In this episode’s Stuff in the News we talk about Eminem asking a certain GOP candidate not to use his music, and a five thousand year old dragon made of mussel shells that has just been discovered in the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region. Staying in China, Ashley’s Piece of Stuff this week, was actually five tiny pieces of stuff, tiny tea buds found in the tomb of the Jing Emperor, Liu Qi: the world’s oldest tea. Sticking with a mussels theme, Tracey discusses the history, mystery and miss-history of byssus - sea silk made from the beards of the pinna mussel.

Ashley’s Stuff in the News

Al-Jazeera, “Eminem Tells Republican Ramaswamy to Stop Using His Music in Campaign,” Al-Jazeera, August 29, 2023, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/29/eminem-tells-republican-ramaswamy-to-stop-using-his-music-in-campaign. 

Tracey’s Stuff in the News

Lynn Halem, “Unearthing the Mussel Shell Dragon: A Pivotal Archaeological Discovery in Chifeng,” Beijing Times, August 24, 2023, accessed August 28 at https://beijingtimes.com/culture/heritage/2023/08/24/unearthing-the-mussel-shell-dragon-a-pivotal-archaeological-discovery-in-chifeng/

BT Business Team, “The Mussel Shell Dragon: Revealing the Secrets of the Hongshan Culture,” Beijing Times, August 24, 2023, accessed August 28 at https://beijingtimes.com/culture/art/2023/08/24/the-mussel-shell-dragon-revealing-the-secrets-of-the-hongshan-culture/

Mark Milligan, “Neolithic Shell Dragon Discovered in Inner Mongolia,” Heritage Daily, August 24, 2023, accessed August 28 at https://www.heritagedaily.com/2023/08/neolithic-shell-dragon-discovered-in-inner-mongolia/148395

Ashley’s Piece of Stuff

David Keys, “Archaeologists Discover World's Oldest Tea Buried with Ancient Chinese Emperor,” The Independent, January 10, 2016, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/archaeologists-discover-world-s-oldest-tea-buried-with-ancient-chinese-emperor-a6805171.html. 

Jeremy Cherfas, “World's Oldest Tea Discovered in an Ancient Chinese Emperor's Tomb,” NPR, January 26, 2016, https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/01/26/464437173/worlds-oldest-tea-discovered-in-an-ancient-chinese-emperors-tomb. 

Archaeological Institute of America, “Oldest Tea Discovered in China,” Archaeology Magazine, January 12, 2016, https://www.archaeology.org/news/4067-160112-han-dynasty-china-tea. 

Danny Lewis, “Archaeologists Find World’s Oldest Tea in the Tomb of a Han Dynasty Emperor,” Smithsonian Magazine, January 12, 2016, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-find-worlds-oldest-tea-tomb-han-dynasty-emperor-180957790/. 

Maria Godoy, “How Tea + Sugar Reshaped The British Empire,” NPR, April 7, 2015, https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/04/07/396664685/tea-tuesdays-how-tea-sugar-reshaped-the-british-empire. 

Smith, Woodruff D. “Complications of the Commonplace: Tea, Sugar, and Imperialism.” The Journal of Interdisciplinary History 23, no. 2 (1992): 259–78. 

Benn, James A. Tea in China: A Religious and Cultural History. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2015. 

“Han Dynasty,” Encyclopedia Britannica, updated July 7, 2023, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Han-dynasty/Cultural-achievements-of-the-Han-dynasty. 

Lu, H., Zhang, J., Yang, Y. et al. “Earliest Tea as Evidence for One Branch of the Silk Road Across the Tibetan Plateau.” Scientific Reports 6, no. 18955 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/srep18955. 

"Jingdi," Encyclopedia Britannica, February 11, 2016, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jingdi. 

Tracey’s Piece of Stuff

Max Paradisco, “Chiara Vigo: The Last Woman Who makes Sea Silk,” BBC News, September 2, 2015, accessed August 28, 2023 at https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33691781

Erin Blakemore, “The World’s Rarest Silk is made of Clam Spit,” Smithsonian Magazine, September 8, 2015 accessed August 28, 2023 at https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/worlds-rarest-silk-made-clam-spit-180956516/

Daniel McKinley, “Pinna and her silken beard: a foray into historical misappropriation,” Ars Textrina: A Journal of Textiles and Costumes 29 (1998). 

Muscelseide - Sea-silk Project - accessed August 28, 2023 https://muschelseide.ch/en/ 

Edward Posnett, Strange Harvests: The Hidden Histories of Seven Natural Objects (Viking, 2019), Chapter 4: Sea-Silk, pp.125-70. 

In this week’s episode, Ashley shares news of the possible recovery of an ancient herb, long thought lost, called Silphion, which in its day was worth its weight in silver for culinary, medicinal, and abortifacient properties, and Tracey has a 3-for-1 special on art conservation news involving an organogel, a hydrogel and a scoundrel. Tracey’s Piece of Stuff is an aniconic/anthropomorphic goddess stele from the ancient caravan city of Petra, and why it is okay not to label her, and Ashley’s is a medal celebrating canine heroes who brought emergency human medicine hundreds of miles through the Alaskan ice and snow.

