1 00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:04,240 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:14,400 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. Hello and welcome to the podcast. I'm Tracy B. 3 00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:18,400 Speaker 2: Wilson and I'm Holly Frye. It is time for Unearthed 4 00:00:18,440 --> 00:00:20,919 Speaker 2: this week. So it's when we talk about the things 5 00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:24,160 Speaker 2: that have been literally and figuratively unearthed over the last 6 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:28,639 Speaker 2: few months. Things we've been doing regularly for many years now, 7 00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:31,000 Speaker 2: but we know there are new listeners coming into the 8 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:34,080 Speaker 2: show all the time. So today we have some things 9 00:00:34,120 --> 00:00:38,239 Speaker 2: that are related to books and letters and edibles and potables, 10 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:41,199 Speaker 2: and as we so often do, we are starting this 11 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:45,560 Speaker 2: installment of Unearthed with updates, and for the third time 12 00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:48,440 Speaker 2: in a row, we are having to start the updates 13 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:52,839 Speaker 2: with the ongoing federal assault on history and related fields. 14 00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:57,840 Speaker 1: So in July, Boston public television station GBH announced that 15 00:00:57,880 --> 00:01:00,840 Speaker 1: it had laid off thirteen employees who worked on the 16 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:05,720 Speaker 1: US history focused documentary series American Experience. This is in 17 00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:08,679 Speaker 1: the wake of the clawback of public media funding that 18 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:11,800 Speaker 1: we talked about previously on Unearthed, and was in addition 19 00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:15,080 Speaker 1: to other layoffs that had already taken place at the station. 20 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:19,280 Speaker 1: GBH announced that the twenty twenty five season of American 21 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:22,600 Speaker 1: Experience would be abbreviated as a result of the budget 22 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:25,840 Speaker 1: and staffing cuts, and that future production on the series 23 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:30,640 Speaker 1: had stopped. Since its inception, American Experience has produced close 24 00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:34,600 Speaker 1: to four hundred history documentaries, many of them award winning, 25 00:01:34,760 --> 00:01:39,920 Speaker 1: including earning fourteen Peabody Awards, ten News in Documentary Emmy Awards, 26 00:01:40,200 --> 00:01:44,280 Speaker 1: and twelve Primetime Emmys. A whole lot has happened this year, 27 00:01:44,319 --> 00:01:47,480 Speaker 1: and this is one of the things that when I 28 00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:51,120 Speaker 1: saw the headline about it, I immediately burst into tears. Here 29 00:01:51,240 --> 00:01:54,640 Speaker 1: is a probably incomplete list of episodes in which Holly 30 00:01:54,680 --> 00:01:58,160 Speaker 1: or I have cited an American Experience documentary or something 31 00:01:58,160 --> 00:02:02,640 Speaker 1: from its associated website, in n o particular order. The 32 00:02:02,640 --> 00:02:07,000 Speaker 1: Paramount Decrease of nineteen forty eight, The first Transatlantic Telegraph Cable, 33 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:11,720 Speaker 1: The Motherhood of Mamie Till Mobley, The Tacoma Narrows Bridge, 34 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:16,960 Speaker 1: The Boxer Rebellion, A Philip Randolph Hernandez versus Texas, Eugene 35 00:02:17,040 --> 00:02:21,640 Speaker 1: Jacques Bullard, The zoot Suit Riots, Esa Andre's North Pole Balloon, Mission, 36 00:02:22,160 --> 00:02:26,760 Speaker 1: Buck Versus Bell Orphan Trains, Catherine Dexter McCormick, The Nelson 37 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:31,320 Speaker 1: Pill Hearings, Grand Central Station, The Haymarket Riot, Head of Hopper, 38 00:02:31,680 --> 00:02:37,360 Speaker 1: Mary McLeod, Bethune, Henry Lewis Sullivan, Mississippi Freedom Summer, Ettian Kabe, 39 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:42,560 Speaker 1: and The Utopia of Akaria roller Coasters, Alabama Governor George Wallace, 40 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:46,480 Speaker 1: and Four paper Clippers, which was on four people brought 41 00:02:46,520 --> 00:02:49,600 Speaker 1: to the United States from Nazi Germany under a secret 42 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:53,000 Speaker 1: program that was known as Operation paper Clip. We have 43 00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:58,080 Speaker 1: also previously talked about the Executive Branch's focus on Smithsonian Museums, 44 00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:02,360 Speaker 1: including discussions of executive orders that were issued earlier this year. 45 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:06,000 Speaker 1: In our recent episode on Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton, 46 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:08,600 Speaker 1: which was inspired by an article on the White House 47 