Life's for the living

Live a life that you can be proud to call your own, and everything else will fall into place. So worry less and have more fun ;)

[thefaehomunculus]

A Purrrfect Combo: Are Cat Cafés Alternative Models for Animal Rescue?

Walking by the El Jefe Cat Café in Tucson, AZ, one is greeted with the welcome sight of cats sitting in the window. Some are lounging…

[cavern-of-remembrance-deactivat]

i can upload images and media on this site?? holy shit

[deerstar4]

Only if those images and media please the beasts

[cavern-of-remembrance-deactivat]

does this please the beasts?

[deerstar4]

Reblog if you’re a beast and this pleases you

[wallisninety-six]

Today’s Sunday.

[sixshotstothedome-deactivated20]

you have to rb this on a sunday every time u see this on ur dash

[jonsnowboard]

[woyaogaoxing]

These are fucking amazing

[mizjesbelle]

The figure swinging the earth –  The Force Of Nature by Lorenzo Quinn

The guy being dragged by a bird – part of an installation titled Hacienda Paradise – Utopia Experiment by Fredrik Raddum.

The balancing elephant – Balancing Elephant by Daniel Firman.

The tea splashes kissing – Kiss of Eternity by Johnson Tsang.

The figure emerging from the wall – Break Through From Your Mold by Zenos Frudakis

The meditating figure splitting apart – Expansion by Paige Bradley.

The horses running through water – Mustangs at Las Colinas by Robert Glen.

The giant peeking from under the lawn – Popped Up by Ervin Loránth Hervé

The man under the raining umbrella –  L’uomo della Pioggia (The Rain Man) by Jean-Michel Folon.

The huge bearded guy – The Appennnine Colossus by Giambologna.

The impossibly balanced stones on a beach – Untitled by Adrian Gray

The dragons with an egg – The Dragons in Love or The Varna Dragons by  Darin Lazarov.

The stairway to nowhere –  Diminish And Ascend by David McCracken

The underwater circle – Vicissitudes by Jason deCaires Taylor.

The epic warrior guy – General Guan Yu by Han Meilin

The sinking library –  Sinking Building Outside State Library, Melbourne, Australia.  I couldn’t find an artist’s name.

The giant hand holding a tree – The Caring Hand by Eva Oertli and Beat Huber

[katethevertebrate]

THANK YOU FOR SOURCES

[silkandfirewordsmith73-deactiva]

Always a reblog

[preservedinwriting]

Speak

(Poem)

[preservedinwriting]

I Am Not Myself

(Poem)

[preservedinwriting]

1,200-Year-Old Mummy of a Young Man Tied With Rope Discovered in Peru

Archaeologists in Peru working on a site in the outskirts of the capital Lima have unearthed a mummy believed to be between 800 and 1,200 years old – and, surprisingly, bound with rope.

Peruvian Burial Bindings

A recent discovery of a 1,200-year-old mummy has taken news outlets by storm in recent weeks. What many people have found particularly interesting about this mummy is that it was discovered in a fetal position with the hands covering the face and the body was bound in ropes.

Although the reports speculate that burial was a local funerary custom, the position of the body and the presence of the ropes have led many people to wonder if the individual was a victim of human sacrifice. Their suspicions are certainly founded, as it is widely known that a number of South American and Mesoamerican societies engaged in the practice of human sacrifice. A recent example of this was reported in August of 2019 when Peruvian archaeologists found a mass grave of 200 children that had been sacrificed over 500 years ago. Similarly, archaeologists have found other sacrifice victims, such as the Incan girl known as “Juanita”, that were wrapped in bindings after being killed and buried with valuable objects.  

However, what many people do not know is that the way this individual was buried is a funeral practice known as a “mummy bundle” or “fardos”, and that this was common among ancient Andean societies. In places like Peru, Andean societies commonly arranged the body into a fetal position and then wrapped them in ropes or textiles to form a “bundle”. In some cultures, individuals were wrapped in layers of textiles and ropes. The exact manner in which a person was wrapped appears to have varied among individual tribes, and the wealth and class of the individual may have had an influence (archaeologists have found elite mummies wrapped in very rich textiles). After the individual was fully wrapped, they were decorated with jewelry and buried with offerings such as food and valuables.

