blah blah blah

jtotheizzoe:

Common Descent
There’s a famous old anecdote about Charlemagne that’s been used for ages to explain how interconnected we are among our biological pasts. It has been said that everyone of European ancestry is related to Charlemagne, the great King of the Franks, born in 742 AD. If you’re European, you’re royalty. How is that possible?
I’ll tell you another tidbit first: Not only do all Europeans share Charlemagne as an ancestor, they share everyone alive at the same time as Charlemagne as an ancestor. Everyone who had kids, anyway. Let me explain:
Everyone alive has two biological parents. They each have two parents themselves, for a total of four grandparents. For x number of generations that you travel back in time, you have 2^x direct grandparents of increasing separation. Extrapolate that back to Charlie’s time, and you’d need 1 trillion grandparents to cover all your ancestral bases. Michael from Vsauce did a video about it. Since that’s far more people than have ever been alive, we need to engage some incest to solve the problem. Not banjo-applesauce incest, just a bit of redrawing our family trees into family webs.
Somewhere, far enough back in the web of grandparents, we will find a person whose lines connect to every single person who comes after them. That zig-zagged trail of shared genetic history ends surprisingly recently (for Euros, again): A common European ancestor around 1400 AD. Go a bit farther, and we find a common Earthling ancestor around 3,000 BC. It’s neat stuff. But it’s all based in mathematical models, not real genetic data.
Until now. USC and UC Davis researchers Peter Ralph and Graham Coop have surveyed the genomes of 2,257 Europeans in order to put some real data behind those models. Because of the random shuffling of chromosome fragments that created your father’s sperm and your mother’s egg, you, your siblings and your cousins all share varying chunks of DNA. People who are more closely related share more of these chunks. Depending on how many chunks are shared between two people, we can calculate their approximate relation to each other. Using 2 million shared sequences and a lot of math, they proved the mathematical models correct. Turkish people are more related to other Turks than to someone from Portugal, but they are related enough that, not only do they share one common ancestor a few hundred years ago, but they share every ancestor if you go back a mere thousand years. The models guessed that a long time ago, but now we have the data to prove it.It’s likely that these patterns extend to other regions of Earth, although the numbers might be slightly (but not that) different.
Next time someone in your neck of the ethnic woods points out a famous relative or claims blue-blood descent, remind them that they aren’t so special. All street-sweepers are royalty, all nobles are peasants, and we are all Kings and Queens.
Read more at NatGeo. Have more questions? Also check out the great FAQ on the project from the researchers themselves.

Common Descent

There’s a famous old anecdote about Charlemagne that’s been used for ages to explain how interconnected we are among our biological pasts. It has been said that everyone of European ancestry is related to Charlemagne, the great King of the Franks, born in 742 AD. If you’re European, you’re royalty. How is that possible?

I’ll tell you another tidbit first: Not only do all Europeans share Charlemagne as an ancestor, they share everyone alive at the same time as Charlemagne as an ancestor. Everyone who had kids, anyway. Let me explain:

Everyone alive has two biological parents. They each have two parents themselves, for a total of four grandparents. For x number of generations that you travel back in time, you have 2^x direct grandparents of increasing separation. Extrapolate that back to Charlie’s time, and you’d need 1 trillion grandparents to cover all your ancestral bases. Michael from Vsauce did a video about it. Since that’s far more people than have ever been alive, we need to engage some incest to solve the problem. Not banjo-applesauce incest, just a bit of redrawing our family trees into family webs.

Somewhere, far enough back in the web of grandparents, we will find a person whose lines connect to every single person who comes after them. That zig-zagged trail of shared genetic history ends surprisingly recently (for Euros, again): A common European ancestor around 1400 AD. Go a bit farther, and we find a common Earthling ancestor around 3,000 BC. It’s neat stuff. But it’s all based in mathematical models, not real genetic data.

