History News Tidbits

"Learn Something Old Everyday"

That's our motto, so here are some short stories
about what's new and old this week.

New York:::
For those curious as to what is going on with the ship unearthed 2 weeks ago in Lower Manhattan, the New York Times has an update.

David Dunlap reports:

"She was most likely a brigantine; the two-masted workhorse of the coastal trade, ranging perhaps from New England (where she might have picked up lumber needed by an ever-growing New York City) as far south as Barbados (from which she would have carried sugar and molasses to feed a growing population)."

He continues:

"The disassembly should be finished Friday, Dr. Riess said. The forensic work will then shift to the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory.

What was a sodden mess two weeks ago looked more and more like a ship in recent days, with the exposure of the lowermost hull. This allowed Dr. Riess, of the Darling Marine Center at the University of Maine and archaeologists from the AKRF firm to see how honeycombed and worm-eaten the wood was, bolstering speculation that the ship’s sorry final lot was to be used as landfill around the turn of the 19th century."

Wynne Perry, LiveScience Senior writer, reports on Yahoo that the origins of domestication of Donkeys is better understood now that crucial DNA work is underway.

"Five thousand years ago, in North Africa, humans formed an alliance with the wild ancestors of the donkey, twice.

This was no insignificant feat; domestication of the donkey's ancestors helped these ancient cattle herders become more mobile and adapt as the Sahara Desert expanded. Donkeys also expanded over-land trade and contributed to the growth in the early Egypt state."

To that end he also reports:

"Modern donkeys can be divided into two, genetically distinct groups, leading scientists to believe that they have two ancestors, which were believed to be the Somali wild ass and the Nubian wild ass, both subspecies of the African wild ass.

In new research, scientists analyzed mitochondrial DNA, or that contained in the energy-producing centers of cells, taken from archeological sites, museum collections and live animals.

Their results showed that the Somali wild ass, or a close relative of this subspecies, was not one of the two ancestors. It is possible this unknown ancestor came from an extinct population of wild ass or from another region, the researchers suggest.

The more telling finding came when researchers confirmed that the Nubian wild ass was indeed the ancestor of one of the donkey groups. As part of their genetic analysis, the team found evidence that humans domesticated Nubian wild asses multiple times, and that all the while, these future donkeys continued interbreeding with their wild relatives.

The findings also suggest donkey domestication took place in Africa, far from the Fertile Crescent, where most animals were once believed to be domesticated."

This cryptic marks are said to be "the earliest evidence we've got for reptiles."

Jeanna Bryner, LiveScience Managing Editor, reports that the footprints were discovered by Howard Falcon-Lang of Royal Holloway, University of London, while he was mucking about looking for something entirely different.

She goes on to write:

"From the size of the tracks, the researchers suggest the animal was about the size of a gecko, nearly 8 inches (20 centimeters) from snout to tail tip.

From the Prawn of Time

Older than the triceratops, older than mighty T-Rex, the tiny "tadpole shrimp", or Triops cancriformis, is on the endangered species list, but valiantly persists.

The Guardian.UK writes:

Until recently, researchers believed the ancient shrimps lived only in a single pond in the New Forest in Hampshire. Six years ago, Larry Griffin, a scientist at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, discovered what appeared to be an isolated colony of the creatures in a pool at Caerlaverock.

The wee shrimp remains virtually unchanged from the Triassic Period, making it some 200 Million years old -- pre-dating dinosaurs.

I hope they act to preserve these special little guys.

Free History Books for Kindle, iPad, Mac & PC

I love history and I'm a tad of a tech fangirl. As a consequence I've got an iPad and a Kindle and I read history on both. (What can I say, I've got a hubby that spoils me.)

I've found the iPad superior for reading PDFs. I know you can upload PDFs to the Kindle but it doesn't seem worth the effort since you loose any images the book or paper might contain. For general reading though, I find the Kindle, or Kindle software superior. Not only is the Kindle easier to read outside, but the Amazon store is far superior in what it offers when compared to the Apple bookstore (which is truly awful at this point).

Sources of Free History Literature:

Archive.org
Google.Books
Project Gutenberg

Archive.org is a great source, and currently provides the most download formats, including the ability to read their books online.