Experts believe that this process was meant as a way to preserve the spirit and power of the individual, who was thought to become a sort of “guardian ancestor” after death. The oldest mummies were said to be worshiped as holy relics that were turned to for guidance and support. Evidence of Peruvian mummification dates back to at least 7,000 years ago, which means ancient Andean societies were engaging in the practice 2,000 years before the Egyptians began to mummify their dead.

More readings on Peruvian burial rituals:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/fascinating-afterlife-perus-mummies-180956319/

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1054&context=andean_past&httpsredir=1&referer=

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/peru/mummies/high2.html

http://www.tastescience.com/perumummy/culture1.html

[preservedinwriting]

Before the bow and arrow, one of the first long distance weapons used by ancient people was the atlatl. The word “atlatl” (at-lat-ul) means spear-thrower¬ in the Nahuatl language of the Aztec people. As the name suggests, the atlatl was used to launch small, thin spears that are often referred to as “darts”. This was done by notching the dart onto the atlatl so that the back of the dart fits into the protruding lip on the back end of the atlatl. As seen with the atlatl depicted, some of them were designed with platforms on the front end which could be used to hold the dart. Then, the thrower would hold the dart in place using their fingers while drawing their arm back as if they are about to throw a ball. As they brought their arm forward, the thrower would release their grip on the dart and the atlatl, with the combined force of arm-strength, would sling the dart across long distances. Depending on the design of the atlatl and the strength of the thrower, the darts can reach up to 80 or 90 miles per hour and commonly travel 10 to 30 yards in one shot.

There is evidence of atlatls being used by ancient societies all over the world. The oldest evidence of atlatls so far has been found in Paleolithic European cave art (pictographs) that date back to 21,000 – 17,000 years ago. In the Americas, there is evidence of atlatls being used to hunt large animals as far back as 13,000 years ago. While many cultures replaced the atlatl with the bow and arrow in later periods, some societies continued to use the spear-thrower for centuries after the introduction of the bow. The Aztecs, who dominated much of central America from roughly 1300 CE to the arrival of the conquistadors, continued to expertly utilize the atlatl for both hunting and warfare for the entirety of their history. In Australia, the bow and arrow were not introduced to the continent until the arrival of Europeans in 1788. As such, indigenous Australian cultures continuously used the atlatl for at least 5,000 years, where they refer to them as “woomera”. Currently, the only continent where archaeologists have not found evidence of atlatls being used in the past is Africa.

[preservedinwriting]

Chaco Canyon, geographically located in the San Juan basin of northwest New Mexico, has evidence of occupation as far back as 900 BCE, though experts believe that people began coming to this area much earlier. Chaco Canyon reached its cultural apex from 850 CE – 1150 CE. During this time, the Ancestral Puebloan settlements in this region became some of the largest political, religious, and trade centers in the ancient Southwest. After 1250 CE, there was a steady decline in the influence and occupation of Chaco Canyon as people begin to migrate out of the area. Archaeologists believe the decline of Chaco Canyon may have been caused by a number of factors including severe droughts, lack of resources, and increasing warfare in the region. However, hundreds of years later Chaco Canyon would be occupied again as new cultures migrated into the region, such as the Navajo, Apache, and Ute tribes. As a result, many of the native tribes living in the Southwest today have cultural and religious ties to Chaco Canyon, including (but not limited to) the Navajo, Apache, Hopi, Zuni, Laguna, and Acoma.