Tracey’s Stuff in the News

Tom Seymour, “British Museum Antiquities theft alleged by veteran curator Peter Higgs,” The Art Newspaper, 17 August, 2023 accessed on August 17, 2023 at https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2023/08/17/british-museum-antiquities-thief-identified-as-veteran-curator-peter-higgs

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, “Organic Solvents,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, accessed Aug 17, 2023 at https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/organsolv/default.html

Technical University of Munich, “Non-toxic, sustainable cleaning agent developed for paintings, “ Phys.org, accessed August 17, 2023 at https://phys.org/news/2023-08-non-toxic-sustainable-agent.html

American Chemical Society, “Rescuing Street Art from vandal’s graffiti,” Phys.org accessed August 17. 2023. https://phys.org/news/2021-04-street-art-vandals-graffiti.html

Giovanna Poggi et al, Nanostructured bio-based castor oil organogels for the cleaning of artworks, Journal of Colloid and Interface Science (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.01.119

Ashley’s Stuff in the News:

Taras Grescoe, “This Miracle Plant Was Eaten into Extinction 2,000 Years Ago—Or Was It?” National Geographic, September 23, 2022, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/miracle-plant-eaten-extinction-2000-years-ago-silphion?loggedin=true&rnd=1692620826685. 

“Rediscovering the Miracle Plant of Antiquity with Potential Medicinal Properties,” Greek City Times, August 16, 2023, https://greekcitytimes.com/2023/08/16/rediscovering-the-miracle-plant-of-antiquity-with-potential-medicinal-properties/. 

Giovanni Prete, “Miracle Plant Used in Ancient Greece Rediscovered After 2,000 Years,” Greek Reporter, August 13, 2023, https://greekreporter.com/2023/08/13/plant-ancient-greece-rediscovered/. 

Tracey’s Piece of Stuff

Peter Alpass, “The Basileion of Isis and the religious art of Nabatean Petra,” Syria, Archéologie, Art et Histoire 81 (2010); 93-113. https://doi.org/10.4000/syria.663

Benjamin Suchard, “An/iconic idol: Stela JP 13483,” Things That Talk, accessed on August 20, 2023 at https://thingsthattalk.net/en/zone/ancient-writing/t/ttt:TtxOsV/stories/an-iconic-idol

Lee Hae-rin, “Jordan’s ancient city of petra demonstrates ancient Nabataeans’ genius,” The Jordan Times, Mar 22, 2023 accessed August 20, 2023 at https://jordantimes.com/news/local/jordans-ancient-city-petra-demonstrates-ancient-nabataeans%E2%80%99-genius

John Ma, “A Journey through the melting pots of the Ancient Middle East,” Apollo: The International Art Magazine, June 10, 2019 accessed August 20, 2023 at https://www.apollo-magazine.com/a-journey-through-the-melting-pots-of-the-ancient-middle-east

Pauline Piraud-Fournet, John D. M. Green, Noreen Doyle, and Pearce Paul Creasman, “The Temple of the Winged Lions, Petra: Reassessing a Nabataean Ritual Complex,” Near Eastern Archaeology 84 (2021): 293-305.

“Nabataean Religion,” Wikipedia accessed August 20, 2023 at https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nabataean_religion

Robert Wenning, “Decoding Nabataean Betyles,” Proceedings of the 4th International Congress of Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, 29 March - 3 April 2004 1 (2008): 613-619.

Ashley’s Piece of Stuff:

“Medal,” Smithsonian Institute, accessed August 9, 2023, https://www.si.edu/object/medal:nmah_1445140. 

“Diphtheria Treatments and Prevention,” Smithsonian Institute, accessed August 9, 2023, https://www.si.edu/spotlight/antibody-initiative/diphtheria. 

Foss, Katherine A. Constructing the Outbreak: Epidemics in Media and Collective Memory. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2020.

“Diphtheria Treatments and Prevention,” Smithsonian Institute, accessed August 11, 2023, https://www.si.edu/spotlight/antibody-initiative/diphtheria. 

Justin Dennis, “Alaskan Sled Dog Balto — Now an Ohio Icon — Is Helping Scientists Better Understand Animal and Human DNA,” Fox 8 News, April 27, 2023, https://fox8.com/news/alaskan-sled-dog-balto-now-an-ohio-icon-is-helping-scientists-better-understand-animal-and-human-dna/. 

“New Research Uses One of the World’s Most Famous Dogs:

Museum Icon Balto Contributes to science,” Cleveland Museum of Natural History, April 27, 2023, https://www.cmnh.org/balto-contributes-to-zoonomia-project. 

Vignieri, Sacha. “Zoonomia.” Science 380, no. 6643 (2023): 356-7.

Amber Lee Cole, “Cleveland Museum of Natural History Celebrates Balto’s 100th Birthday,” March 2, 2019, https://www.cleveland19.com/2019/03/02/cleveland-museum-natural-history-celebrates-baltos-th-birthday/. 

Case Western Reserve University, “Balto,” Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, accessed August 11, 2023, https://case.edu/ech/articles/b/balto. 

 "Nome,” Encyclopedia Britannica, July 28, 2023, https://www.britannica.com/place/Nome-Alaska. 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Diphtheria,” September 9, 2022, https://www.cdc.gov/diphtheria/index.html#:~:text=Diphtheria%20is%20a%20serious%20infection,and%20adults%20to%20prevent%20diphtheria.

Picture Credit: Tracey-Anne Cooper. Music Credit: Ashley Bozian

In this episode, we discuss important stuff in the news such as a doggy surfing competition in California and a seventeenth-century child’s anti-vampire grave that has been discovered in Poland (no stereotypes there!). For her Piece of Stuff, Ashley closely examines a set of eighteenth-century Samurai armor and the accompanying helmet and reveals clues that indicate that it may have been used more for swaggering than for battle. Bad Lad Vlad, of impaling and inspiring Bram Stoker’s Dracula fame, is the subject of Tracey’s Piece of Stuff this week, as she takes probably too deep of a dive into what proteins left behind on a tax receipt by the fifteenth-century voivode of Wallachia can tells us about his health conditions, the hot mess that was Wallachian politics, and how Vlad got his reputation for cruelty.

