Past & Present

surprisingly learning outside of school and it's not boring. Caution: Occasional typical teenage posts

[historical-nonfiction]

In the mid-1600s, Harvard created the Indian College to “educate” and convert Native Americans. It was closed in 1693.

[pogphotoarchives]

Planting a waffle garden, Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico

Photographer: Jesse Nusbaum Date: 1911 Negative Number 043170

[historicaltimes]

Waffle gardens, sometimes called grid gardens or square foot gardens, are a traditional dryland farming technique used by native people in the southwestern United States to conserve water.

[britishmuseum]

Ancient Greece – Hellas – was not a nation as it is today, but comprised independent city-states (poleis, singular: polis). Though Hellenes shared a common language, religion and set of moral values, there was continuous conflict between them. Athens and Sparta fought a protracted war from 431 to 404 BC, known as the Peloponnesian War. Most Greek male citizens could expect to be called on to fight, and caring for the body was considered both a social and political obligation.

These jugs (called choes) were painted during the worst years of the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta. Their carefree charm contrasts with the hardship that many Athenians would have suffered at the time. The jugs are related to the annual festival of Anthesteria, in honour of Dionysus, god of wine. Children who had reached the age of 2 or 3, and thus had survived infancy, were given a first taste of wine from a little jug, and the images on these jugs often depict small children at play.

You can see these jugs in our exhibition Defining beauty: the body in ancient Greek art (26 March – 5 July 2015).

You can also find out more about the exhibition in the catalogue by Ian Jenkins.

Jugs (choes). Greek, made in Athens, 440–400 BC.

[mashable]

Photographer Murad Osmann follows his girlfriend through India in this beautiful Instagram series. [via]

Relationship goals. Travel goals. Fashion goals.

[history-museum]

Paris of the 1950s [640x427] history-museum.tumblr.com

[history-museum]

1979: The Revolutionary Women’s Militias of the Socialist Republic of Afghanistan, before the fall of the Soviet Union, and the rise of the Taliban. [640x426] history-museum.tumblr.com

[history-museum]

Mike Clinton of Yakima, Washington shovels volcanic ash off pf the sidewalk following the eruption of Mount St Helens, May 20, 1980 [920x607] history-museum.tumblr.com

[kindathoughtprovoking]

[plaidshirtsandheadscarves]

[museum-of-artifacts]

Wooden bucket with bronze fittings, early middle ages, 575-600 AD, Netherlands, Utrecht.

Visit my Reddit

[museum-of-artifacts]

The stone Tower built into the settlement walls of Jericho.Older than pyramids, it’s 10 000 years old, and it’s the first known defensive building.

Reddit, please visit

[musings-of-a-philhellene]

The Ruins of the Tholos, Delphi, Greece

[ancientart]

A fluted Achaemenid bowl, dated to the ca. 6th–5th century BC. From Iran, this bowl is made of gold, and just over 11cm high. 

In the sixth century B.C., under the leadership of Cyrus the Great (r. 538–530 B.C.), the Achaemenid Persian dynasty overthrew Median kings and established an empire that would eventually extend from eastern Europe and Egypt to India. Achaemenid rulers included such famed kings as Cyrus, Darius I (r. 521–486 B.C.), and Xerxes I (r. 485–465 B.C.). They built palaces and ceremonial centers at Pasargadae, Persepolis, Susa, and Babylon. The Achaemenid Dynasty lasted for two centuries and was ended by the sweeping conquests of Alexander the Great, who destroyed Persepolis in 331 B.C. The Achaemenid period is well documented by the descriptions of Greek and Old Testament writers as well as by abundant archaeological remains.

Fluted bowls and plates of the Achaemenid period continue a tradition begun in the Assyrian Empire. While they were given as royal gifts, it seems that they were also valued and exchanged simply for the weight of the precious metals from which they were made. (MET)

Courtesy of & able to be viewed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Via their online collections: 54.3.1.

[archaicwonder]

Viking Thor’s Hammer Pendant, 10th Century AD

Silver pendant in the shape of a stylized hammer. The obverse side engraved with interlaced bands. The suspension ring in the shape of an eagle’s head. Rare evidence of the veneration of Norse gods from the early period of Christianization.

[history-museum]

Saksaywaman - walled complex on the northern outskirts of the city of Cusco, Peru, the former capital of the Inca Empire. 15th century or earlier. [2850x1580]

[amnhnyc]

On December 1, we’re “opening the doors” of our online classroom and inviting you to join us for a Google+ Hangout event: Our Earth’s Future—A Conversation about Climate Change. 

As part of the curriculum in the American Museum of Natural History’s online course Our Earth’s Future, scientists will discuss lessons learned from Hurricane Sandy and the link between climate change and extreme weather events. This Hangout event will be hosted live from the Museum’s newest exhibition, Nature’s Fury: The Science of Natural Disasters, which investigates how nature’s forces shape our dynamic planet. 

Moderated by Catherine Pomposi, doctoral candidate the Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences at Columbia University, the panel includes Our Earth’s Future course instructor Debra Tillinger, physics professor at Marymount Manhattan College, and Radley Horton, associate research scientist at the Center for Climate Systems Research at Columbia University.  Viewers are encouraged to participate. Submit questions and comments on the Hangout page before or during the event.

[allhaildevin-blog]

MARK UR CALENDARS

[ancientart]

Ring inscribed with a dedication to Hera (goddess of marriage), Greek, Argos, about 575 BC.

“Harriknidas dedicated [this] to the goddess white-armed Hera" declare the words on this simple, gold-plated silver ring. At first the ring was decorated only with two rows of small teeth between grooves running around its exterior. The inscription was a later addition. The wear on the ring shows that it was worn for a long time before the inscription was added and the ring was dedicated to Hera. The large diameter of the ring suggests that it was probably worn by a man.

The way that Greek letters were written differed from city to city in the 500s B.C. The inscription on this ring is written in the script of Argos in southern Greece. Hera was the patron deity of Argos, and this ring probably came from her main sanctuary, called the Argive Heraion. Although Homer routinely called Hera “white-armed,” this epithet is not known from the Argive Heraion. Rings were a favorite dedication at this sanctuary, however, where over six hundred have been found. This ring represents a rich gift to the goddess since almost all the other rings found were made of bronze. (getty)

Courtesy of & currently located at The J. Paul Getty Museum, Villa Collection, Malibu, California. Via their online collections: 85.AM.264.

[history-museum]

WWII 20th ARMD. Div map from my grandfather