECONOMY…. Standing stones that are 5,000 years old are helping to boost the Western Isles economy by £4m a year, according to a new report. It found that archaeology, including the Callanish standing stones and Dun Carloway, also supports 80 full-time jobs. The analysis was commissioned by the Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. But a council committee heard the historic sites have the potential to be worth £8m and sustain 160 jobs. Plans have now been put forward to help bring in more growth through the development of a trail linking the most prominent sites. Nick Smith, heritage manager with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar told BBC Radio Scotland that the islands wanted to take full advantage of the growing tourism market. He said: "The landscape of the Outer Hebrides is to a large extent a Neolithic landscape. "When you're standing somewhere like Callanish, for example, looking out over the rest of the landscape, you're really looking at something that was to a great extent influenced and moulded by the activity of humans in pre-history. "There's an awful lot more out there than those big popular sites and I think we've got a real opportunity to open people's eyes."

CHIVAS GETS GREEN LIGHT FOR BOTTLING PLANT…. Spirits producer Chivas Brothers has been given planning permission for a new bottling plant at its Kilmalid site in Dumbarton. Chivas announced in November last year that it planned to close its operations in Paisley and spend £40m on a new state-of-the-art facility in Dumbarton. It said all permanent employees based in Paisley would transfer to the new site within three years. Chivas said work on the bottling hall would begin immediately. Chief executive Laurent Lacassagne said: "With an 80-year history in Dumbarton, we're proud to be investing and expanding in this community and look forward to progressing the project to the next stage." When it made the announcement last year, Chivas Brothers had 460 full-time employees at Paisley and 600 at Kilmalid. The new facility was scheduled for completion by the end of 2019. Chivas Brothers is part of drinks giant Pernod Ricard. The company's portfolio includes Chivas Regal, Ballantine's, Beefeater Gin and The Glenlivet.

On that note I will say that I hope you have enjoyed the news from Scotland today,

Our look at Scotland today is of the Old Foxes resting place……

A Sincere Thank You for your company and Thank You for your likes and comments I love them and always try to reply, so please keep them coming, it's always good fun, As is my custom, I will go and get myself another mug of "Colombian" Coffee and wish you a safe Monday 9th October 2017 from my home on the southern coast of Spain, where the blue waters of the Alboran Sea washes the coast of Africa and Europe and the smell of the night blooming Jasmine and Honeysuckle fills the air…and a crazy old guy and his dog Bella go out for a walk at 4:00 am…on the streets of Estepona…

All good stuff....But remember it’s a dangerous world we live in

Be safe out there…

Robert McAngus

[robertmcangusgroup]

The Daily Tulip

The Daily Tulip – International Archaeological News From Around The World

Friday 28th July 2017

Good Morning Gentle Reader….  I can hear the excitement building as the post appears on the screen…”What have they discovered this week?” I hear the voices say.. Stuff.. Lots of stuff…. Is my response to those eager and excited readers … It’s that time again.. The Antiquarians News Report… best read with your favourite beverage close at hand as there is going to be lots of Gasping and Amazing and a few “I told you so’s” .. I would suggest you make yourself comfortable… The management of the Daily Tulip.. (That’s Bella and Me) are not responsible for any Yahoo’s that annoy the next door family, Sore throats from the Yippee’s and we wish to inform you that no animals were injured in the discoveries below….

SMALL POT UNEARTHED AT SCOTLAND’S NESS OF BRODGAR…. ORKNEY, SCOTLAND—BBC News reports that a rare small pot with a “waisted” profile has been discovered at the Ness of Brodgar, a 5,000-year-old complex of monumental stone buildings enclosed by thick stone walls. Victorian archaeologists suggested such pots could have held incense, perhaps in ceremonies, according to site director Nick Card. He added that such pots seem to be associated with the burials, but analysis of residues in the pots has been inconclusive. The pots could also have been used to carry embers for cremations, he said.