Ashley’s Stuff in the News:

“Surf's Up Dog: Canines Compete in the World Dog Surfing Championships,” Reuters, August 7, 2023, https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/surfs-up-dog-canines-compete-in-the-worl-idUSRTSMBG3O. 

Jade Eckardt, “Pups Packed the Lineup for the World Dog Surfing Championships,“ Surfer Magazine, August 7, 2023, https://www.surfer.com/trending-news/world-dog-surfing-championships. 

Danielle Echeverria, “Surfing Dogs Ride Waves to Fame at World Championships in Pacifica,” San Francisco Chronicle, August 5, 2023, https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/surfing-dogs-pacifica-18275052.php. 

Tracey’s Stuff in the News

Mark Milligan, “Child Found Buried Face Down with Anti-Vampire Triangular Padlock, “ Heritage Daily, August 7, 2023, accessed August 13, 2023 at https://www.heritagedaily.com/2023/08/child-found-buried-face-down-with-anti-vampire-triangular-padlock/148171

Karolina Duszcyzk, “‘Vampire’ child grave discovered in 17th-century cursed cemetery,” Science in Poland, August 14, 2023, https://scienceinpoland.pl/en/news/news%2C97855%2Cvampire-child-grave-discovered-17th-century-cursed-cemetery.html

Marcin, Behrendt, “Keep Demons in the Grave,” Nicolaus Copernicus University News, September 19, 2022, accessed on August 13, 2023 at https://portal.umk.pl/en/article/keep-demons-in-the-grave

Ashley’s Piece of Stuff:

“Samurai Armour and Helmet,” British Museum, https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/A_2017-3024-1-1-14. 

"Tokugawa Period," Encyclopedia Britannica, May 17, 2023,  https://www.britannica.com/event/Tokugawa-period. 

“The Mitsubishi Corporation Japanese Galleries,” British Museum, accessed August 12, 2023, https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/galleries/japan. 

Tracey’s Piece of Stuff

Jo Marchant. “Document Detectives Use Smudges and Bloodstains to Investigate the Past: Proteins left behind on historic artifacts are revealing centuries old secrets,” The Smithsonian Magazine, November/December 2022. Accessed August 14, 2023 at https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/document-detectives-use-smudges-bloodstains-investigate-past-180980986/

Bob Yirka, “Testing of Vlad the Impaler’s letters show he may have had condition causing his tears to be mixed with blood,” Phys.org, August 10, 2023. Accessed August 14, 2023 at https://phys.org/news/2023-08-vlad-impaler-letters-condition-blood.html

Juan José Sánchez Arreseiger, “Vlad the Impaler’s thirst for blood was an inspiration for Count Dracula,” National Geographic, November 1, 2021.

Patrick Wyman, “Vlad the Impaler and the Legend of Dracula,” Tide of History Podcast, Wondery, 2018. Accessed August 13, 2023 at https://wondery.com/shows/tides-of-history/episode/5629-vlad-the-impaler-and-the-legend-of-dracula

Emre Sahin (director), Rise of Empires: Ottoman (2020, 2022), Netflix. https://www.netflix.com/title/80990771

Constantin Rezachevici,  "Punishment with Vlad Tepes - Punishments in Europe Common and Differentiating Traits," Journal of Dracula Studies: Vol. 8 , Article 4, 2006. Accessed August 13, 2023 at 

 https://research.library.kutztown.edu/dracula-studies/vol8/iss1/4 

Maria Gaetan Giovanna Pittalá, “Count Dracula Resurrected: Proteoic Analysis of Vlad II the Impalers Documents by EVA Technology and Mass Spectrometry,” Analytical Chemistry, August 8, 2023.  DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.3c01461

Music Credits: Ashley Bozian; Photo Credit: Tracey Cooper

In this episode Tracey talks about news of missing Icelandic skulls and Ashley is extraordinarily happy about a giant, space disco-ball. Tracey's piece of stuff discusses the plant datura (or devil's trumpet) and people trippin' balls globally on it for recreational or religious purposes, while Ashley examines the transregional phenomena of snake deities being depicted as women. Strap in we are in for a bumpy ride!

Tracey’s Stuff in the News

Christian Elliot, “Why Iceland Wants Its Skulls Back,” National Geographic, August 3, 2023 accessed August 6, 2023 at https://www.nationalgeographic.com/premium/article/iceland-skulls-peabody-harvard-hastings-stefansson-haffjararey

Cara J. Chang, “Harvard Holds Remains of 19 Likely Enslaves Individuals, Thousands of Native American, Draft Report Says,” The Harvard Crimson, June 1, 2022, accessed on Aug 6, 2023 at https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2022/6/1/draft-human-remains-report/

Marc Fennell, Stuff the British Stole, Podcast accessible at https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/stuff-the-british-stole

Danielle Bainbridge, “The Problem with Museums,” PBS Origins (video), available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Av_3tGceTvs

John Oliver, “Museums: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO),” available at https://youtu.be/eJPLiT1kCSM

Ashley’s Stuff in the News

Will Dunham, “Alien Planet with Metallic Clouds Resembles 'a Giant Mirror in Space,'” Reuters, July 10, 2023, https://www.reuters.com/technology/space/alien-planet-with-metallic-clouds-resembles-a-giant-mirror-space-2023-07-10/. 

Tracey’s Piece of Stuff

David W. Robinson, Kelly Brown, Moira Mc Menemy, David Haviland, Datura quids at Pinwheel Cave, California, provide unambiguous confirmation of hallucinogens at a rock art site,” PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences), Nov 23, 2020, accessed Aug 5, 2023 at https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2014529117.

