#prehistoric alphabet

[bluepoke483]

Alphabet lore Prehistoric Animals AU

[ladychandraofthemoone]

In my au Stanley (narrow gauge) has a special interest in insects (I hc him as being into animals, they don’t judge you for your “jinx” and he’s got a soft spot for critters that are seen as “bad luck”) and tends to blurt out the most detailed information, he often info-dumps with and to Nia who encourages it cause it makes him happy once he’s freed from his “jinx” and she know every single insect name alphabetically along with their scientific names and nicknames Here we have Duke immediately regretting asking them if they can name every single species and ends up sleeping when they’re engrossed in their conversation before leaving when they were in the mid section of the e category (Nia gave him “the disappointment older sister look” awhile back so the poor guy can trapped there and wondered how did he got ever himself into this situation)

Basically it’s just Stanley to Duke in alphabetical order: Alderflies Angel Insects Anoplura (Sucking lice) Ants Antlions Aphids Archeognatha (Bristletails) Barklice Bees Beetles Bird lice Biting lice Blattodea (Cockroaches) Booklice Bristletails Bugs Butterflies Caddisflies Chewing lice Cicadas Cockroaches Coleoptera (Beetles) Collembola (Springtails) Crickets Damselflies Diplura Diptera (Flies) Dobsonflies Dragonflies-

Nia joining in cause she was mad at Duke: ah yes the alderfly which are megalopteran insects of the family Sialidae. They are closely related to the dobsonflies and fishflies as well as to the prehistoric Euchauliodidae. All living alderflies – about 66 species all together are part of the subfamily Sialinae, which contains nine extant genera. Sialinae have a body length of less than 25 mm (1 inch), long filamentous antennae, and four large dark wings of which the anterior pair is slightly longer than the posterior. They lack ocelli and their fourth tarsal segment is dilated and deeply bilobed. Dead alderfly larvae are used as bait in fishing-

duke:shooketh (Nia’s is basically the train version of a encyclopedia also her design is based off of MrTerrier673 on Twitter)

[nonovyabuisness]

Life series X Pokemon :

Each lifers will have one ‘fully’ evolved pokemon that I believe suits them in all of the life series ( series such as X life or New life will not be included).

[Some members may have shinies ✨]

The members are listed in alphabetical order.

Bdubs: ✨ Scrafty

- Both enjoy fighting and look like they get beaten up often even if no fights happened that day.

- It’s a shiny because Shiny Scrafty’s green clothes (?) is reminiscent of Bdubs’ moss cape skin.

BigB: Breloom

- A kind being that should not be taken lightly.

- Also Breloom’s spores can paralyze or poison opponents, just like BigB paralyzed Grian with his gaslighting and can easily poison others by lying.

Cleo: Delphox

- Arson fox that is super effective against Etho’s pokemon and BigB’s.

-Also a reference to Witchcraft!SMP where she was one of the finalists. Plus Orange hair so Orange pokemon.

Etho: Bisharp

- Etho reminds me so much of the Shadow Triad so I decided to give him their titular Pokemon.

- I considered Greninja but as a redstoner, Etho might not appreciate the water.

- Plus it’s funny when the two scary looking beings are actually the most easily frightened.

- Fun fact, Bisharp hasn’t battled in so long that its blades have almost become dull (both are washed up /j).

Geminitay: Bewear

- In Limited Life she acts like a mama bear towards Scar.

- Is overall very friendly but is a menace (especially towards Etho).

- Now that she’s in Secret Life, Bewear works well with the cherry blossom and band theme she has going on.

- Plus, just like Bewear accidentally harms others by trying to show affection, Gem hurts herself and her allies by creating other alliances that don’t last.

Grian: Archeops

- Pesky bird.

- I put Toucannon at first and almost put Honchkrow but both look too serious to be associated with Grian.

- So goofy prehistoric parrot that is easily demotivated (defeatist ability) for the button man.

Impulse: Ampharos

- The yellow color scheme as well as the fact that Impulse is generally more on the kind, gentle side but is also able to hold his own.

Jimmy: Kilowatrel

- Canary in a coal mine.

- Kilowatrel is one of the best yellow bird Pokemon that isn’t too mocking ( Yellow Oricorio) or too serious ( Pidgeoto/Blaziken/ shiny Sirfetch’d).