Until now. USC and UC Davis researchers Peter Ralph and Graham Coop have surveyed the genomes of 2,257 Europeans in order to put some real data behind those models. Because of the random shuffling of chromosome fragments that created your father’s sperm and your mother’s egg, you, your siblings and your cousins all share varying chunks of DNA. People who are more closely related share more of these chunks. Depending on how many chunks are shared between two people, we can calculate their approximate relation to each other. Using 2 million shared sequences and a lot of math, they proved the mathematical models correct. Turkish people are more related to other Turks than to someone from Portugal, but they are related enough that, not only do they share one common ancestor a few hundred years ago, but they share every ancestor if you go back a mere thousand years. The models guessed that a long time ago, but now we have the data to prove it.It’s likely that these patterns extend to other regions of Earth, although the numbers might be slightly (but not that) different.

Next time someone in your neck of the ethnic woods points out a famous relative or claims blue-blood descent, remind them that they aren’t so special. All street-sweepers are royalty, all nobles are peasants, and we are all Kings and Queens.

Read more at NatGeo. Have more questions? Also check out the great FAQ on the project from the researchers themselves.

Normal is overrated.: aporeticelenchus: heidi8: sonneillonv: dressthesavage:...

aporeticelenchus:

heidi8:

sonneillonv:

dressthesavage:

narwhalsareunderwaterunicorns:

anglofile:

spicyshimmy:

how is it possible to love fictional characters this much and also have people always been this way?

like, did queen elizabeth lie in bed late…

tamsalama:

eomira:

gifcraft:

Source: Aging Face Transformation

This is super cool

I love this because it is cool, and also because it furthers a point I love to make to people: old folks usually don’t feel like they’re old folks. They were just like you once.

thevintagethimble:

1920’s HairstylesA collection of 1920’s photographs, depicting some of the hairstyles of the time, like the kiss curl, the orchid bob, the charleston cut, coconut bob, earphones hairstyle, cottage loaf (bun) and popular styles you’ll probably never see in a period drama like extreme windblown style, the frizzy hairstyle and the Poodle cut.
Victorian Hairstyles Here [x] | Edwardian Hairstyles Here [x]

thevintagethimble:

1920’s Hairstyles
A collection of 1920’s photographs, depicting some of the hairstyles of the time, like the kiss curl, the orchid bob, the charleston cut, coconut bob, earphones hairstyle, cottage loaf (bun) and popular styles you’ll probably never see in a period drama like extreme windblown style, the frizzy hairstyle and the Poodle cut.

Victorian Hairstyles Here [x] | Edwardian Hairstyles Here [x]

thevintagethimble:

Victorian Hairstyles
A collection of Victorian photographs ranging from 1855 - 1880’s.

Edwardian Hairstyles Here [x] | 1920’s Hairstyles Here [x]

thevintagethimble:

Edwardian Hairstyles
A collection of Edwardian photographs, depicting some of the hairstyles of the time, like the Low Pompadour. Hatpin Hairstyle. Side-Swirls. Flapper (The title ‘Flapper’ originally referred to teenage girls
who wore their hair in single plait which often terminated in a wide ribbon bow.) & the pompadour.

Victorian Hairstyles Here [x] | 1920’s Hairstyles Here [x]

the beggar and the king: Medusa wasn't always a monster.

thebeggarandtheking:

queennubian:

She was once the a beautiful virgin shadow maiden of Athean. After Poseidon rapes Medusa in Athena’s temple, Athena punishes Medusa….making her the embodiement of death and damning her to a life of solitude.

What does this say about society then, and now?

Well, the myth that tells Medusa’s metamorphosis into a monster as a punishment by Athena is the patriarchal Roman version. The ancient Greek myth, which has closer ties to its progenitor, the Egyptian tale of Wadjet, tells us that Athena gifted Medusa with ugliness and the power to turn men to stone as a way of protecting her from further violations of her person. Even so, her ugliness was emphasized in the Roman retelling as a way to further demonize and disenfranchise Medusa (i.e. she only lashed out on men because she was too ugly to be loved by them, her ugliness forced her into seclusion from men, ugly women are bad, etc. ((I am ironically using abbreviations for Latin words here yes)).). As the original myth tells it, she lived in solitude because she did not wish to be around men after what Poseidon had done. And Athena gave her the power to never be at the mercy of a male again. So originally, Athena was pissed at Poseidon, not Medusa. And then, of course, the Romans took it one step further and had Perseus behead her (yay the vindictive old hag is dead) and give it to Athena for her shield.