David Robinson and Fraser Sturt, “Towards articulating Rock-Art with archaeology: An Interim Report of the Pin-Wheel Cave Rock-Art and Bedrock Mortar Complex, (CA-KER-5836 & 5837), Kern County, California,” Kern County Archaeological Journal 10: 25-44. Accessed July 30, 2023 at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/284504174_Towards_Articulating_Rock-art_with_Archaeology_An_Interim_Report_of_the_Pinwheel_Cave_Rock-art_and_Bedrock_Mortar_Complex\

Soni P, Siddiqui AA, Dwivedi J, Soni V. Pharmacological properties of Datura stramonium L. as a potential medicinal tree: an overview. Asian Pac J Trop Biomed. 2012 Dec;2(12):1002-8. doi: 10.1016/S2221-1691(13)60014-3. PMID: 23593583; PMCID: PMC3621465.

Marneros A, Gutmann P, Uhlmann F. Self-amputation of penis and tongue after use of Angel's Trumpet. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2006 Oct;256(7):458-9. doi: 10.1007/s00406-006-0666-2. Epub 2006 Jun 16. PMID: 16783491.

U.S. Forest Service, “The Powerful Solanaceeae,” accessed August 1, 2023.

Adam King, Terry G. Powis, Komh F. Cheong, Bobi Deere, Robert B. Pickering, ERic Singleton and Nilesh Gaikwad, “Absorbed Residue Evidence for Prehistoric Datura Use in the American Southeast and Western Mexico, Advances in Archaeological Practice 6 (4) (2018): 312-327.

Steve Koppes and Louise Lerner, “Carbon-14 dating, explained,” University of Chicago News, April 27, 2023, accessed on August 6, 2023, at https://news.uchicago.edu/explainer/what-is-carbon-14-dating#:~:text=Radiocarbon%20dating%2C%20or%20carbon%2D14,of%20the%20carbon%2D14%20isotope.

Andrew Haynes, “Beware the Effects of the Zombie Cucumber,” The Pharmaceutical Journal, December 12, 2014, accessed July 29, 2023.

https://pharmaceutical-journal.com/article/opinion/beware-the-psychedelic-effects-of-zombie-cucumber

Abhilash Rajendran, “Importance of Datura in Shiva Worship - Benefits - Why is Datura Offered to Lord Shiva,” Hindu Blog, February 18, 2017, accessed July 29, 2023 athttps://www.hindu-blog.com/2011/04/datura-flower-associated-with-shiva.html

Gino del Guercio, “From the Archives: The Secrets of Haiti’s Living Dead,” Harvard Magazine, October 31, 2017 accessed July 29, 2023 at

https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2017/10/are-zombies-real

Ashley’s Piece of Stuff

“Snake Goddess Manasa,” Rubin Museum, accessed July 29, 2023, https://collection.rubinmuseum.org/objects/454/snake-goddess-manasa?ctx=43e836119b490fecbdb350879397087cafa4b85f&idx=10. 

“Manasa, the Snake Goddess,” Metropolitan Museum of Art, accessed August 3, 2023, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/76737. 

Matt Stefan, “Manasa,” Encyclopedia Britannica, accessed August 3, 2023, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Manasa. 

Isbell, Lynne A. The Fruit, the Tree, and the Serpent: Why We See So Well. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2009.

In this episode Ashley shares the news of over-the-counter birth control in the US and Tracey responds to another dumbass - this time explaining why it is inappropriate to say the Jews survived in the Holocaust if they were useful. Ashley’s piece of stuff is a glorious Sicán funerary mask (a culture that precedes the Inca in Peru) and Tracey talks about a Shang period bronze owl-shaped ritual vessel used in ancestor worship and the extraordinary kick-ass queen/priestess/general who owned it.

Ashley’s Stuff in the News:

Sarah Toy, “FDA Approves First Over-the-Counter Birth-Control Pill,” Wall Street Journal, July 13, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/otc-birth-control-pill-4c180a93. 

PBS, “The Catholic Church and Birth Control,” PBS American Experience, accessed July 29, 2023, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/pill-catholic-church-and-birth-control/. 

Tracey’s Stuff in the News: 

Alisha Rahaman Sarkar, “A Holocaust Survivor respond to Greg Gutfeld on Fox about useful people in concentration camps,” The Independent, July 29, 2023. Accessed at https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/auschwitz-holocaust-fox-news-host-b2382772.html

“Forced Labor,” Holocaust Encyclopedia: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, accessed July 31, 2023 at https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/forced-labor

The United States Holocaust Museum, “Death Marches in the Holocaust,” Common Lit, 2017. Accessed at https://www.commonlit.org/en/texts/death-marches-in-the-holocaust

Nikolaus Wachsmann, “Liberation” The Nazi Concentration Camps  accessed July 31, 2023 at http://www.camps.bbk.ac.uk/themes/liberation.html

Nazi Racial Theory, Wikipedia accessed July 31, 2023 at https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_racial_theories

Tracey's Piece of Stuff

Minje Su, “Queen, Priestess, General: The Legendary Life of Fu Hao,” Medievalist.net accessed on July 31, 2023 at https://www.medievalists.net/2018/12/queen-priestess-general-the-legendary-life-of-fu-hao/

Cortney E. Chaffin, “War and Sacrifice: The Tomb of Fu Hao,” Smarthistory accessed July 31, 2023 at https://smarthistory.org/tomb-of-fu-hao/

Shuxian Ye, A Mythological Approach to Exploring the Origins of Chinese Civilization, Springer Nature, 2022.

“Fu Hao Owl Zun,” Wikipedia accessed July 31, at https://www.medievalists.net/2018/12/queen-priestess-general-the-legendary-life-of-fu-hao/

“Taotie: The Mystery of Chinese Mythology’s Famous Glutton,” PBS Monstrum with Dr. Emily Zarka, accessed July 31, 2023 at https://youtu.be/o_FN55VUqRc

Ashley’s Piece of Stuff:

Joanne Pillsbury, Funerary Mask, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2015, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/309959. 

