i also want to point out we know it tastes the same even after thousands of years b/c archaeologists who discovered two thousand year old honey tasted it. presumably right after they looked at each other and went “what the hell here goes nothing”
No, no no… you identify bone from rock or other substances by touching it to your tongue. If it sticks, it’s bone. The taste itself has nothing to do with it. And most archaeologists won’t lick human bones if they know they’re human.
…and I realize that doesn’t actually do much to prove archaeologists aren’t freaks.
“No one wants to pay $30 to read a research paper from 1987.”
IF I was the type of person who had a major grudge against academic paywalls, and IF I encouraged people who had access to share with those who don’t, THEN I would encourage anyone having trouble finding research articles to look into the hashtag #icanhazpdf.
As a former academic librarian I strongly encourage this. Journals and databases are constantly trying to screw over college libraries, which is a huge part of where the small part we get of your tuition winds up going.
From the Marysville Daily Appeal, Number 73, April 16, 1860:
THE BRANDY CITY HOMICIDE.— The man, Bill Davis, who was killed a day or two since, at Brandy City—which by the way, seems an ill-fated place ever since the sad duel between Lippincott and Tevis, was well known in Marysville, as "Big Davis." Persons that knew him describe him as a quarrelsome, rowdyish sort of a man, whose career has been brought to a close in a manner long anticipated. All accounts justify the act of the abandoned woman that slew him. Violence to violence is due; and they who live in active disregard of the better rules of peaceful society, must expect such death as their grievous acts give constant provocation of.
Followed by this from the Daily Alta California, Volume 12, Number 107, April 17,1860:
Brandy City— Wm. F. Davis, 23 years of age, was shot dead, in Brandy City, Sierra county, by a courtezan [sic] Augusta Ridgway, in self-defense, he was drunk, and approached her with a bowie-knife, using threats, when she shot him. She was not arrested.
Elaborated on in the Sacramento Daily Union, Volume 19, Number 2826, 17 April 1860:
Brandy City.— A correspondent of the Marysville Express, writing from Camptonville, April 14th, gives the following particulars in reference to this affair, alluded to in our columns yesterday: It appears that Davis owed his landlord for board, who insisted on his paying or leaving. The girl Ridgeway told Davis that he ought to pay the man, as he was poor; he took offense at that, and commenced getting drunk and abusing her. She left her house, and went to a miners cabin to get rid of him; but, soon learning where she was, he followed her and attempted to assault her with bowie knife in hand, when she drew a pistol and threatened to shoot him. He then caught hold of a miner that was standing near, and he undertook to take a pistol from him, when she raised her pistol and shot him, the ball taking effect near the left nipple and lodging near the back bone just under the skin. Davis then ran some thirty or forty yards and fell, after which he did not speak. He lived about half an hour. He was a young man about 22 years old, and very quarrelsome when intoxicated. The girl had not been arrested last night, nor was there any talk of doing so, as most of the people thought she was justified in shooting him.
When forks appeared in quantities in England, knives changed in shape, and rounded blade ends replaced the pointed ones, since forks had assumed the function of the pointed blade. However, since most New England knives were made in England, and the fork appeared later in America, this relationship did not prevail in the New World. Using a round-ended knife and not having a fork, one would either have made considerable use of the fingers conveying solid foods to the mouth or made do with a spoon. This raises an interesting, if conjectural, point. Americans often comment that Europeans use their forks “upside down.” In fact, by the simple rule of priority and majority, it is Americans who are “upside down.” Since we did not learn to use forks until sometime after the ends of knives were rounded, the change in the manner of food conveyance was not directly from knife tip to fork tine, as it was in England. The only intermediate utensil available was the spoon; one could cut food and transfer it to the spoon bowl. If even one generation used knife and spoon in this manner, the fork, upon its belated appearance, would be used in a manner similar to the spoon. Which is precisely the way we use it today. Yet, in its function of anchoring food for cutting, the fork is held curve don; it is turned over while transferring the food from the plate to the mouth. This distinctive way of using the knife, fork, and spoon came into existence during the late-seventeenth and early-eighteenth centuries, and thus is one more American idiosyncrasy arising from isolation during that period.