Google.Books is coming right along. You can read their selection of FREE books (identified as 'Full View') online, or as a PDF or ePub download.

Project Gutenberg is the venerable granddad in this group. They are currently adding so many options that you will just have to check.

Check back, I'll be adding more.


What I've Been Reading:::
Here is a list of what I've been reading lately. As I run across sources I will add to this list, whether I've read them or not, so check back.

Note: I've linked the titles to Archive.com by default. In most cases where you see 'my review at Amazon' you should be able to download the book, for FREE, to your Kindle. This does not mean that the books are not available at Gutenberg or Google.Books.

FICTION:::

1. Log of a Cowboy (1903) (my review at Amazon (for a physical book), download for Kindle)
   
2. Tillie: A Mennonite Maid (1904) (see my review at Amazon)
   

NON-FICTION::: See subdivisions of PRIMARY SOURCES, SECONDARY SOURCES and COOKBOOKS

PRIMARY SOURCES:::

1. A Lady's Life on a Farm in Manitoba (1884) (not reviewed yet. For Kindle here)
   
2. Along The New Line To The Pacific Coast. Opportunities On The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway (circa 1908)(review at LT)
   
3. Asia On a Bicycle : The Journey of Two American Students From Constantinople to Peking (circa 1903) (my review at LT)
   
4. Letters of a Woman Homesteader (1914)(not reviewed yet. Kindle download here)
   
5. Memoir of Hannah Adam (1832)(not reviewed yet. Not available for Kindle)
   
6. **Some Notes on the First Recorded Visit of White Men to the Site of the Present City of Richmond, Virginia (1899)(review at LT)
   
7. The American Frugal Housewife (1841)(my review at Amazon)

SECONDARY SOURCES:::

1. Women's Life in Colonial Days (1922) (my review at Amazon)
2. **Some Notes on the First Recorded Visit of White Men to the Site of the Present City of Richmond, Virginia (1899)(my review at LT)
   

COOKBOOKS:::

1. For Luncheon and Supper Guests: Ten Menus: More than One Hundred Recipes, Suitable for Company Luncheons, Sunday Night Suppers, Afternoon Parties, Automobile Picnics, Evening Spreads, and for Tea Rooms, Lunch Rooms, Coffee Shops, and Motor Inns (1923) (review at Amazon)
2. Many Ways for Cooking Eggs (1912) (review at Amazon)
3. Pennsylvania Dutch Cooking (unk) (review at LT)
   
4. Sunkist Recipes Oranges-Lemons (1916)(review at LT)

GARDENING and ARTS-&-CRAFTS:::

1. Beeton's Book of Needlework (1860ish)(Available for Kindle but not recommended as there are no drawings. Still searching for a really good free copy.)
2. Home Vegetable Gardening, a Complete and Practical Guide to the Planting and Care of All Vegetables, Fruits and Berries Worth Growing for Home Use (1917)(not reviewed yet. It's Excellent. Download for Kindle )
3. The Ladies' Work-Table Book Containing Clear and Practical Instructions in Plain and Fancy Needlework, Embroidery, Knitting, Netting and Crochet (archive.org. Not reviewed)
   

Check back, by the way, because I'll be updating this list frequently with Free books I find for Kindle and which can be downloaded as a PDF to ipad and/or PC.

**Duplicated because the work is both primary and secondary source, depending on perspective.

History News Tidbits

"Learn Something Old Everyday"

That's our motto, so here are some short stories
about what's new and old this week.

Ontario:::

An expansion of a sewer system has led to the discover of evidence of long-term Native American habitation on the eastern shore of Lake Huron.

Adrian Morrow of the Globe and Mail reports:

"The artifacts range from stone knives dating to the time of ancient Athens to storage vessels from the era of the Black Death in Europe to objects from a 19th-century European trading post, where aboriginal people bartered for things such as “jingle cones,” pieces of copper and brass that dancers wore on their costumes.

“If you wanted a museum spanning 2,000 years of history of the Saugeen and their ancestors, it’s all there,” said Bill Fitzgerald, an archeologist working on the site. “It points to a long-term and intensive occupation.”