- The pre-evolution looks a bit silly tho.

Joel: ✨Turtonator

- An explosive fella.

- Also a Pokemon that serve as a reminder that most of Joel’s trap/plan either don’t work or backfire on him or his allies.

- Shiny Turtonator because the shiny colors match Joel’s Green and yellow color scheme.

Lizzie: Togekiss

- Avoids conflict and is generally content with roaming around, peacefully picking flowers. Head in the clouds.

- But remains a strong and smart opponent that shouldn’t be underestimated.

*Volo and Cynthia war flashbacks *

Martyn: Trevenant

- A fierce and loyal protector of his home but still remains a solitary being.

- Trevenant’s ability to blend in with the surrounding trees in forest and gather information by communicating with the forest, is a nod to Martyn’s ability to sneak around undetected gathering valuable intel.

Mumbo: Sableye

- Hermit hiding away in the shadows (bunker) and using (end) crystals to attack.

Pearl: ✨ Absol

- Wherever they go, disaster soon follows. Seeing them is a warning to all.

- Shiny Absol because the colors matches with the ‘Scarlet Pearl’ skin.

Rendog: Sirfetch’d

- A king and a knight, unwilling to let go of their flair for the dramatics even after their kingdom as fallen. I thought of Kingambit or Aegislash but both are too serious and only fit 3rd Life Ren. Sirfetch’d is regal yet remains goofy like Ren.

Scar: Liepard

- Shady business man and his cat jellie. Both mischievous and not against stealing.

- Also it would be funny to picture all the Jellie interruptions as just him talking to his very real Pokemon partner.

- Jellie would definitely try to eat Grian’s Archeops.

Scott: ✨ Gallade

- Always honorable and upholding their end of the deal. But aren’t against using force to achieve what they want.

- Shiny so that the colors match ( also provides a good contrast to Pearl’s shiny Absol).

Skizzleman: Braviary

- A brave being that leads the team.

- All of Braviary’s dex entry mentions it battling for its friend even if it’s injured.

- The pokemon White dex entry mentions that the more scars a Braviary has, the more respect he’s has from his peers. Skizzleman’s skin has scars on its arms.

- Also Skizz is often represented with angel wings so why not give him a bird.

- I don’t know if it should be a shiny or not however.

Tango: Rapidash

- A being with a unruly temper that does not take kindly to betrayal or competition.

- Could have helped with the whole Torchy task.

- Tango is often represented with hair that lights on fire when upset, just like Rapidash’s mane burns hotter when upset or fighting.

[akariuta311101]

The Dinosaur Alphabet

Hello everyone,

I'm excited to launch a new daily series where I'll share captivating facts about dinosaurs, starting from A-Z. Whether you're a seasoned dinosaur enthusiast or simply curious about the prehistoric world, I invite you to join me on this educational adventure. Stay tuned for the first dinosaur !!

[cancerravenclaw]

wolfstar drabble bc I was inspired by my trip to the science museum over the weekend—

The blue-glow of the water cast Sirius in a bath of color in the dimly lit aquarium. The glass was cold and thin beneath his fingers as he tracked the octopus in front of him moving across the sandy bottom of the tank. Life carried on around him, but the excited squeals of children dampened into a quiet hum of electricity the longer he stayed in his little bubble of light and awe.

Of course, it was more than just the off chance of finding himself face to face with an Great Pacific Octopus on a Saturday afternoon that held such weight. It was the hour of wandering by Remus’ side that had led them here—brushing hands and holding pinkies, fleeting, stolen touches in the crowd, all culminated to such a moment. Time had distorted and passed in a blur, hovering a breath away from one another as they went—an orbit that had nothing to do with the planetarium on the other side of the large museum.

Aimless footsteps meandering side by side through the exceptional and the mundane—charting novel territory where the lines blurred and place and time lost its ridgid rule in the prehistoric and futuristic. Something carried on from another life to the next, meeting them there in waiting.

They were alone, even amongst the masses.

The awe settled once the octopus stilled, and Sirius turned to find Remus close, watching him stare into the tank like a child. But Remus didn’t look at him like a fool, or something to be made light of. No, he looked at Sirius like he was drinking the moment in right along with him, despite never looking away from his face.

