I love this engraving by the 19th-century French artist Doré Gustave — the viewer’s eye is drawn into the tunnel of the forest, with plant life dominating the scene. Only secondarily do we catch site of the figures — the nude man and woman in conversation are bathed in light, while low in the foreground […]
Dore Gustave’s “Garden of Eden” Engraving Read More »
Here’s a reconstruction of the oldest European mummy, called Ötzi, named for a region where he was found in the Alps back in 1991. His body had been preserved by his glacial environment for 5,300 years, and has been extensively studied by scientists who have put together a fascinating picture of the Iceman and his
By the end of this post, you are likely to know more than you ever thought you would about an extremely coveted medical treatment popularized in Early Modern Europe: Human Skull Moss, aka “usnea”.It was made up of exactly what it sounds like — you can see an example here from the Berlin Botanical Museum.
Human Skull Moss – “Usnea” Read More »
In the most remote parts of central Pennsylvania there are a string of state game lands that go by the name of “St Anthony’s Wilderness”. And on a mountain ridge, accessible only by hiking in, are the ruins of a small coal-mining community around the village known as Yellow Springs. An identifying sign along the
Yellow Springs – Mining Town Read More »
This Greek tablet from the seventh century BCE shows slaves in a mine, surely one of the worst expressions of forced labor in human history. For Ancient Greek history, the most well-known group of forced laborers were the helots of Sparta. Outnumbering the Spartan citizens by a ratio of at least 5:1, the helots were
Slavery and Helots in Ancient Sparta Read More »
This small bronze figure comes from 5th-century BCE Sparta, when the Ancient Greek polis was at the height of its power. Contemporaries and later Ancients had much to report on the education of Spartan boys at this time, which was infamously brutal and unique. Starting at age 7, boys were grouped into “herds” — the
Ancient Spartan Education of Boys Read More »
The Ancient Spartans deliberately cultivated an image of uniform, hyper-masculine, aggressive, militarized toughness. This picture helped maintain their power over their enslaved helots, upon whom the Spartans depended for their labor, wealth, and food. The statue here, known as “Leonidas,” comes from 480-470 BCE at the acme of Spartan dominance. The plumed helm, nude and
Ancient Spartan Masculinity Read More »
This is “Arctium lappa,” aka burdock. Originally from Eurasia, it is now an invasive species in North America — this beautiful specimen was flowering yesterday in the Shenandoah National Park, and July and August are typical months when the spiny bulbs blossom in lavender and purple. Although burdock root has long been used in cuisines
Burdock in Shenandoah National Park Read More »
We hairless humans have been wearing clothing for a long, long time, but exactly when is hard to tell — paintings, statues, or fabrics that give evidence of our garb only appear long after scientists think we started dressing. A paper published by Toups et al. in the journal _Molecular Biology and Evolution_ in 2011
Dzudzuana Cave, human fabric, and skin lice Read More »
What are these wee beasties adorning this 11th-century Old English manuscript? Not bulls-with-fringe legs, but spiders! I love that the artist makes their bodies more like mammalian monsters — but if you count their legs, you do see that at least the artist got the number correct. In Old English, many kinds of crawling things
Spiders in Old English Read More »
If you were ever saddened to learn that Santa Claus isn’t real (sorry), I am here to cheer you up by letting you know that the Ancient Mesopotamians believed in the existence of a fearsome toilet demon that could rise up out of the commode and attack a person at their most vulnerable. This was
Sulak the Mesopotamian Toilet Demon Read More »
What you see here is the Garden of Hercules, a very niche home discovered in the southeastern ruins of the Ancient Roman city of Pompeii. What makes it special is the fact that it had a large garden designed specifically for flower-growing, and the remains of small glass bottles, irrigation techniques, and pollen samples suggests
The Garden of Hercules for Perfume Manufacturing in Ancient Rome Read More »
This is one folio from the precious “Blue Qur’an,” dating from about 850-950 CE. The indigo-dyed parchment is adorned with gold and silver lettering, a treasured example of the heights to which the Arabic-speaking Muslim world brought the art of calligraphy. The era in which this copy of the Qur’an was written overlaps with the
Al-Kindī, Calligraphy and Cryptography in 9th c Middle East Read More »
These “Hero Twins” are two of the most important characters from Ancient Maya mythology, and now we can link their stories to an actual Maya practice of sacrificing boy children, especially twins, in the Classical Maya settlement of Chichén Itzá. The findings appeared this month in the journal _Nature_, co-authored by geneticist Rodrigo Barquera, which
Chichén Itzá Sacrificial Burial of Twin Boys from Hero Twin Myth Read More »
There are many 19th-century paintings like this — where there are seemingly hundreds of minute figures, and you have to concentrate on the small patches of action in order to understand at all what is going on, instead of getting an impression of the whole and then spending time appreciating the details. This one is
This Ancient Egyptian “shadow clock” dates to the Ptolemaic Period (330-306 BCE), but is representative of the earliest known timepieces. The earliest extant dates to about 1500 BCE, but this fragment is much more interesting to look at. Check out the parallel and oblique lines engraved on the sloping face: one would have placed a
The Earliest Timepieces from Ancient Egypt and the Hebrews Read More »
Time for a slice of poetry history! Reader, may I introduce you to one Arnaut Daniel, a late 12th-century troubadour from Provençe in southern France, and most likely candidate for the invention of the _sestina_? This image is from a 13th-century manuscript, which is as contemporary as we can get.Admittedly, neither Daniel nor the sestina
Arnaut Daniel, the 12th c Inventor of the Sestina Read More »
This little Beasty comes from an early 15th-century manuscript as just part of a doodle or marginalia. It looks vampire-ish enough to set the mood about a pope who lived in the same century and was accused of vampirism.And I am talking about Pope Innocent (*queue irony for the name*) the VIII. Like other leaders
Pope Innocent and Vampirism Read More »
We’ve all heard about the toxic use of lead in cosmetics in history: it whitened the skin, which aristocrats from Ancient Roman times well into the 1800s thought was a good look. Of course, it also poisoned the users. The Early Modern employment of “Venetian Ceruse” was particularly popular, and was a combination of lead,
Venetian Ceruse in European Aristocratic Life Read More »
“Diabolus in Musica” is an album by the metal band Slayer, but the group took the title from another place — an alleged accusation of the devil residing in music itself: not just any music, but a certain nefarious sound.This sound is known to music theorists as a “tritone” and it appears in a musical
“Diabolus in Musica” Read More »