Amy Tikkanen, “Cinnabar,” Encyclopedia Britannica, July 21, 2023 https://www.britannica.com/science/cinnabar. 

Picture Credits:

“Funerary Mask: Lambayeque (Sicán), 10-12th centuries, The Metropolitan Museum, public domain accessed July 29, 2023.

Windmemories, “Fu Hao Zun at the Henan Museum,” Wikimedia Commons accessed July 31, 2023 Windmemories, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

Gary Todd, “Fu Hao Zun at the National Museum of China,”Wikimedia Commons accessed July 31, 2023.  By Gary Todd - https://www.flickr.com/photos/101561334@N08/9829808373/, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=96349251

Music Credits: Ashley Bozian

In this episode we talk about why we think it is wrong to teach children that slaves were able to parlay skills they were taught for their “personal benefit” “later in life,” and what is going on with Northern California’s plague of penis fish. Our pieces of stuff this week involve evidence of necromancy in Israel of the second to fourth century CE and evidence of genuine affection between an Ottoman Sultan and his slave/concubine and the difficulties she overcame to become the most important woman in the empire. 

Tracey’s Stuff in the News

John Bowden, “De Santis defends Florida curriculum that suggests slaves benefited from forced labor.” Independent, July 7, 2023 accessed at https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/desantis-florida-slavery-schools-gop-b2380508.html

Simeon Spencer, “Emancipation on the ballot: Why slavery is still legal in America - And how voters can take action,” NAACP Legal Defence Fund, accessed 23 July, 2023 at https://www.naacpldf.org/13th-amendment-emancipation/

François-Xavier Fauvelle, The Golden Rhinoceros: Histories of the African Middle Ages (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2018).

E. Zangato and A.F.C. Holl, “On the Iron Front: New Evidence from Central Africa,” Journal of African Archaeology 8, pp. 7-23/

Sean Coughlan, “Last Survivor of Transatlantic Slave Trade discovered,” BBC News 25 March, 2020 accessed on 23 July 2023 at https://www.bbc.com/news/education-52010859

Tracey’s Piece of Stuff

Klein, E., & Zissu, B. (2023). Oil Lamps, Spearheads and Skulls: Possible Evidence of Necromancy during Late Antiquity in the Te’omim Cave, Judean Hills. Harvard Theological Review, 116(3), 399-421. doi:10.1017/S0017816023000214

Daniel Ogden, “Lay That Ghost: Necromancy in Ancient Greece and Rome,” Archaeological Odyssey 5:4, July/August 2002 reprinted by Biblical Archaeological Society accessed 23 July, 2023 at https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/daily-life-and-practice/ancient-necromancy/

Benjamin Kerstein, “The Bar-Kochba Revolt,” World History Encyclopedia, 30 August 2018, accessed 23 July 2023 at https://www.worldhistory.org/The_Bar-Kochba_Revolt/

Ashley’s Stuff in the News

Andrew Court, “Thousands of Infamous ‘Penis Fish’ Wash Ashore after Heavy Storms,” New York Post, July 19, 2023, https://nypost.com/2023/07/19/thousands-of-fat-penis-fish-wash-up-after-heavy-storms/. 

BBC News, “'Penis Fish' Wash up on a Beach in California,” December 13, 2019, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50779461. 

***Correction to Stuff in the News: the most recent batch of penis fish have washed ashore in Argentina – the California phallus fest occurred in 2019.

Ashley’s Piece of Stuff

Anadolu News Agency, “Newly Published Letter Reveals Hürrem Sultan's Love for Süleyman the Magnificent,” Daily Sabah, February 15, 2019, https://www.dailysabah.com/history/2019/02/15/newly-published-letter-reveals-hurrem-sultans-love-for-suleyman-the-magnificent?gallery_image=undefined#big. 

Paul Bryers, dir., “The Hidden World of the Harem,” Chronicle, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbvzIUicZv0&t=5s. 

Peirce, Leslie. Empress of the East: How a European Slave Girl Became Queen of the Ottoman Empire. New York: Basic Books, 2017. 

Peirce, Leslie. The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.

Musallam, Basim. Sex and Society in Islam: Birth Control before the Nineteenth Century. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1983.

Picture Credit: Tracey-Anne Cooper

Music Credit: Ashley Bozian

In this episode we talk about impact we have had on our planet in the Anthropocene, moves to end child marriage in the US, an Egyptian monkey that smelled really good and aristocratic ladies and sex workers both going to the theater with a full face covering.

Tracey’s Stuff in the News

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/12/michigan-child-marriage-law-signed

https://michiganadvance.com/2023/07/11/child-marriage-is-now-banned-in-michigan/

https://www.unicef.org/child-rights-convention

https://www.girlsnotbrides.org/about-child-marriage/

Tracey’s Piece of Stuff

https://www.npr.org/sections/pictureshow/2023/03/13/1157657246/iran-hijab-protest-regime-politics-religion-mahsa-amini

https://www.npr.org/2022/06/19/1105962389/france-burkini-swimsuit-islamic-women

https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/402520

https://costumehistorian.blogspot.com/vizard

https://concealedgarments.org/

Photo Credit: By The British Museum - Portable Antiquities Scheme item record NARC-151A67, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28871326

Giulia Montanari, “When Creepy Face Masks Were the Coolest Fashion Item,” Medium, 10 Jun, 2022, accessed on 17 July, 2023. https://medium.com/exploring-history/when-creepy-face-masks-were-the-coolest-fashion-item-51c5abcb2398

“A 16th Century “Visard’ Mask,” Belphoebe’s Web Page, accessed 17 July 2023. https://www.houseffg.org/belphoebe/Research/Masks/Index.html

Braden Phillips, “Celebrated, Scorned, and Banned, face masks have fired passions throughout history,” accessed on 17 July, 2023 at https://cuencahighlife.com/celebrated-scorned-and-banned-face-masks-have-fired-passions-throughout-history/

“Vizards and Invisories: ladies’ Masks in the 16th and 17th Centuries, Medieval and Renaissance Material Culture accessed on 17 July 2023. http://www,larsdatter.com/vizard.htm

Ashley’s Stuff in the News

Jonathan Amos, “The Anthropocene: Canadian Lake Mud 'Symbolic of Human Changes to Earth,'” BBC News, July 12, 2023, https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-66132769. 