Amber eyes, wide and fixed, shiny in the neon glow. Bottomless and brimming with something that had no name. Not because there wasn’t a word for what Sirius saw at the depth of such an emotion, but because it was something no alphabet could spell out. Simple linguistics couldn’t hold up to the gravity of it.

It wasn’t electric, or butterflies, or giddiness, or anything between them Sirius had come to recognize. This was something that could only be heard in the silence, could only be seen with the light out, secret hard-won and kept until the world dimmed and it was just the two of them, illuminated in one another.

If there were such a word, it would offer only four letters. If there were a sentiment to summarize that look, it would be tied up in a three syllable bow.

Sirius didn’t wait for the words to come—he didn’t need to. It would remain heavy behind Remus’ lids, radiating through glowing gold the second he looked Sirius’ way.

He knew what it was; it said enough.

Remus’ lips parted, eyes drifting to his lips and back, the space between them heady.

Another second and then Remus blinked, an easy smile stretching across his mouth—the moment gone as quickly as it came. Reaching for Sirius’ pinky, Remus gently tugged him away and towards a tank where a Moon Jelly hovered.

Sirius followed, knowing that no matter where Remus led him next, he’d find just what he needed waiting for him as long as they were together.

[cigarashexpert]

arthur conan doyle's words

sadly i just realised there's a word limit, so the rest will be in a reblog. this is just a list i created using the genius of chatgpt, so thank him hahah. it's just a list of words prominent in arthur conan doyle's writing and in victorian dictionary in general :) i just sorted the list in alphabetical order, that's all. also, there's around 300 words, so sorry for the misinformation. here we go :)

Aberration - A deviation from what is normal or expected; often used to describe something that is unusual or unexpected.

Abstemious - Moderate in eating and drinking; often used to describe someone who practices self-restraint or frugality.

Abstruse - Difficult to understand or obscure.

Adumbrate - To give a faint or partial outline of something; often used to describe a rough or preliminary sketch.

Agglomerate - To collect or gather into a cluster or mass; often used to describe something that is densely packed or crowded.

Anachronism - A thing or person that is out of place in a particular time period; often used to describe something that is anachronistic or outdated.

Anathema - A person or thing that is cursed or greatly detested; often used to describe a feeling of intense dislike or hatred.

Anodyne - Something that relieves pain or discomfort; often used to describe a remedy or treatment that soothes or eases.

Antediluvian - Extremely old or ancient; often used to describe something that is prehistoric or from a bygone era.

Apotheosis - The highest point of development or culmination; often used to describe a person or thing that has reached the pinnacle of success.

Arcane - Secret or mysterious; often used to describe knowledge or information that is difficult to understand or access.

Arrant - Utter or complete; often used to describe something that is considered to be extreme or without reservation.

Asperity - Harshness or severity; often used to describe a rough or difficult situation or personality.

Attenuate - To weaken or reduce in strength; often used to describe something that is diminished or made less intense.

Augury - A sign or omen that is used to predict the future; often used to describe a prophetic or foreboding event.

Autodidact - A person who is self-taught; often used to describe someone who has acquired knowledge through their own efforts.

Avaricious - Having an extreme desire for wealth or material gain; greedy.

Avuncular - Kind or affectionate, like an uncle; often used to describe someone who is friendly and helpful towards younger people.

Bellicose - Inclined towards aggression or conflict; often used to describe a person or nation that is warlike or aggressive.

Bifurcate - To split or divide into two branches or parts; often used to describe a forked or divided structure.

Brobdingnagian - Extremely large or immense; often used to describe something that is colossal or gargantuan.

Cabal - A secret political clique or group; often used to describe a conspiratorial or secretive organization.

Capricious - Unpredictable or impulsive; often used to describe a person or situation that is subject to sudden or erratic changes.

Carnal - Relating to the body or physical desires; often used to describe something that is sensual or sexual in nature.

Censorious - Highly critical or fault-finding; often used to describe someone who is excessively judgmental or disapproving.

Chagrin - A feeling of embarrassment or humiliation caused by a failure or disappointment.

Chicanery - Deception or trickery, often used to gain an advantage over others.

Clandestine - Secret or hidden; often used to describe something that is kept concealed or confidential.