In addition to the region’s cultural ties to contemporary Native tribes, Chaco Canyon continues to be of significant interest to archaeologists and historians as well. Experts have been able to identify over 3,600 archaeological sites in the region, and the most well-preserved settlements contain the remains of expertly constructed multi-story buildings. One of the largest sites, Pueblo Bonito is roughly 3 acres in size and has somewhere between 600 – 800 rooms. Several sites in this region also include religious structures, known as kivas, and some locations have rock art that was oriented to mark astronomical events. The people of Chaco Canyon also built a vast network of roads that stretched over significant distances (some as far as 31 miles), which may have been used to facilitate trade, the transport of resources, and communication with other settlements in the region. Archaeological evidence indicates that the Ancestral Puebloans of Chaco Canyon were trading with people as far away as modern-day Mexico, over 1,800 miles away, and they were so influential on other villages in the region that the Chacoan architectural style was being used by other settlements in the Southwest. Today, Chaco Canyon is a National Historic Park that has also been designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.

More readings about Chaco Canyon:

https://www.nps.gov/chcu/learn/upload/Chaco-Brief-History.pdf

https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/free-resources/fact-sheets/who-or-what-is-chaco/

https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/wp-content/uploads/Chaco-Roads.pdf

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/native-american-leaders-say-chaco-prayers-being-answered/2021/11/25/f0545624-4e09-11ec-a7b8-9ed28bf23929_story.html

[preservedinwriting]

When we think of hot chocolate, we often think of marshmallows and a warm, sweet drink on a cold winter’s night. What many people don’t know is that the history of hot chocolate goes back thousands of years, and that this drink was also the favorite of ancient civilizations on the American continent. Archaeologists have found evidence of hot chocolate consumption in Mesoamerican (modern-day Mexico) dating back to 500 BCE. However, more recent studies indicate that the cacao bean, which is used to make chocolate, may have been domesticated in South America as far back as 5,300 years ago. Cacao was an extremely popular delicacy among Mesoamerican cultures such as the Aztec and Maya. It was so valuable, in fact, that the Aztec would demand chocolate from the tribes they conquered as tribute. Hot chocolate was not restricted to Mesoamerica either, as archaeologists have found evidence of cacao beans in the ancient southwest of the United States. At one site, Chaco Canyon, they’ve even found cacao residue on ceramic mugs which indicates that cacao was being consumed in liquid form. What is even more interesting about this is that the cacao beans had to have traveled over 1,000 miles from where they originated to reach Chaco Canyon.

Although this drink was highly valued on the American continent, hot chocolate did not immediately catch on when it was introduced to Europe in the 1500s. This is because it was entirely unsweetened at the time, so many Europeans considered it to be too bitter in its original form. Once they began adding sweeteners such as sugar and vanilla to the concoction, hot chocolate quickly became a favorite of the European elite. In 1828, the invention of the cacao press revolutionized the production of chocolate, making it easier and more affordable to make. For the first time, chocolate, in all its forms, became accessible to the lower classes of European society. In 1840, Swiss innovators Daniel Peter and Henri Nestle developed the first milk chocolate bar and a swift succession of industrial inventions helped develop modern chocolate (and hot chocolate) as we know it today. While the sweeter, European style of hot chocolate has become extremely popular, many people in Mexico, South America, and North America still enjoy the more bitter hot cacao that their ancestors consumed for thousands of years.

More readings on the history of hot chocolate:

https://www.history.com/news/the-sweet-history-of-chocolate

https://www.cuisinenet.com/ingredients/a-very-brief-history-of-hot-chocolate/

https://www.artofmanliness.com/living/food-drink/the-surprisingly-manly-history-of-hot-cocoa/

[preservedinwriting]

Aztec Artifact in Elizabethan England

In October 2021, Cambridge University published an article about an obsidian mirror that has often been associated with Dr. John Dee, the court astrologer and advisor of Queen Elizabeth I of England:

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/mirror-the-magus-and-more-reflections-on-john-dees-obsidian-mirror/38D4BFEA2CB9766973791029C2EE1289