“NOVA: Making North America: Origins,” PBS, November 4, 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9kvYj4y444. 

Ashley’s Piece of Stuff

Metropolitan Museum of Art, “Perfume Vessel in Shape of a Monkey,” https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/545265. 

Carolyn Riccardelli, “Egyptian Faience: Technology and Production,” in Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, December 2017, https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/egfc/hd_egfc.htm#:~:text=There%20were%20various%20manufacturing%20methods,e.g.%2C%20copper%20originating%20from%20metal. 

Tabitha Morgan, “Bronze Age Perfume ‘Discovered,’” BBC News, March 19, 2005, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4364469.stm. 

 "Perfume Bottle," Encyclopedia Britannica, July 20, 1998, https://www.britannica.com/topic/perfume-bottle. 

Article about ancient veiling (Ashley mentioned during Tracey’s Piece of Stuff): Llewellyn-Jones, Lloyd. “House and Veil in Ancient Greece.” British School at Athens Studies 15 (2007): 251-8.

Music Credits:

Background Music: Stars (Extended) by Vlad Gluschenko | https://soundcloud.com/vgl9

Intro/Outro/Interlude Music composed by Ashley Bozian

Cover Art

Photo by Tracey Cooper . 

Tracey’s Stuff in the News

https://www.medievalists.net/2023/07/how-criminals-new-names-medieval-england/

Ashley’s Stuff in the News

Al Jazeera, “Japan May Start Controversial Fukushima Water Release Next Month,” July 5, 2023, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/5/japan-may-start-controversial-fukushima-water-release-next-month. 

Al Jazeera, “Why is Japan’s Fukushima Water Release So Controversial?” July 4, 2023, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/4/why-is-japans-fukushima-water-release-so-controversial. 

Henry Puna, “Japan must work with the Pacific to find a solution to the Fukushima water release issue – otherwise we face disaster,” The Guardian, January 4, 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jan/04/japan-must-work-with-the-pacific-to-find-a-solution-to-the-fukushima-water-release-issue-otherwise-we-face-disaster. 

Sierra Abukins, “Can Scientists Stop Japan from Dumping Fukushima Water into the Ocean?” Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, June 13, 2023, https://www.middlebury.edu/institute/news/can-scientists-stop-japan-dumping-fukushima-water-ocean#:~:text=The%20scientists%20have%20proposed%20several,bridges%20using%20the%20treated%20water.

Tracey’s Piece of Stuff

“Temple Pendant with Two Sirens Flanking a Tree of Life (front) and confronted birds (back).” Kyivan Rus’, 11th-12th century. On view at Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 300. Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917. Accession Number. 17.190.680. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/464554 accessed on 7 July, 2023.

Ntalija Ristovska, “Temple Pendants in Medieval Rus’: How Were They Worn?” in C. Entwistle and N. Adams eds., Intelligible Beauty: Recent Research in Byzantine Jewellry (London, British Museum Press, 2010), 203-211. Available at Academia.com https://www.academia.edu/4539478/Temple_Pendants_in_Medieval_Rus_How_Were_They_Worn_in_Ch_Entwistle_and_N_Adams_ed_Intelligible_Beauty_Recent_Research_on_Byzantine_Jewellery_London_The_British_Museum_Press_2010_

Accessed on 7 July, 2023.

Bisserka Gaydarska and John Chapman, “Ancient Ukrainian “Megasites” Might Have Been the World’s First Cities,” De Gruyter Conversation, 30 November 2020, Accessed 11 July 2023 at https://blog.degruyter.com/ancient-ukrainian-megasites-might-have-been-the-worlds-first-cities/

Christian Raffensperger, “Princess Olga: A Medieval Heroine for Modern Ukraine,” medievalists.net, May 2022. Accessed 11 July 2023 at https://www.medievalists.net/2022/05/princess-olga-medieval-hero-ukraine/

Homer, Odyssey XII, 39.

Mike Dixon-kennedy, Encyclopedia of Russian and Slavic Myth and Legend, Bloomsbury Academic, 1998.

L.V. Pekars’Ka, “Treasures from Ancient Kiev in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Dumbarton Oaks,” Metropolitan Museum Journal, 32 (1997), 65-75.

Ashley’s Piece of Stuff

Chrstine Dell’amore, “Ancient Dog Skull Shows Early Pet Domestication,” National Geographic News, August 19, 2011, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/110819-dogs-wolves-russia-domestication-animals-science-evolution?rnd=1689101171431&loggedin=true. 

Ovodov, Nikolai D. et al. “A 33,000-Year-Old Incipient Dog from the Altai Mountains of Siberia: Evidence of the Earliest Domestication Disrupted by the Last Glacial Maximum.” PloS ONE 6, no. 7 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0022821. 

Public Library of Science, “Siberian Fossil Revealed to Be One of the Oldest Known Domestic Dogs,” Science Daily, March 6, 2013, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130306221139.htm.  