A HISTORY OF CITRUS FRUIT…. TEL AVIV, ISRAEL—Archaeobotanist Dafna Langgut of Tel Aviv University has traced the spread of citrus fruit from Southeast Asia to the Mediterranean, according to a report in Live Science. She used ancient texts, murals, coins, and other artifacts to study the ancient citrus trade, and she tracked the spread of citrus fruits from Southeast Asia into the Mediterranean through fossil pollen, charcoals, seeds, and other fruit remains. Langgut found that by the third and second centuries B.C., the citron had spread to the western Mediterranean from the Levant, where a 2,500-year-old fruit was found in a Persian-style garden in Jerusalem. The oldest lemon found in Rome dates to sometime between the late first century B.C. and the early first century A.D. She explained that, at first, lemons and citrons were reserved for the Roman elite, who prized them for their healing qualities, pleasant odor, taste, and symbolic use. She thinks sour oranges, limes, and pomelos may have been grown as cash crops more than a millennium later, which made them available to more people. “The Muslims played a crucial role in the dispersal of cultivated citrus in Northern Africa and Southern Europe, as evident also from the common names of many of the citrus types which were derived from Arabic,” Langgut said.

POSSIBLE EXTINCT HUMAN RELATIVE DETECTED IN SALIVA…. BUFFALO, NEW YORK—According to a report in The International Business Times, researchers led by Omer Gokcumen of the University at Buffalo say they detected a “ghost” species of ancient hominin while they were studying a protein that occurs in saliva and its influence on the bacteria in the human mouth. To study the protein, known as MUC7, the researchers examined the MUC7 gene in more than 2,500 modern human genomes. The researchers say a version of the gene found in people living in sub-Saharan Africa was “wildly different” from those found in other modern humans. Gokcumen explained that even the MUC7 genes from Neanderthal and Denisovan samples were closer to those of other modern human populations than the sub-Saharan variant. He thinks the variation may have been introduced to the population by an as-yet-undiscovered hominin that lived as recently as 150,000 years ago, based upon gene mutation rates.

DOG DOMESTICATION: THE SURVIVAL OF THE FRIENDLIEST?.... PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY—Live Science reports that it may have taken just a few genetic changes to transform wolves into creatures who can communicate and interact with humans. An interdisciplinary team of researchers tested the friendliness of domesticated dogs and human-socialized wolves by measuring how much time the dogs and wolves spent around humans, and if they turned to human companions for help in solving a puzzle box. The researchers then analyzed DNA samples taken from the dogs and wolves, and found the differences in social behavior correlated with variations in three genes. “Some of these structural variants could explain a huge shift in a behavioral profile—that you go from being a wolf-like, aloof creature, to something that’s obsessed with a human,” vonHoldt said. The researchers also looked at those three genes in samples from 201 dogs from 13 different breeds, some known for their friendliness, and found similar patterns in genetic variation and friendly behavior. In humans, missing DNA in the corresponding part of the genome can produce Willilams-Beuren syndrome, which is associated with exceptional gregariousness.

YORKSHIRE YIELDS A GLIMPSE OF BRITAIN’S 19TH-CENTURY INDUSTRY…. SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND—BBC News reports that excavations have recently been conducted at two early nineteenth-century steel-making sites in Yorkshire. The region was well suited to industry because iron, coal, and water power were readily available. The excavation at Hollis Croft uncovered an early cementation furnace, which was used to convert iron into blister steel. At the Titanic Works, crucible furnaces, which were developed in Sheffield, have been well preserved in three cellars. “You can see the driving force for Britain’s industrial revolution,” said archaeologist Milica Rajic of Wessex Archaeology.

FISHING WEIR IN SOUTHERN ENGLAND DATED TO NINTH CENTURY A.D….. HAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND—BBC News reports that a 500-foot-long timber fishing trap found in a tidal estuary on the southern coast of England has been radiocarbon dated to the eighth or ninth centuries. At low tide in the salt marsh, fish trapped in the weir would have been easy to catch by hand or with a net. The discovery will help scientists map changes to the shoreline over the past 1,000 years. “It has highlighted the level of erosion in Southampton Water over the last few decades,” said marine archaeologist John Cooper of the University of Exeter. “There are factors like sea level rise and dredging carried out but it shows how dynamic coastal change is.”

Well Gentle Reader I hope you enjoyed our look at the archeological news from around the world this, Friday morning… …

Our Tulips today are growing in Holland overlooked by the windmills...

A Sincere Thank You for your company and Thank You for your likes and comments I love them and always try to reply, so please keep them coming, it's always good fun, As is my custom, I will go and get myself another mug of "Colombian" Coffee and wish you a safe Friday 28th July 2017 from my home on the southern coast of Spain, where the blue waters of the Alboran Sea washes the coast of Africa and Europe and the smell of the night blooming Jasmine and Honeysuckle fills the air…and a crazy old guy and his dog Bella go out for a walk at 4:00 am…on the streets of Estepona…

All good stuff....But remember it’s a dangerous world we live in

Be safe out there…

Robert McAngus