The focus of this article was that archaeologists conducted a geochemical analysis of the mirror, and this study revealed that the obsidian artifact originally came from the Aztec culture of Mesoamerica. Experts believe that the mirror was likely brought to Europe by the Spanish conquistadors, who destroyed the Aztec empire and took many of their cultural objects back to Europe to be sold. At this time John Dee, who was a Renaissance scholar that specialized in mathematics and served in the royal court, was becoming interested in occult topics such as astrology and communicating with spirits. Scholars believe this is what drew the English scholar to the obsidian mirror, and lore about the object states that he tried to use the object to summon spirits. What is unclear is how the mirror came to be in Dee’s possession, as relations between England and Spain were increasingly hostile during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

What is interesting about this case (aside from the mystery of how an Aztec artifact came to be owned by an English Renaissance occult scholar), is that it demonstrates the continuity of history and how cultures interact with one another in various ways. This mirror survived the fall of the Aztec Empire (which killed thousands upon thousands of people) and travelled over hundreds of miles through colonialist trade routes to the court of one of the most famous English monarchs in history. In the Aztec culture, obsidian mirrors were constructed by specialized craftsman and utilized by their elite for practical and religious purposes. The Aztecs also mirrors believed that mirrors were doorways to other worlds. In an intriguing parallel, when the mirror came to England it was used by an elite scholar who was attempting to open his own ‘doorway’ so that he could communicate with spirits. Additionally, modern historians have noted that the increased European interest in ‘exotic’ objects and cultures during were the result of Renaissance scholars trying to understand the world through systematic exploration, both intellectually (through science) and geographically. As such, it can be argued that the history of John Dee’s mirror reflects both the best and worst aspects of cultural interactions between the Old World and the New World during the Renaissance era.  

More readings on John Dee and the Aztecs:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/magic-mirror-used-by-queen-elizabeth-is-court-astrologer-has-aztec-origins-180978830/

https://www.history.co.uk/articles/the-magical-life-of-dr-dee-queen-elizabeth-i-s-royal-astrologer

[thefaehomunculus]

The History of Archery

Origins of the Bow and Its Significance Throughout Time

[thefaehomunculus]

5 Tips for Handling Self-Doubt

How I Handle Insecurity

[guerrillatech]

[wordsandshadows]

See the chap with glasses and an incredible moustache in the bottom right? that’s Magnus Hirschfeld, the gay Jewish doctor who ran the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft (Institute for Sexual Research) in Berlin. It was largely his books, his research that the Nazis burned.

Everyone else in this photo is a trans person that Dr Hirschfeld worked with. This photo was taken at their christmas party.

[noblepeasant]

Except the Nazis didn’t just burn political or sexual books. They burned Kafka novels, they burned Einstein’s textbooks, they burned All Quiet on the Western Front and War of the Worlds and Heart of Darkness, they burned Wells and Joyce and Dostoyevsky and Hugo and Hemingway and they banned Tolkien and Lewis and Orwell and Nabokov.

The Nazis did not just target the politics that OP supported. They targeted anyone who didn’t fit into their very narrow idea of what a good patriotic Aryan German should be; not just Marxists, but liberals and anarchists too. Don’t try and make yourself a unique victim.

[uncle-cazador]

So weird that Mayan hieroglyphs translated into Spanish was communist gender science.

[siryouarebeingmocked]

I love the irony. Guy says people should stop making bad Nazi comparisons to play victim while he’s doing precisely that.

I also like the implication that the doctor being Jewish had nothing to do with why the Jerries burned his books. Why does the fact that he took a photo with trans people matter, exactly?

Because it’s easier to empathize with people when you can see their faces? Or because wokesters are easily swayed by the presence of Minorities™, even if they’re irrelevant to the discussion?

[thatonebasicfan]

Nazis banned The Invisible Man. I don’t think that fits in with communism or gender studies.

[emmaubler]

Imagine being so myopically self-obsessed that you have to frame Hitler as solely targeting people who share your identities and ignoring … well, history in general.

[inmh01]

It will never fail to amaze me how people who claim to be so very educated on the Holocaust, people who are happy to label everyone a “Nazi”, actually know jack shit about the event itself.

