Newsflash: "Catholics, Anglicans discuss reuniting"

Nice to know that after all this history, Protestants and Catholics may not be so different after all...
:-)

FYI - Today's History in the News!

• Remains of St. Paul may have been found - Yahoo! News
• Archaeologists find mummified remains - Yahoo! News

FYI - Newsflash: Insignia of Constantine's Opponent Emperor Maxentius Unearthed!

Insignia of Constantine's Opponent Emperor Maxentius Unearthed!

FYI - History News Today!

• Scientists Unravel Mystery of Ancient Greek Machine - Yahoo! News
• Startling Discovery: The First Human Ritual - Yahoo! News

FYI: Newsflash - "Prehistoric Venice" Uncovered near Pompeii

Weird Venice: "Prehistoric Venice" Uncovered near Pompeii

FYI - Ancient Roman Food in the News!

Early Roman Shipwreck Carried Fish Sauce - EarthLink - International News

(Thanks, Mom!)

:-)

FYI: "Archaeological treasures found on Google Earth"

"Archaeological treasures found on Google Earth.: 'In 25 years on the ground, I've found a handful of archaeological sites. I found more in the first five, six, seven hours [on Google Earth] than I've found in years of traditional field surveys and aerial archaeology...'" (from Metafilter)

Newsflash: "Arrest leads to discovery of Egypt tombs"!

Arrest leads to discovery of Egypt tombs - Yahoo! News

Yahoo! Photo of the Week

Wow! How's this for a photograph?? Enjoy!! :-)

FYI: Early Humans in the News...

• Remains of earliest child discovered in Ethiopia - Yahoo! News
• Salt Lake Tribune: Ancient rock art found at building site

FYI: This week's 'History in the News' from 'Mirabilis.ca'

• Stone Age female statue unearthed
• Stone slab bears earliest known writing in Americas
• Egyptian writing "scanned" using high-tech methods

Plus, "Gibraltar may have been the last refuge of the Neanderthals, according to the results of a six-year archaeological dig. The findings, which show that Neanderthals lived alongside modern humans for thousands of years, bring fresh evidence to the debate on what happened to our evolutionary cousins, and whether modern humans drove them to extinction" (more at "Neanderthal's last stand").

FYI: What came first? Beer or Civilization??

I'd post sample questions to consider, but how about we just start with "what do you think of this argument? Is it valid, do you think? Why or why not?"

• Which Came First ... the Bread or the Beer?
• Beer: The Midwife of Civilization
• Beer or Bread: Was Beer the First Great Cereal Food?
• "Brewing an Ancient Beer": Sumerian poetry used as an ancient beer recipe

FYI: The World's Oldest Portrait & More Art in Evolution...

What do you think about this relatively recent news?

"Archaeologists have discovered what they believe to be a 27,000-year-old drawing of a face, which would make it the oldest in history. Like many other ancient portraits, it is reminiscent of the work of some of the great modern artists, writes Jonathan Jones - and speaks volumes about the way we see ourselves..." (more!)

Plus, "Image galleries and theoretical research on three million years of art, religion and language in human evolution."

FYI: "Survival of the harmonious"

Sample questions to consider: "Glance back at the Adams book to see what they say about prehistoric music... then, if you're interested, take a look at the following article. What do you think about it??"

• Survival of the harmonious - The Boston Globe
• Online discussion re: "Survival of the harmonious: Why did we develop music?"

BTW, instead of posting your reactions here, why not post 'em to the online discussion above, and just include the link for your post here? That way, I'll count it two posts for this week instead of just one! :-)

FYI: Drought, Water, Society & Civilization in the News (UPDATED!)

Sample questions to consider:

1. How does the availability (or lack thereof) affect the development of societies?
2. Are we immune to such effects in our "developed" societies of the early twenty-first century?
3. Can ancient societies teach us anything specific about water use and conservation, do you think?

(Again... if you want to comment here, your analytical comments don't have to be on all these readings, and aren't limited to addressing these questions only!)