Cogent - Clear, logical, and convincing; often used to describe a persuasive argument or case.

Compendium - A concise summary or collection of information; often used to describe a comprehensive overview or review.

Concomitant - Accompanying or associated; often used to describe something that is closely linked or connected.

Contiguous - Touching or sharing a common boundary; often used to describe things that are adjacent or neighboring.

Contravene - To violate or go against; often used to describe a breach of rules or regulations.

Convivial - Friendly, lively, and enjoyable; often used to describe a festive or social atmosphere.

Coruscate - To sparkle or glitter; often used to describe something that shines or glistens brightly.

Coterie - A small, exclusive group of people with shared interests or tastes; often used to describe a close-knit community.

Cupidity - Greed or avarice; often used to describe an excessive desire for wealth or material possessions.

Decorous - Proper or socially acceptable; often used to describe behavior or actions that are appropriate or respectable.

Defenestration - The act of throwing someone or something out of a window; often used figuratively to describe a sudden and dramatic dismissal or removal.

Deleterious - Causing harm or damage, often in a gradual or subtle way.

Deleterious - Harmful or damaging; often used to describe something that has a negative impact on health or well-being.

Demagogue - A political leader who appeals to people's emotions and prejudices rather than their reason or intellect; often used to describe a charismatic but manipulative speaker.

Denouement - The final resolution or outcome of a story or plot; often used to describe the climax or conclusion of a narrative.

Deracinate - To uproot or remove from a place of origin; often used to describe the displacement or forced migration of people or cultures.

Desuetude - Disuse or neglect; often used to describe something that has fallen out of practice or become obsolete.

Diaphanous - Light, delicate, and transparent; often used to describe fabrics or materials that are gauzy or sheer.

Didactic - Intended to teach, particularly in having moral instruction as an ulterior motive.

Dilatory - Slow or sluggish; often used to describe someone who is procrastinating or delaying action.

Discomfiture - Embarrassment or frustration; often used to describe an uncomfortable or awkward situation.

Disparage - Regard or represent as being of little worth or value; speak of in a derogatory manner.

[reasoningdaily]

A Dictionary of Symbols

A Dictionary of Symbols

we are adding the link since there have been requests for this book download - please make sure you download, because this book will be in Tumblr Black Truebrary

A Dictionary of Symbols

A Dictionary of Symbols

we are adding the link since there have been requests for this book download - please make sure you download, because this book will be in storage and then zipped within an archive in the next month

64.media.tumblr.com

At every stage of civilization, people have relied on symbolic expression, and advances in science and technology have only increased our dependence on symbols. An essential part of the ancient arts of the Orient and Western medieval traditions, symbolism underwent a twentieth-century revival with the study of the unconscious. Indeed, symbolic language is considered a science, and this informative volume offers an indispensable tool in the study of symbology. Its alphabetical entries--drawn from a diverse range of sources, including all of the major world religions, astrology, alchemy, numerology, heraldry, and prehistoric art--clarify the essential and unvarying meanings of each symbol. Whether used as a reference or browsed for pleasure, this informative volume offers a valuable key to elucidating the symbolic worlds encountered in both the arts and the history of ideas. 32 b/w illustrations.

FOREWORD

But in general the greatest use of the volume will be for the elucidation of those many symbols which we encounter in the arts and in the history of ideas. Man, it has been said, is a symbolizing animal; it is evident that at no stage in the development of civilization has man been able to dispense with symbols. Science and technology have not freed man from his dependence on symbols: indeed, it might be argued that they have increased his need for them. In any case, symbology itself is now a science, and this volume is a necessary instrument in its study. 

HERBERT READ

CLICK THE TITLE TO DOWNLOAD THIS BOOK FROM THE BLACK TRUEBRARY

[jayjuno]

Conjunctions in languages

A linguistic digression:

The "eh" and "ee" sounds stand for "and" in many European languages. After that, most European languages use a variation of "oh" or "ah" sounds to stand for "and"; or "un" or "und" sounds if they're Germanic.

Languages and linguistics is another hobby of mine that I'm still learning about, but I've already noticed this pattern of "eh" or "ee" for many European languages.