I guess any inconvenient details just get brushed away in favor of the agenda, huh.

[siryouarebeingmocked]

Remember when they threw a tantrum because Trump acknowledged Holocaust victims other than jews? When he was being more inclusive?

[deadpanwalking]

why do you think it's so common for writers to insert themselves into their stories?

I don't know.

[mapsontheweb]

US Elevation.

by @cstats1

[ginger-ale-official]

man the Appalachian mountains really aren’t shit huh

[archosaur-automaton]

The Rockies are new, young and virile and fresh from the Laramide orogeny, tall and lanky teenagers on the geological scale. the Appalachian mountains are old, formed hundreds of millions of years ago before dinosaurs walked the Earth. They are ancients, elders, witnesses to half a billion years of life coming and going. To be tall is not a virtue. To be small is not a sin. The Appalachians are eroding under the weight of time, slowly shrinking and returning to the Earth from which they sprang. Appreciate them while they are still here.

[beabaseball]

I do want to say real quick again about the age of the Appalachians…

They said “before dinosaurs,” but we have a cave here that began forming between 450 million to 550 million years ago.

There are no bones in that cave. No fossils. No nothing.

That’s because this cave began forming before bones existed on land, and had only just started to exist in the ocean. Shellfish hadn’t evolved yet. Limestone, which forms many caves, was just starting to become a more prevalent rock.

The mountains aren’t older than dinosaurs. They are older than bones.

[jumpingjacktrash]

see that little lump up at the top of minnesota? the sawtooth mountains? so small most places would just call them hills?

those are over a billion years old.

that’s why they’re so small. they’re the last ancient remnants of a lava flow 5 miles thick. the lava didn’t kill any dinosaurs. or any fish. or any animals at all. because there were no animals. you know what there was?

algae.

those mountains were 5 miles tall when the most advanced life on earth was algae.

so i’m just gonna go ahead and keep calling them mountains, even though all you need to climb them is hiking shoes and a nice afternoon. because a place where you can crouch down and touch basalt that was lava before leaves were invented deserves some respect.

[bumblebeerror]

The earth is unfathomably ancient, and you garner no love from her when you insult her eldest children.

[fiovske]

not only that, the Appalachians predate the Atlantic Ocean and were fragmented. they stretch across three continents, as Atlas in Africa and Caledonians in Europe as you can see here:

the Appalachians are way way old. the fossils that ARE found in these ranges are ancient marine beings, whose fossil remains predate the anatomical structures of beings migrating to land for the first time. THAT’S how old the Appalachians are.

show the elders some respect, they have witnessed eons and are returning to the land from which they grew, it’s the kind of the passage of time on a scale that our human lives could not even begin to comprehend.

[chaotic-archaeologist]

Best and worst things to discover at a dig?

Worst is a body that shouldn’t be there.

_Areid

[audkitty]

Conversely, best is a body that should.

[chaotic-archaeologist]

Absolute worst case scenario: You find a body that should be there but when you come back it’s gone

[theeclectickoalastudent]

“Guys?  Where’d she go?”

[chaotic-archaeologist]

She’s behind you

[art-thropologist]

Me [beating at the bog body with a shovel]: WE. DIDN’T. TAKE. SITU. PHOTOS. YET. Get back in that hole! You can go for a walk after.

[archaeo-geek]

The fact that I can picture myself and pretty much all of my archaeologist colleagues grabbing a shovel and doing this last bit just makes it that much funnier.

[mias-back-from-the-dead]

god this has to be one of the dumbest things i spent 5 minutes on but it sprouted fully formed in my brain the second i saw this post

(sorry for quality i’m drawing on a mouse)

[imhilien]

That episode of Time Team you didn’t see.

[spacelizart]

You know you fucked up when archaeologists drop their coffee. Always take photos before you take a break, just in case the dead come back to life and destroy your trench!

[chaotic-archaeologist]

OH MY GOD