Druzhkova, Anna S. et al. “Ancient DNA Analysis Affirms the Canid from Altai as a Primitive Dog.” PLoS ONE 8, no. 3 (2013). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0057754.

Joseph Stromberg, “This 33,000-Year-Old Skull Belonged to One of the World’s First Dogs,” Smithsonian Magazine, March 6, 2013, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/this-33000-year-old-skull-belonged-to-one-of-the-worlds-first-dogs-763615/. 

Shelley Littin, “Ancient Domesticated Dog Skull Found in Siberian Cave,” University of Arizona News, January 20, 2012, https://news.arizona.edu/story/ancient-domesticated-dog-skull-found-in-siberian-cave. 

Hamish Pritchard, “Ancient Dog Skull Unearthed in Siberia,” BBC News, August 3, 2011, https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-14390679. 

Music Credits:

Background Music: Stars (Extended) by Vlad Gluschenko | https://soundcloud.com/vgl9

Intro/Outro/Interlude Music composed by Ashley Bozian

Cover Art

Photo by Tracey Cooper . 

In this episode Ashley Bozian and Tracey Cooper delve into whether or not cut marks on prehistoric bone are evidence of cannibalism, explode the myth of man the hunter and woman the gatherer, explore the earliest known winery and think long and hard about the earliest (42,000-yearr-old) anatomically accurate penis pendant. 

Show Notes Episode Two: Prehistoric Pee Pee and Pinot

Tracey’s Stuff in the News

Michael Le Page, “The Myth That Men Hunt While Women Stay at Home is Entirely Wrong,” New Scientist, on-line article, June 28th 2023, accessed June 30th 2023, https://www.newscientist.com/article/2380011-the-myth-that-men-hunt-while-women-stay-at-home-is-entirely-wrong/

Abigail Anderson, Sophia Chilczuck, Kaylie Nelson, Roxanne Ruther, Cara Wall-Schaffer, “The Myth of Man the Hunter: Women’s Contribution to the Hunt Across Ethnographic Contexts,” Plos One, June 28, 2023, accessed on June 30th 2023, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0287101

Nick Carne, “Men Hunt and Women Gather. But Not Always,” Cosmos, 6 November 2020, accessed June 30 2023, https://cosmosmagazine.com/history/men-went-hunting-women-gathered-but-maybe-not-always/

Randall Haas, James Watson, Tammy Buanasera, John Sothon, Jennifer C. Chen, Sarah Noe, Kevin Smith, Carlos Viviano Llave, Jelmer Eerkens and Glendon Parker, “Female Hunters of Early Americas, Science Advances, Vol 6, Issue 45, Nov 4 2020, accessed June 30 2023 at DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abd0310

Ashley mentioned the work of William Costello on Incels (Involuntary Celibates). William Costello “Levels of Well-Being Among Men Who Are Incel (Involuntary Celibate),” Evolutionary Psychological Science 8 (2022), 375-290. 

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40806-022-00336-x

Tracey’s Piece of Stuff

Solange Rigaud, Evgeny P. Rybin, Arina M. Khatsenovich, Alain Queffelec, Clea H. Paine, Byambaa Gunchinsuren, Sahra Talamo, Daria V. Marchenko, Tsedendorj Bolorbat, Davaakhuu Odsuren, J. Christopher Gillam, Masami Izuho, Alexander Yu. Fedorchenko, Dashdorjgochoo Odgerel, Roman Shelepaev, Jean-Jacques Hublin & Nicolas Zwyns, “Symbolic Innovation at the onset of the Upper Paleolithic in Eurasia shown by personal ornaments from Tolbor-21 (Mongolia),” Scientific Reports 8, 12 June 2023. 

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-36140-1

Jennifer Nalewicki, “42,000-year-old anatomically accurate penis pendant is world’s earliest known depiction of human genitalia,” Live Science, 21 June 2023, accessed 7/3/2023. https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/42000-year-old-anatomically-accurate-penis-pendant-is-the-worlds-earliest-known-depiction-of-human-genitalia

“Graphite,” Wikipedia, accessed 7/3/2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphite

“Graphite Stone,” Minerals Kingdoms, accessed 7/3/2023, accessed 7/3/2023, https://www.minerals-kingdom.com/stones-virtues/graphite-stone/

Kathryn Emily van de Weil, Fascinum: the apotropaic phallus of Campania in the Ancient and Modern Imagination, PhD Thesis, University of Warwick, 2019.

https://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/145588/

Agence France-Presse, “Average Penis Size Revealed in Study,” The Guardian, 4 Mar 2015. https://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/145588/

Jennifer Pahlk, “The IRA is Our Best Shot at Tackling Climate Change - But Only If WE Don’t Squander It,” Time Magazine, 27 June 2023, https://time.com/6290582/inflation-reduction-act-climate-change-implementation/

Richard Pallardy, “Zombie Worms Devour Shark Teeth that Fall to the Ocean Floor,” New Scientist, 25 June, 2023. https://www.newscientist.com/article/2379383-zombie-worms-devour-shark-teeth-that-fall-to-the-ocean-floor/

Ashley’s Stuff in the News

Franz Lidz, “Cannibalism, or ‘Clickbait’ for Paleoanthropology?” New York Times, July 1, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/01/science/archaeology-hominids-cannibalism.html .

Pobiner, Briana, Michael Pante, and Trevor Keevil. “Early Pleistocene Cut Marked Hominin Fossil from Koobi Fora, Kenya.” Scientific Reports 13 (2023), https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-35702-7#Abs1 . 

Ashley’s Piece of Stuff

Barnard, Hans et al. “Chemical Evidence for Wine Production around 4000 BCE in the Late Chalcolithic Near Eastern Highlands.” Journal of Archaeological Science 38, no. 5 (2011): 977-84. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0305440310004115?fr=RR-2&ref=pdf_download&rr=7e11165cfe4043fd .