It's spelled "et" in French, but the t is silent in pronunciation. Spanish spells "y" but it's pronounced "ee". In Russian, "and" is transliterated into English with a capital I from the original character- which resembles a reversed or upside-down capital N from the English alphabet- but is pronounced "ee" here too.

Latin's "et" has the silent t like French- it's pronounced "eh" which is similar to the French pronunciation, which sounds more like "eeh".

I don't believe learning a second or more languages is as hard as some academics want everyone to believe- it's really just about noticing patterns like this "eh/ee" sound and other sounds being used across different languages, and then just taking the time to commit it to memory. If you practice reading slowly for about 20 minutes or more 5 days a week, you'd probably get the basics of a language within a few months.

I lost the book, but a linguistics book I read talked about how most languages descended from the original Proto-Indo-European (PIE) language share similarities. Almost all modern European languages are descended from PIE, which helps explain why most of them would have similarities to each other.

This book also talked about how memorizing conjunctions like "and" across different European languages is like a cheat code for learning multiple languages, at least ones derived from PIE. Even if you don't know many words, if you learn the conjunctions that many European languages share, then you should get to the point where you can read any of these languages and get the basic gist of what's being said. After memorizing conjunctions, you slowly build on that foundation with individual words that are unique to each language.

The words "god" and "deity" and "zeus" are all ultimately derived from PIE- English, German, Greek, Latin, French, Spanish, and even Russian all have a common ancestor (so to speak). The original PIE word for a god is something like "d'ues" or "deus", like Zeus, but with a D instead of a Z sound at the start.

And even though Ancient Sumerian is an isolated language, and thought to have no connection with PIE, I have a hard time believing these two languages, which existed at roughly the same time period, had absolutely no influence on one or the other.

Sumerians used "gah" for "and", which kind of reminds me of the "jah" in Finnish (pronounced "yah"). This is not proof that there's a connection between Sumerian and prehistoric European languages- but it might imply there's something to Noam Chomsky's theories of Universal Language, even if his particular ideas ultimately missed the mark.

I need to do more research...

End of digression.

[jessicalprice]

you got your known Minoans and your unknown Minoans (part one)

(reposted, with edits, from Twitter)

Image: The famous “Ladies in Blue” Minoan fresco.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the Minoans. Everyone loves the Minoans, right?

(If you love the Minoans, you are not going to love this series of posts.)

Part One: The Case of the Very Victorian Goddess

Let’s start with a description of the pop culture perception of the Minoans: a peaceful ancient Greek culture with sophisticated, surprisingly modernist art, and extremely sophisticated technology like running water, who were lovers of beauty and peace.

So, I read Mysteries of the Snake Goddess: Art, Desire, and the Forging of History by Kenneth Lapatin. The author focuses on the (now, I believe, pretty thoroughly debunked) Boston Goddess, a supposedly Minoan ivory figurine of a snake-handling woman. She was an absolute SENSATION when she was first displayed.

Image: The Boston Goddess

Sir Arthur Evans, the most famous archaeologist of the Minoan civilization, dubbed her the "Minoan ambassadress to the New World." She made a 1967 issue of Mademoiselle's list of "art sensations" alongside Rembrandt, Picasso, and Rodin. The Museum's monthly bulletin for Dec 1914 proclaimed her an icon of a "wonderful prehistoric civilization which, after having lain submerged, like the lost Atlantis, for three thousand years, has been brought to light again..." 

A comparison to Atlantis here is telling.

Victorian "race science" and Victorian occultism were inextricably linked, the latter demonstrating a passion for interpreting the myths of non-European cultures to reflect the ideas of the former. (Its descendants live on as Ancient Aliens theories, etc.) As archaeology became more popular and contact with ancient, sophisticated, and enduring civilizations such as those in India and China increased, white Europeans (especially the Brits) and Americans started to get uncomfortable.

So they started coming up with theories that hey, those people in the East who built all that amazing stuff, who were the "cradle of civilization," who invented the alphabet? They must have been taught by an even OLDER white civilization, now lost.

Image: The Palace of Atlantis by Lloyd K. Townsend, late 19th century, everyone is very Nordic-looking.

Hence the passion for stories about Atlantis and other lost continents. It just couldn't be true that those non-Europeans were building bigger, more sophisticated civilizations long before most (northern) European civilizations built recognizable cities at all.

