M.J. Rose

Now human were the neanderthals? Were they stocky brutes with human minds, or just brutes? Does new evidence of possible neanderthal “culture” provide an answer to this question?

The Neanderthal mind

Troglodytes who couldn’t compete, or humans with complex culture? The mystery of our nearest relatives deepens

by Marek Kohn (aeonmagazine.com)

“Among the oldest human objects that unequivocally defy practical explanations are shells punctured with holes. Try as you might, it’s hard to see them as anything other than beads or pendants. Traces of ochre at sites occupied by ancient humans offer earlier hints of adornment, perhaps even of symbolism, but sceptics argue that the pigment might have been used for some practical purpose: tanning hides, for instance. In perforated seashells, however, we find the first truly compelling tokens of expressive humanity.

Early humans must have reached beyond their immediate concerns in many ways that have left no traces. But they did reach for shells very early. Some 75,000 years ago in southern Africa, they gathered and pierced them, perhaps to make bracelets or necklaces. Twenty-five thousand years later and nearly 10,000km away, in what is now southern Spain, others collected naturally perforated shells. Independently and far removed from each other, humans took similar paths into expressive culture. What does that tell us about the human mind?…”

Click here for the rest.

When reading about a bygone era in a great historical novel, it’s easy to get lost in the romance of the past – until we remember that life was incredibly hard back then!

Here’s another excellent article from Atlas Obscura:

(Remember to eat an orange today!)

“Identified by Hippocrates and by the Egyptians as early as 1550 BC, Scurvy was originally a relatively rare and mysterious ailment which struck on land during long campaigns and overland journeys when fresh provisions failed.

Caused by a lack of Vitamin C in the diet, with the notable exception of humans and the guinea pig, most plant and animal species synthesize vitamin C, and do not require it in the diet. But we do. Which, as it turns out, is a real problem.

But let’s begin at the beginning, and meet that strange beast known as…

“Land Scurvy:” Curse of the Crusaders!…”

The rest, here.

This art is so deeply strange and oddly intriguing – are the installations permanently marking real locations commemorating history from an alternate reality? Or are the markers temporary art pieces placed strategically for short periods of observation? Either way, the work touches on the concepts of memorials, travel, geography, and history in a way that gets our imagination soaring…

THE BELIEVER – NOVERMBER/DECEMBER 2009

Discover Kymaerica

The brick courtyard was adjacent to the railroad tracks on Atlanta’s industrial west side—and part of a structure that had been transformed from its industrial roots to become the home of a five-star restaurant. I must have taken a wrong turn, because instead of finding the bathroom, I ended up staring at a bronze plaque that had been welded into the concrete abutting the building’s electrical boards. It looked just like one of the historical markers scattered throughout the South to mark every scrape and scuffle of the Civil War…

They even have their own travel guides.

More about this here.