Han Tombs

This interactive exhibit from the Fitzwilliam Museum in the UK gives a context for many of the fascinating objects from Han era burials in China.

Genetic Evidence for Native American Population Decline

It has long been known that European contact had devastating consequences for the native population of the Americas. While warfare and the harsh conditions of forced labor took a heavy toll, by far the biggest killer was disease. Many of the diseases that were common among Eurasians came from domesticated animals that never existed in pre-Columbian America, and so the native population had no resistance to them whatsoever.

Many historical records document the massive die off. Now a new genetic study has confirmed that nearly 50% of the original native population died in a very brief time following European contact.

New Discoveries in the Sahara Desert

The world's largest (and still growing) desert is not as hostile to human life as one might think. If one knows their way around, it is perfectly possible to navigate the desert, which was once a vast savanna and even today is dotted with oases. The civilizations of Ghana and Mali traversed the desert during the Middle Ages trading gold for salt and eventually converting to Islam.

Recent events in Libya have created new opportunities for archaeologists. Satellite images being used or oil exploration uncovered evidence of an ancient farming civilization that survived by tapping into the groundwater and building a vast irrigation system. See this article from National Geographic for more.

Zhou Era Chariots in China

This article from National Geographic shows the excavation of a Zhou era burial site for a powerful lord. In this era animal and even human sacrifice were common for important burials. This was a very militant society that depended on chariots for battle, much like the Bronze Age Mycenaeans. Qin Shi Huangdi drew from this tradition when he designed his own tomb with its famous terra cotta statues that stood in for real soldiers and horses.

The Columbian Exchange and the Big Picture

Here is a map of the diffusion of coffee, tomatoes, and pepper along with some interesting historical and cultural consequences.

At the end of his iconic novel Candide, Voltaire says "We must cultivate our garden". This has always been one of my favorite quotes from the Enlightenment because it crystalizes the modern notion that human society is a human endeavor which like a garden can be improved through rational, benevolent human intervention. The notion that the status quo is not determined by divine providence but by socio-economic factors that we have control over is one of the things that separates us from medieval society and is the foundation of our participatory democratic political system.

This rather idealistic notion has been tempered by Darwinism and the secularist notion that human societies exist in a state of nature where individuals compete for resources in order to survive and pass their genetic characteristics onward. One of the original sources of controversy for Darwin's theories was not their religious implications but the fact that they challenged the assumed notion that Nature was a benevolent force. Thus Social Darwinism has replaced divine providence as an explanation and justification for social inequality.

However this isn't the whole story. Our mastery over the animal kingdom has nothing to do with our physical characteristics. We are frail creatures compared to the other dominant predators we once competed with in a state of nature, and even compared to much of our prey. It is our advanced mental capacity and our ability to work together that sets us apart from other animals.

This editorial from the New York Times cites recent research that suggests that cooperation, sharing, and altruism are a natural part of our mental makeup. Like everything about human civilization this is a two-sided coin, because while it explains our sense of justice it also explains our tribal nature by which we divide ourselves into cooperative groups that compete - often violently - with other human groups.

New Discoveries on the Neanderthals

Recent discoveries have brought new light on this hominid species that lived alongside early humans but went extinct tens of thousands of years ago. DNA analysis shows that they interbred with humans, while excavations of their grave sites shows that they had some concept of an afterlife and were capable of abstract thought. This new discovery suggests that remnants of this species may have lingered in the Ural Mountains of Russia as recently as 33,000 years ago.