That longing for proof of ancient European cultural superiority was in the air when excavations of Minoan sites began.

We must have The Oldest Masters

Now, back to the Boston Goddess. Lacey Caskey, writing for the museum, noted that the statuette's distinctive posture "seems not to have been an artistic convention, but a feature of the actual appearance of this aristocratic race."

This aristocratic race. Oof. 

Lapatin observes, in the book, that "Minoan civilization was all the rage, for it seemed to provide Europeans with not only the roots of the ‘Golden Age of Greece,’ long considered the foundation of Western culture, but also a sophisticated early society in its own right, a rival to the 'Oriental' cultures of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia--known as the cradle of civilization..." 

Victorian occultists, of course, tended to claim that their practices were derived from ancient Egyptian or Chaldean rituals. And again, even as they attempted to partake of the antiquity and sophistication of those cultures, they were also trying to prove that white people, or at least divine beings (rather than non-Europeans), built them. (It's always been a bit ironic to me that the Victorians clung to the idea of the superiority of Greece and Rome as the foundation for their ideas of the superiority of white people, while considering contemporary Greeks and Italians not fully white, but I digress.)

And lest you think that I'm hammering too hard on this point, some of the most prominent descriptions of Evans' finds praised the Minoan frescoes as "the Oldest Masters," and his work as proving the culture "bid fair rival to those of the Orient, and to give European Civilization an undreamed of antiquity." 

It's hard to overstate the degree to which the archaeological motivation here was European insecurity.

High-Bred Beauty (and I Am Not, Alas, Describing a Horse)

And why was the Boston Goddess herself such a sensation? Her "exquisite characterization of fragile beauty," her "delicate, high-bred beauty." She is "demure," and "full of resolute charm." Professor Ernest Gardner, at Yale, described her head as "recall[ing] rather the sculptures of Gothic cathedrals of the thirteenth centuries."

Or, to be more explicit and just say the quiet part out loud, her face has also been described as "Anglo-Saxon," "European-looking," "Victorian," "Edwardian," and "Parisienne."

To understand what they’re talking about, let’s do a little compare and contrast. Here are some examples of faces from figurines that, to the best of our knowledge, are actually from Crete c. 1500-1200 BCE.

And here’s a close-up of the Boston Goddess’s face:

And here’s the face of a now-probably-debunked “Minoan” goddess at the Royal Ontario Museum (read more about her here):

To cut to the chase, eventually they did radiocarbon testing on the Boston Goddess, and the ivory was found to date from between 1420 and 1635 CE. (Not BCE. CE. As in the Renaissance.) A similar figurine, the Seattle Boy God, is made from ivory that's about 500 years old. That in itself is pretty fascinating! They were using old ivory for the forgeries.

What do these proven and suspected fakes have in common? Well, among other things, their very Victorian facial features: inset eyes, small pouty mouths, delicate noses.

Spoiler for where I’m going with this: There are reasons why the Minoans were such an archeological craze, and those reasons are highly political. Because of the ways in which a very specific agenda shaped it, fakes that showed people what they wanted to see were accepted as real (and in some cases, are still sort of accepted as real), and we can't trust a lot of what we supposedly "know."

In Part 2: Bagging On Sir Arthur Evans Forever.

[mineralsrocksandfossiltalks]

Sunday Scribbles

I've been working on a dinosaur alphabet book for a little while and today I decided to practice doodling various prehistoric "trees".

These in particular are for a background for a dinosaur found in the Elliot Formation of Africa. Dicroidium was the most common plant in the riparian ecosystem (riverside). It is a very large tree fern.

Heidiphyllum and Rissikia are two different kinds of conifers. So, actual trees. Sphenobaiera is a ginkgoales and Gontriglossa is a gnetophyte.

[beardedmrbean]

I just found out something interesting about a song from Final Fantasy VI

This theme, which plays in Jidoor in the World of Ruin was originally made as an alternate dungeon theme for Final Fantasy II

It was completely removed and isn't even in the code anymore, this is from the All Sounds of Final Fantasy I & II album.

I like the 2nd one there, it's really crisp. That's wild they pulled it too, not like they used up all the space they had for the game usually just leave that stuff there like a load bearing coconut but no load.