But yeah, renderings of Medusa’s head appeared in the doorways of many women’s shelters in ancient Greece because she was a symbol of female empowerment, not a monster feared by men and women alike.

This brings me to my awkward segue into a cool essay on the subject: The Laugh of the Medusa by Helene Cixous actually touches on the system of misogynistic fear behind the Romanized version, but most importantly why women need to write their stories because this is the shit that happens when dudebros get ahold of them. It’s also an awesome overture to queer theories of writing. If you can read French, I highly suggest getting your hands on the essay as it was originally written, because Cixous’ voice is just incredibly inspiring when you read it as she intended it to be read. Also, the essay itself is worthy of criticism as it is not as intersectional as it absolutely needs to be. I feel I should add that before someone thinks I advocate the problematic things she says.

But now that I’ve totally digressed from my original point: It’s important that we’re always mindful to question the credibility of those telling us not only history, but also legend.

(I became absolutely exhausted halfway through this so forgive me if the connection I’m making between the original post and this essay is more arbitrary than I think it is at the moment)

ancientpeoples:

Finger ring with remains of Lapis Lazuli inlay

1850-1550 BC

Minoan

(Source: The British Museum)

critink:

The Tattoos of Ancient Siberian Princesses

Tattoos as complex and abstract as any modern design have been found on the body of Siberian princess buried in the permafrost for more than 2500 years.
Natalia Polosmak, the scientist who found the remains of Princess Ukok high in mountains close to Russia’s border with Mongolia and China, said she was struck by how little has changed in the past two millennia.

Tattoos of mythological creatures and complex patterns are believed to have been status symbols for the ancient nomadic Pazyryk peple first described by the Greek historian Herodotus in the 5th century BC.
A striking tattoo of a deer with a griffons beak and Capricorn antlers was found on the left shoulder of the ancient ‘princess’, who died about age 25.
The antlers are decorated with the heads of griffons. And the same griffon’s head is shown on the back of the animal. She also has a dear’s head on her wrist, with big antlers.
“Our young woman - the ‘princess’ - has only her two arms tattooed,” Dr Polosmak told the Siberian Times. “So they signified both age and status.”
Buried with the ‘princess’ were six saddled-and-bridled horses, bronze and gold ornaments - and a small canister of cannabis.
She is not known to be a ‘princess’, as her name implies. Experts are divided over whether she was a poet, healer or holy woman.
Two warriors recovered from the same burial site in the permafrost of the Ukok Plateau were similar fantastical creatures. One had an image reaching across his right shoulder from his chest to his back.
The reconstructed tattoos were released to mark the moving of the remains of the princess to a permanent display in the National Museum in Gorno-Altaisk where she will be put on display.
Two warriors recovered from the same burial site in the permafrost of the Ukok Plateau were similar fantastical creatures. One had an image reaching across his right shoulder from his chest to his back.
The reconstructed tattoos were released to mark the moving of the remains of the princess to a permanent display in the National Museum in Gorno-Altaisk.
“Tattoos were used as a mean of personal identification - like a passport now, if you like,” said Dr Polosmak.
“I think we have not moved far from Pazyryks in how the tattoos are made.
“We can say that most likely there was - and is - one place on the body for everyone to start putting the tattoos on, and it was a left shoulder. I can assume so because all the mummies we found with just one tattoo had it on their left shoulders.
“And nowadays this is the same place where people try to put the tattoos on, thousands of years on.
“I think its linked to the body composition - as the left shoulder is the place where it is noticeable most, where it looks the most beautiful.”
Another similarity is how the number of tattoos is linked to age.
Dr Polosmak related the analogy of Greek tourist operators assessing the age of British tourists by the number of tattoos on their body.
But there the similarities end.
The tattoos used by the Pazyryk nomads were intended to help members of the tribe identify each other in the afterlife.
IMAGES:
TOP: The elaborate tattoo of a deer with a griffons beak and Capricorn antlers found on the body of a Polosmak ‘princess’.
MIDDLE: (1) Designs and locations on the princess’s body (2) Thumb and wrist tattoo locations on the “princess” (3) Body of a Pazyryk warrior buried nearby
BOTTOM: (1) Design and location on the warrior’s body (2) Design and location on the second warrior’s body
[source] Thanks to @iwillnothangmyselftoday for the tip on this awesome art-historical discovery.