James Deetz, In Small Things Forgotten: The Archaeology of Early American Life
(via winawinadajcie)
“Still She Never Stirred”: Frozen Charlotte Dolls of the Victorian Era
[This is the abstract for my artifact term paper. I probably won’t post the whole thing here, but if someone is interested in reading it or needs sources, I’ll be happy to share! ETA: I uploaded it to academia.edu]
There were many popular children’s toys during the Victorian era and a small all-ceramic doll called Frozen Charlotte was one of them. The first of these “immobile” dolls were made in the 1860s, gained popularity in the 1870s, and remained in production up until the 1920s (King 1977; Tagger 2007). The original design is thought to be German in origin but it was so popular that many companies began making them, most notably in France and America. Also called bathing dolls, pillar dolls, or solid china dolls (Lavitt 1983), the name Frozen Charlotte came from an American Folk Ballad called “Young Charlotte” which had been based off of a poem about the true story of girl who had frozen to death in the snow in 1839 (Lord 1966). The male version of this doll is sometimes referred to as “Frozen Charlie”.
The dolls were made in a two piece mold with the arms molded to the sides or across the chest with later versions having bent elbows. Various molded and glazed decorations can be found such as bonnets, ribbons, shoes, and colored hair (Lavitt 1983). Bisque was the most common material, although porcelain examples have been found, and they were typically unglazed on the back so they could float on water. This type of doll ranges in size from 1 inch to over 18 inches tall with the smaller sizes originally put into cakes and the larger sizes used as ornaments, although the most common use is thought to be as dollhouse figurines.
The changing role of dolls in various levels of society is well documented, especially since they are perceived as a way for children to act out their future roles in society (Feister 2013). On the other hand, Boris (1995) suggests that some children may have subverted this role with fantasy-based play and that middle class women may have instead regarded dolls as objects to be admired. In addition, dolls had also been used as ways to display current fashion or hairstyle trends. Through this speculation about the intended use of the Frozen Charlotte doll - whether as decoration, as a fashion doll, or as a plaything - it could be argued that these are all legitimate uses. In fact, how this doll is put to use by different individuals - whether it was intended for that use or not - can further explain the role of dolls in a household as well as in wider Victorian society.
References
Boris, Eileen
1995 Girls and Dolls. The Nation, Nation Company, Inc. pp. 352-357.
Feister, Lois
2013 The Orphanage at Schuyler Mansion. Northeast Historical Archaeology 20(1):27-36.
Gonzalez, Eugenia
2013 'What remains? An empty doll-case': Deconstruction and Imagination in Victorian Narratives of Doll Production. Journal of Victorian Culture 18(3):335-349.
King, Constance Eileen
1977 The Collector’s History of Dolls. New York: Bonanza Books.
Lavitt, Wendy
1983 The Knopf Collector’s Guides to American Antiques: Dolls. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Lord, Ernest
1966 Young Charlotte (or Fair Charlotte). Maine Song and Story Sampler. Maine Folklife Center, University of Maine.
Tagger, Marina
2007 The Wonderful World of Boy Character Dolls. Antiques and Collecting Magazine 111(11):54-58.
Professional archaeologists resist the all-encompassing rule of the market: we contend that there is value to archaeology - artifacts, sites, knowledge, the whole archaeological process - and that value is not about the monetary value of things. That willingness to stand against the powerful cultural tide of commercialism alone makes archaeology somewhat culturally subversive in the 21st century. I believe it can be culturally subversive in a most beneficial way. And, as we insist that there is an alternative, better way to think about value, we are somewhat in line with others who want to work towards a society and a culture that benefit more people and support a more just and fair way of being in the world.
Barbara Little, Historical Archaeology, 2009 43(4):115-119
This was done on the fly as part of the first test in my GIS class. Instructions were only to create a map using whatever skills we have learned so far. Full credit received!