I bet your fandom (or whichever website you use) rabbit holes make my wikipedia rabbit holes look pathetic.

Going from project Gemini to prehistoric super continents to the birth of the first Bulgarian empire and the birth of the Cyrillic alphabet was a fun one though

Video game websites have the benefit of keeping you sort of on topic

[hplovecraftmuseum]

As far as I have been able to determine the now extinct star-headed creatures who once inhabited Antarctica more than a million years ago never received an official name. These fictional entities were extraordinarily intelligent and able to produce art and architecture of fabulous intricacy and detail. The delicacy of the bas-relief carvings that covered their buildings were fashioned with 'fingers and hands' resembling fern-corals. Supposedly as much plant as animal, the 'star-heads' created a form of writing that might be rendered visually as a complex form of Braille. As Lovecraft tells the story these alphabet inscriptions were carved in bands of soapstone inlaid into the base structural stone of the buildings. This decorative soapstone is colored green. Green of course was one of HPL's most frequently featured colors. The B+W illustration of the prehistoric city of AtMoM was by H.V. Brown from ASTOUNDING STORIES. The "star- head in bronze was by David Donoho. (Exhibit 332)

[horseboneologist]

There have been a lot of posts going around lately talking about children posting 'discourse' and 'rancid takes' online. It's all "kids need to get off TikTok" and "when I was 12 I was playing outside, kids these days only know iPad and lie" and??? Are y'all okay??? I promise, I pinky-swear promise you that kids are still playing outside. Kids are still playing imagination games and running around by the creek and making paper airplanes in school. Yes the world is limited in ways it wasn't for older generations, and yes children need child-friendly spaces on the internet, but for fuck's sake y'all, these kids are still kids!! The real difference with this generation is that the rest of us are seeing them play-act as adults, because they have public platforms to do so! The don't somehow have worse opinions than we did at that age, we're just overhearing the shitty opinions that 12-year-olds share with each other.

"Different generation" this, "times are changing" that, I swear to god. When prehistoric humans settled their first villages and took up agriculture, how much you want to bet adults were saying "when I was 12 I was already leading my first wildebeest hunt, kids these days only know plough and thresh" like come ON.

Yes, my cousin has an iPad. He also has water balloon fights with his big brother. And he loves reading and doing cartwheels. His big brother has a girlfriend who holds his hand at lunch and he plays baseball and loves hotwheels. Kids are still out there making mud soup and pretending to be witches and inventing secret alphabets for their diaries. The kids are alright, I promise.

[once-was-muses]

anonymous | Send “📂“ for a random yet completely useless headcanon I have

can't see the icon 'm sorry but can i get three (3) random headcanons for herman? :3

One of the few gifts his parents gave him was a subscription to a local science journal that compiled recent published discoveries from around the world and facts/trivia. It was aimed at a much older demographic, but 10 year old Herman easily devoured each issue in only an afternoon. The ensuing evening was then spent voraciously pouring over any further information he could find at the local library on the subjects that most caught his attention.

On that note, young Herman's favorite section (though ot wasn't always featured) was paleontology. His favorite prehistoric creatures were the Dicynodontoides, Styxosaurus, Cyonosaurus, and Anomalocaris.

He prefers organizing things like essays, journals, books, etc. numerically or temporally over alphabetically.

[canis-or-cannotis-lycaon]

Meta: Kindergarten Questions Time! What are your character’s favorite: Color, Dinosaur, Shape, Flavor of Ice Cream, Letter of the Alphabet, Animal, Kind of Juice, Snack,Time to Nap, Texture

[META] What a fun question! I love this.

Color: He'll tell you it's "Cherenkov radiation blue" but in reality he's more of a bronze enjoyer.

Dinosaur: Pachycephalosaur. He definitely didn't ram his head into his sister once when they were playing pretend and he didn't get in a lot of trouble for it.

Shape: If any shape counts, a cross. If not any shape counts, a diamond.

Ice Cream: Mint chocolate chip. With chocolate syrup.

Letter: H because if you cut it in half perfectly it makes two little tonfas or T. Actually, probably T.

Animal: Coelacanths. He loves those funky prehistoric fish

Juice: Orange with just a little bit of vodka in there

Naptime: Gael doesn't really do naps but sometimes he gets one in after school, when he gets home and falls onto the couch like a single woman at an overworked office.