critink:

The Tattoos of Ancient Siberian Princesses

Tattoos as complex and abstract as any modern design have been found on the body of Siberian princess buried in the permafrost for more than 2500 years.

Natalia Polosmak, the scientist who found the remains of Princess Ukok high in mountains close to Russia’s border with Mongolia and China, said she was struck by how little has changed in the past two millennia.

Tattoos of mythological creatures and complex patterns are believed to have been status symbols for the ancient nomadic Pazyryk peple first described by the Greek historian Herodotus in the 5th century BC.

A striking tattoo of a deer with a griffons beak and Capricorn antlers was found on the left shoulder of the ancient ‘princess’, who died about age 25.

The antlers are decorated with the heads of griffons. And the same griffon’s head is shown on the back of the animal. She also has a dear’s head on her wrist, with big antlers.

“Our young woman - the ‘princess’ - has only her two arms tattooed,” Dr Polosmak told the Siberian Times. “So they signified both age and status.”

Buried with the ‘princess’ were six saddled-and-bridled horses, bronze and gold ornaments - and a small canister of cannabis.

She is not known to be a ‘princess’, as her name implies. Experts are divided over whether she was a poet, healer or holy woman.

Two warriors recovered from the same burial site in the permafrost of the Ukok Plateau were similar fantastical creatures. One had an image reaching across his right shoulder from his chest to his back.

The reconstructed tattoos were released to mark the moving of the remains of the princess to a permanent display in the National Museum in Gorno-Altaisk where she will be put on display.

Two warriors recovered from the same burial site in the permafrost of the Ukok Plateau were similar fantastical creatures. One had an image reaching across his right shoulder from his chest to his back.

The reconstructed tattoos were released to mark the moving of the remains of the princess to a permanent display in the National Museum in Gorno-Altaisk.

“Tattoos were used as a mean of personal identification - like a passport now, if you like,” said Dr Polosmak.

“I think we have not moved far from Pazyryks in how the tattoos are made.

“We can say that most likely there was - and is - one place on the body for everyone to start putting the tattoos on, and it was a left shoulder. I can assume so because all the mummies we found with just one tattoo had it on their left shoulders.

“And nowadays this is the same place where people try to put the tattoos on, thousands of years on.

“I think its linked to the body composition - as the left shoulder is the place where it is noticeable most, where it looks the most beautiful.”

Another similarity is how the number of tattoos is linked to age.

Dr Polosmak related the analogy of Greek tourist operators assessing the age of British tourists by the number of tattoos on their body.

But there the similarities end.

The tattoos used by the Pazyryk nomads were intended to help members of the tribe identify each other in the afterlife.

IMAGES:

TOP: The elaborate tattoo of a deer with a griffons beak and Capricorn antlers found on the body of a Polosmak ‘princess’.

MIDDLE: (1) Designs and locations on the princess’s body (2) Thumb and wrist tattoo locations on the “princess” (3) Body of a Pazyryk warrior buried nearby

BOTTOM: (1) Design and location on the warrior’s body (2) Design and location on the second warrior’s body

[source] Thanks to @iwillnothangmyselftoday for the tip on this awesome art-historical discovery.

collectivehistory:

One man shaves another man with an axe on forestry Field Day, 1940s (University of Florida Archives)

fuckyeahhistorycrushes:

David (1040–970 BC) was a king of Israel or something. We have some historical evidence that suggests he existed outside of the bible. I think he killed a giant or something. I don’t know. I just think he’s hot, but if you’re looking for a well-hung crush look elsewhere.