Lima Peru:::

Reuter's reporter Emily Schmall reports that Carlos Wester La Torre, director of the Bruning Museum in Peru, and his team have uncovered a 60-meter long hall with a partial mural. The hallway leads to three porticoes which hold five ceremonial thrones.

We haven't found any images to share yet, but the mural is said to show "three high priests whose ornamentation confirms the involvement of the culture's political leadership in the ceremony...."

The discovery is important because it provides evidence to support the notion that a ceremony "known as 'the presentation' was carried out by the Moche people, an agricultural civilization that flourished between 100 B.C. and 800 A.D."

Older dog fossils have been found but we still thought this story was cool since it provides fuel to keep the fiery 'dog origins' arguments boiling hot. See Origin of Domestic Dog at Wikipedia

Besides the question of location(s?) -- did dogs originate in the far east or the west -- there are multiple questions involving definitions -- when does a wolf become a dog, and when exactly can one say an animal is 'domesticated'. Scientists argue over these points (we can't exactly call them fine), leaning on fossil evidence sometimes, and DNA evidence at others.

Scientists disagree about how and when dogs originated, other than that wolves provided the wild stock from which dogs were bred. One investigation of genetic diversity in modern dogs and wolves concluded that domestication occurred in southeastern Asia, whereas another placed canine origins in Eastern Europe or the Middle East (SN: 4/10/10, p. 12).

Bruce Bower at ScienceNews reports that the "upper-right jaw unearthed in 1873 in Kesslerloch Cave ... shows that domestic dogs lived there between 14,100 and 14,600 years ago...."

And part of our enjoyment of this discovery is that it took over 100 years for 'the old find' to become more fully appreciated.

Steve Boles Discovers Wonderous 900 Year-Old Figure at Mississippian Site

No this isn't the figure. It's a disappointing arrowhead as the
powers-that-be haven't given permission for photos apparently.

GEORGE PAWLACZYK of the News-Democrat (via BND.com) reports that grad-student Steve Boles has found the rare 6-inch-high figure of a kneeling woman at the construction site of the new $670-million Mississippi River bridge. For reasons of unknown there is no picture of this rare "Mississipian" find, although we have been granted permission to see an arrowhead and a handful of broken pottery. *sigh*

George writes:

The roughly carved face of a woman, whose long hair winds down her back, stares impassively. She appears to be holding a conch shell, which were often imported from early people who lived along the Gulf of Mexico.

About the construction site he continues...

The sheer size of the dig and the discovery of a buried city dating to around 1050 A.D. -- the same time that mound and city building also took off at nearby Cahokia Mounds -- has raised hope that an old archaeological puzzle may finally be solved: Where did the Mississippians -- a non-nomadic, warrior-based agricultural society -- come from and why did they build on such a grand scale?

Site manager and archaeologist Jeff Kruchten said that since last fall, 137 dwelling sites have been dug up or are being excavated. Another 500 to 650 are thought to exist, pushing the estimate of the city's peak population to at least 4,000.

Because the site must be fully excavated or be forever lost to construction, the usual practice of digging up only a part of a site to save it for future archaeologists -- the strict practice at Cahokia Mounds where only 1 percent of the site has been excavated -- has been dropped. Pretty much the whole stockyards site will be dug.

Site manager and archaeologist Jeff Kruchten is quoted as saying:

"We are finding evidence of special buildings that could have been used for religious purposes or communal areas, and of sweat lodges," he said. The evidence of a sweat lodge is a circle of dark stains where a hut's poles once stood with a hearth in the center.

A sweat lodge, widely used among historical American Indians even today, features a small enclosure with an open fire to boil water. The steam and darkness are believed to purify body and mind.

Unlike other Mississippian sites, early, more primitive habitations were not found beneath the stockyards city.

"There was nobody there before them. So, it was kind of an empty piece of the flood plain where Mississippian developers came in and for just a hundred or two hundred years or so cut down trees, leveled things off and built mounds," said Koldehoff, cultural resource coordinator for the Illinois Department of Transportation. He formerly headed the Illinois Transportation Archaeological Research Program, known now as the Illinois State Archaeological Survey.