Hi friends,
A low-key week this week in LA. I’ve mostly just been watching the World Cup and—for the weekend at least—hiding from the destructive fire in Boyle Heights. Here’s hoping everyone is okay and it’s put out soon.
I also posted a combined book/tv review this week:
And a bonus episode for Pride:
Now, history acting unruly in the news:
My favorite of the week: This 1,800-year-old curse tablet found in the Netherlands speaks to cultural and linguistic exchange in the Roman Empire. Written in Ancient Greek instead of the expected Latin and following an ancient Egyptian magical formula, the curse speaks to how people mixed as the Empire conquered and expanded.
Runner-up: Sometimes, teenage hooligans discover history.
Whoa: An innovative new search for missing persons relies on experimental DNA extraction from cave art.
It was Juneteenth on Friday, so let’s talk about how Black Union soldiers made the holiday possible.
Speaking of Black history, how can we better understand centuries of Black exclusion from healthcare and healthcare research?
5 historical magazines to read during Pride. To this list I’d like to add Edythe Eyde’s groundbreaking magazine, Vice Versa.
Speaking of queer magazines and Pride month—this is a good time to reconsider the 20th and 21st century rise of heterofatalism.
Reconsidering the history of midwifery.
This might be comforting to anyone with a summer cold: Even ancient hunter-gatherers got the plague.
In south Norway, a 6-year-old boy pulled a sword from the ground. I think this means he’s in charge now?
And in Poland, another old sword—2,700-years-old—was found upright in a forest.
I’m charmed by the idea of “mummy sleuths.” Someone please write this historical fiction novel.
You probably know a little about Charlemagne’s rule (the first Holy Roman Emperor, occasionally called “Father of Europe”), but what do you know about his personal life?
A dark history: Ireland’s Ghost Roads, carved to earn aid during the Famine.
In US Revolutionary history:
At the beginning of the American Revolution, Britain offered freedom to enslaved people who remained loyal to the king. The promise had to be honored after the revolution—but how and where?
Why did the English have better access to maps of North America than George Washington, leader of the Continental Army?
The US 150th anniversary party was a flop. Will 250 be a flop too?
After the Revolution, when did Presidents start traveling abroad?
Christianity is usually eager to paint religions that make sacrifices as barbaric, but it turns out sacrifice was a part of the early Christian faith.
After WWII, Britain was eager to build better relationships with former colonized nations—it did not go well.
How did Frederick Douglass turn people toward the Union during the Civil War?
Theodore Roosevelt once survived an assassination attempt because his notes for a speech slowed the bullet. He insisted on giving the speech after.
Some mysterious stone inscriptions have been found during excavations in Türkiye. No word yet on what language they’re in or what they mean.
Also in Türkiye, a rare mosaic depicting the god of the Eurymedon River has been found. It’s gorgeous.
Fun: This 9th-century game board found in a Moroccan hammam might be the earliest example of the game tâb in North Africa.
Speaking of Morocco, who are the Moroccan horsewomen?
New evidence shows that early humans may have used fire 1.7 million years ago—much earlier than archaeological records have previously been able to prove.
In a lost Illyrian city in Northern Albania, a new Hellenistic temple has been found.
And a new find near Stonehenge indicates that the monument’s use as a solar calendar was even earlier than previously thought.
Speaking of England—this lost Tudor tapestry is home for the first time in 100 years.
Did an early copy of the Bible that included maps help popularize the concept of borders nad nation states?
This week in literary history, Dante Alighieri is named prior of Florence—and then exiled not long after. Oops.
How did Sicilian Sulfur fuel the Industrial Revolution?
Speaking of the IR—what happened to the miners when we evolved past coal?
Jewish women in New York City were often part of a radical history.
Honestly, this sounds like rich person propaganda, but it’s worth considering: The violent Medieval origins of Robin Hood.
Relatedly: Lessons in misinformation from Ancient Greece and Rome.
A look back on the historical toys that inspired Toy Story.
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