James Owen, “Earliest Known Winery Found in Armenian Cave,” National Geographic, January 12, 2011, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/110111-oldest-wine-press-making-winery-armenia-science-ucla?rnd=1688418625043&loggedin=true . 

Thomas H. Maugh II, “Ancient Winery Found in Armenia,” Los Angeles Times, January 11, 2011, https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2011-jan-11-la-sci-ancient-winery-20110111-story.html . 

U.S. Mission Armenia, “Ambassador Mills Opens U.S. Government-Funded Areni Cave Preservation Project,” U.S. Embassy in Armenia, September 19, 2017, https://am.usembassy.gov/areni-cave/. 

McGovern, Patrick E. Uncorking the Past: The Quest for Wine, Beer, and Other Alcoholic Beverages. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2009.

Music Credits:

Background Music: Stars (Extended) by Vlad Gluschenko | https://soundcloud.com/vgl9

Intro/Outro Music composed from free music clips by Tracey Cooper using Bandlab.

Cover Art

Photo by Tracey Cooper . 

In episode number one Ashley discusses the history of a common bathroom item and Tracey discusses the trade networks behind the discovery of hoard of medieval gaming pieces.

Sources:

From Tracey’s Stuff in the News.

Owen Jarus, “2,700-year-old Petroglyphs Depicting People, Ships, and Animals Discovered in Sweden,”Livescience.com, accessed on June 20, 2023 at https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/2700-year-old-petroglyphs-depicting-people-ships-and-animals-discovered-in-sweden

Richard Whiddington, “Researchers Flying Drone Have Discovered 7,000-year-old Cave Painting in the Mountains of Spain, Artnet.com, accessed on June 20, 2023 at https://news.artnet.com/art-world/drone-prehistoric-cave-paintings-spain-2310253

Richard Whiddington, “Archeologists in Peru used A.I. to Discover Ancient Geogylphs of Killer Whales, Two-Headed Snakes, and Other Creatures Carved into the Land,” Artnet.com June 7, 2023, accessed June, 20, 2023 at https://news.artnet.com/art-world/nazca-geoglyphs-peru-ai-2316856.

Masato Sakai, Yiru Lai, Jorge Olano Canales, Masao Hayashi, Kohhei Nomuru, “Accelerating the Discovery of New Nazca Geogylphs Using Deep Learning,” Journal of Archaeological Science 155, July 2023, 105777, accessed on June 20, 2023 at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2023.105777

Francisco Javier Molina Hernández, Virginia Baricela González, Ximo Martorell Briz, “Metodología de detección cón dron (RPAS) aplicada a la prospección de arte rupestre prehitórico (Drone (RPAS) detection methodology for prehistoric art surveying), Lucentum XLII, 2023, 33-50.

Jessica E. Saraceni, Archaeological Headlines, Monday June 12, 2023, Archaeology.org, accessed on June 20, 2023 at https://www.archaeology.org/news

From Tracey’s Piece of Stuff: Queen from Lewis Chessmen

A Deepminded Queen thinking deep thoughts - or perhaps this is her resting chess face.Picture Credit: National Museum of Scotland, shared on wikicommons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NMSLewisChessmen21.jpg. National Museum of Scotland’s reference and description:  H.NS 23: Chessman or chess piece, queen, crowned and holding a drinking horn, seated on throne, of walrus ivory, found in an underground chamber in the parish of Uig, Lewis in 1831: Scandinavian, late 12th century

Nancy Marie Brown, Ivory Vikings: The Mystery of the Most Famous Chessmen in the World and the Woman Who Made Them (New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2015)

David H. Caldwell, Mark A. Hall and Caroline M. Wilkinson, the Lewis Chessmen Unmasked (National Museums of Scotland, 2011)

N. Stafford, the Lewis Chessmen and the Enigma of the Hoard (The British Museum Press, 1997).

Tracey mentioned the story of the making of walrus rope recorded after an account by Ohthere of Hẳlogaland given to King Alfred of Wessex (r.871-899) and recorded in the ninth century Old English version of the fifth century book by Paul Orosius, Seven Books of History Against the Pagans.

Tracey also referred to Ferdowsi’s (Firdausi) Shahnameh, edited by Arthur and Edmond Warner (Kegan, Paul, Trench, Trübner, 1905-1925, available at the Internet Archive. 

Tracey mentioned the pigment on some of the Lewis chessmen, this was made from cinnabar (oxidized mercury) and not ochre as was said.

Tracey also said several times the Nancy Marie Book, Ivory Vikings, was new. New to her maybe, but she acknowledges that 2015 is actually quite a wee while ago now.

From Ashley’s Stuff in the News:

Jared Malsin and Chelsey Dulaney, “Ex-First Republic Executive to Head Turkey’s Central Bank,” Wall Street Journal, June 9 2023 https://www.wsj.com/articles/turkey-names-former-first-republic-executive-as-head-of-central-bank-4142ace2 

From Ashley’s Piece of Stuff:

A.S. Davidsohn, "Soap and Detergent," Encyclopedia Britannica 21 Apr. 2023, Accessed 27 June 2023 https://www.britannica.com/science/soap 

Dan Koeppel, “The History of Soap,” New York Times, April 15, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/history-of-soap/ 

Geoffrey Jones, Beauty Imagined: A History of the Global Beauty Industry, Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2010 

Music Credits:

Background Music: Stars (Extended) by Vlad Gluschenko | https://soundcloud.com/vgl9

Intro/Outro Music composed from free music clips by Tracey Cooper using Bandlab.

Cover Art

Photo by Tracey Cooper .