• Ancient biblical waterworks found in Israel - Yahoo! News
• "A Good Idea!": One Billion People Still Drink Unsafe Water - UN
• "A Good Idea!": Safe Water for the Entire World... It's Not a "Pipe" Dream!
• Ice Age gives clues to global warming: study - Yahoo! News
• Seed Magazine: "A Hostile Climate: Did global warming cause a resource war in Darfur?"
• Rich and poor countries alike face water crisis - Yahoo! News
• Food, biofuels could worsen water shortages: report - Yahoo! News
• Fixing leaks better than building dams: expert. 22/08/2006. ABC News Online
• "Glass Half Full: Map of the Coming Water Wars"
• Global water crisis looms larger - Linkfilter
• Reconstruction - Studies in Contemporary Culture: "Water: Resources & Discourses"

UPDATED, 9/12:

• Plumbing in History
• Was Agriculture a Mistake?

FYI: Great Question!

Hey, ya'll! I just got a great question via email from Amber, which I thought I'd share with you all here (and I hope she doesn't mind!) In the future, if you all would like, you could post such questions here (and they'd count toward your 1 or more blog posts per week, even!)

"In the reading for homework it mentioned stonehenge, but very little was explained. My question is about exactly who they believe had built the cromlech. They hypothisize on how the stones got there, but not who built it. They don't really mention it nor explain it. I do know that the celtic peoples had spread throughout continental Europe and into England and Ireland before Rome became thoroughly established, but how much earlier? Could they be the ones who added onto the structure? Or were they later in time? I was just curious, but any information would be helpful.

Thanks.
Amber Brooks"

Again, great question! In part, I think they're vague about which racial group built Stonehenge because they're not really sure. Apparently, there were various waves of immigration from Northern Continental Europe into Britain during the Iron Age, and - as far as I can tell - they're still trying to sort them all out!
:-)

There are, of course, a number of theories about Stonehenge. One of my favorites is a part from that series I'll be showing in class tomorrow... See what you think about it! Enjoy!!

• "How Art Made the World" - Gold and the "King" of Stonehenge
• BBC - History - "The Amesbury Archer: The King of Stonehenge?"
• "The Amesbury Archer"

FYI: Human Evolution in the News... (UPDATED)

Sample questions to consider:

1. Why does the theory of evolution trouble many people even in the early twenty-first century?
2. Why doesn't the Catholic Church oppose the theory of evolution, do you think?

(Note: if you want to comment here, your analytical comments don't have to be on all these readings, and aren't limited to addressing these questions only!)

• "Instant Expert: Human Evolution" - 24 August 2006 - New Scientist
• Pope and former students ponder evolution, not "ID" - Yahoo! News
• Most Americans Agree with Evolution: Angus Reid Consultants
• ScienceDaily: Newly Discovered Gene May Hold Clues To Evolution Of Human Brain Capacity
• Mental Leap: What apes can teach us about the human mind - Science News Online, Sept. 2, 2006
• Dolphin Intelligence : MetaFilter
• Artefacts support theory man came from Africa - Mirabilis.ca
• Ancient humans "followed rains" - Mirabilis.ca
• Some Ancient Caves Designed for Comfort- Discovery Channel News

How about a little evolutionary fun? Try "Name That Skull"! :-)

UPDATED 9/8: Here's another interesting link... Monkey see, monkey do!

UPDATED 9/9: And another... ScienceDaily: Modern Humans, Not Neandertals, May Be Evolution's 'Odd Man Out'!

UPDATED 9/12:

• Arizona State University's Institute for Human Origins reviews four million years of human evolution in this interactive documentary.
• BBC - Science & Nature - Human beginnings

"September 11 -- what year? 30 percent of Americans don't know"

The value of history?!

(What amazes me more actually is that apparently FIVE PERCENT of those polled couldn't remember the MONTH & DATE of September 11th!!)

September 11 -- what year? 30 percent of Americans don't know - Yahoo! News