Texture: He loooves leather.

[khinpngon]

Exploring the Ceramics Traditions of Burma

The Southeast Asian nation of Myanmar, or Burma, has a tradition of ceramics. The earliest archaeological finds, dating to around 11,000 BC, produce functional cord-marked potsherds in the Padah-Lin caves along Burma’s border with Yunnan, China, and among a range of Hoabinhian sites in the region.

Archaeologists have found other corded earthenware examples from the Neolithic Age (2,000 to 4,000 BC) in the large basin formed by the Chindwin and Ayeyawady rivers as they flow down from Kani highlands. Undecorated, they made them from fine-grained clay and sand without wheels using coiling and paddling methods. The turning wheel dates back to 3,000 BC, and diggings have also unearthed bowls with various rims and bases.

People used the pottery to store flour, water, and oil lamps. Some Bronze Age finds in the Samon Valley feature small, cylindrical shapes similar to soda cans. People most likely used them for distilling fragrances or alcohol through an evaporative cooling effect. Earthenware of this era had spiritual and everyday significance. They buried them with the deceased, accompanying them on their journey through the afterlife.

Around the second century AD, a distinctive Neem leaf decorative tradition took hold in the lowland delta regions of Burma. The intricately designed leaves often have geometric patterns and depictions of people and animals, such as elephants. It may have indicated a migration of people from India through Burma south to the Malay peninsula’s coastal regions.

Another distinctive tradition associated with the indigenous Pyu culture spanned the fifth century BC to the ninth century AD and encompasses the transition from prehistoric to historic. Distinctive finds in Beikthano, Sriksetra, and Halin include bricks with finger scratches, burial urns, and glass and earthen beads. Archaeologists have also found ceramics with the Pyu-alphabet and distinct potters’ marks. They discovered eighth-century AD tin-lead glazed bricks at the Ngakywenadaung Padoga, positing that Pyu potters introduced glazing techniques to Burma as early as the 5th century AD.

In the mid-1980s, archaeologists found green-and-white glazed wares in the Tak and Omkai region on the Thai-Burma border. These well-preserved plates, often with floral designs, underwent isotope ratio analysis by Japanese collectors, confirming that Burma had another glazed pottery tradition. Since then, archaeologists have uncovered around a hundred production sites spanning 2,000 kilns in regions such as Yangon-Bago, Ayeyawady, and Mandalay. The crossdraft (inground and surface) kilns produced low-temperature lead or tin-lead glazeware and high-temperature celadon (ash glaze) stoneware.

The tin-lead glazeware tradition did not originate in China but came from ancient Egypt. Then, it spread through the sea and overland routes of the Silk Road. Overland routes would have run from India through Thailand or China and down the Ayeyawady River, which is navigable to the lowland delta region.

Many still use the ancient traditions of Burmese pottery. The Sagaing region of central Myanmar has several villages whose economy still revolves around ceramics production. The Oh-Bo village potters follow a five-stage production process for Thingyan and water storage pots that involves collecting raw materials, preparing paste, shaping, applying decorative elements, and firing.

First, villagers source local myayni (red clay) and myaynak (black clay), with the latter coming from the Ayeyarwaddy River’s east bank near the Kaung Mhu Daw pagoda. They knead the two clays and store them in jute or Penang bags for up to two days. Then, they re-knead them before use, ensuring they become sticky enough to create a smooth, shapable ceramic surface.

One potter now places clay blocks on the spinning or potter's wheel while another spins the wheel. Within five minutes, they form a mold and air dry it for a few minutes before a paddle and anvil help create a smooth, rounded pot of the standard thickness. They use a plar (pointed wooden tool) to tap the outside of the pot, creating simple zip-zap and floral designs. After one day of drying, they distribute 1,000 pots upside down among layers of straw and wood for a firing.

Finally, craftsmen apply sticky mud to the straw. The plastering process creates a mud-coated straw layer that encloses the pots. The mud cover ensures that the pots bake slowly and evenly, with the firing process taking around 12 hours. Finally, they clean the pots, making them ready for use. Buyers visit the village to purchase them directly. Buyers can also find sellers along the road.