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:13,040 Speaker 1: website that criticized the Smithsonian. In August, the White House 48 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:16,640 Speaker 1: sent a letter to Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch the 49 00:03:16,720 --> 00:03:21,560 Speaker 1: Third with the subject line internal Review of Smithsonian Exhibitions 50 00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:25,040 Speaker 1: and Materials, and that letter set in part quote, as 51 00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:28,239 Speaker 1: we prepare to celebrate the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary 52 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:31,160 Speaker 1: of our nation's founding, it is more important than ever 53 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:34,840 Speaker 1: that our national museums reflect the unity, progress, and enduring 54 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:39,920 Speaker 1: values that define the American story. In this spirit, and 55 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:43,240 Speaker 1: in accordance with Executive Order one four two five three 56 00:03:43,440 --> 00:03:47,680 Speaker 1: Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History. We will be 57 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:52,360 Speaker 1: leading a comprehensive internal review of selected Smithsonian museums and exhibitions. 58 00:03:52,600 --> 00:03:56,000 Speaker 1: This initiative aims to ensure alignment with the President's directive 59 00:03:56,360 --> 00:04:01,600 Speaker 1: to celebrate American exceptionalism, removed divisive or partisan narratives, and 60 00:04:01,640 --> 00:04:06,840 Speaker 1: restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions. From there, the 61 00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:11,400 Speaker 1: letter requested that the Smithsonian provide information on two hundred 62 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:17,839 Speaker 1: and fiftieth anniversary programming, current exhibition content, traveling and upcoming exhibitions, 63 00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:22,440 Speaker 1: internal guidelines and governance, an index of the permanent collection, 64 00:04:22,960 --> 00:04:28,920 Speaker 1: educational materials, the digital presence, external partnerships, grant related documentation 65 00:04:29,240 --> 00:04:33,400 Speaker 1: and surveys, and other evaluations of visitor experience to a 66 00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:37,800 Speaker 1: team at the executive branch. This request currently applies to 67 00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:41,320 Speaker 1: eight museums, with the other museums expected to be included 68 00:04:41,360 --> 00:04:46,520 Speaker 1: in a later phase. The letter included timelines and next steps, 69 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:50,839 Speaker 1: including that within one hundred and twenty days, quote museums 70 00:04:50,839 --> 00:04:56,520 Speaker 1: should begin implementing content corrections where necessary, replacing divisive or 71 00:04:56,560 --> 00:05:02,680 Speaker 1: ideologically driven language with unifying, historically accurate, and constructive descriptions, 72 00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:08,720 Speaker 1: across placards, wall didactics, digital displays, and other public facing materials. 73 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:12,400 Speaker 1: The letter ended quote, we view this process as a 74 00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:17,520 Speaker 1: collaborative and forward looking opportunity, one that empowers museum staff 75 00:05:17,560 --> 00:05:22,760 Speaker 1: to embrace the revitalized curatorial vision rooted in the strength, breadth, 76 00:05:22,760 --> 00:05:27,359 Speaker 1: and achievements of the American story. By focusing on Americanism, 77 00:05:27,760 --> 00:05:31,400 Speaker 1: the people, principles, and progress that define our nation, we 78 00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:34,479 Speaker 1: can work together to renew the Smithsonian's role as the 79 00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:39,880 Speaker 1: world's leading museum institution. What that letter describes doesn't really 80 00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:44,000 Speaker 1: read like a collaborative process, though it reads like Smithsonian 81 00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:48,320 Speaker 1: museums submitting an enormous amount of material with interviews with 82 00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:52,760 Speaker 1: curators and staff that are described as voluntary, followed by 83 00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:56,080 Speaker 1: the museums getting corrections from the executive branch that are 84 00:05:56,080 --> 00:06:00,400 Speaker 1: expected to be implemented. There is no indication of whether 85 00:06:00,400 --> 00:06:03,440 Speaker 1: those corrections will be coming from someone with experience or 86 00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:08,960 Speaker 1: expertise in history, museum curation, or any related field. Also, 87 00:06:09,120 --> 00:06:13,920 Speaker 1: Americanism and American exceptionalism are ideologies, and the idea that 88 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:19,120 Speaker 1: history should be unifying and constructive is ideologically driven, so 89 00:06:19,200 --> 00:06:23,120 Speaker 1: it's not so much removing ideology from the Smithsonian, but 90 00:06:23,279 --> 00:06:27,640 Speaker 1: following an ideology that the executive branch approves of. This 91 00:06:27,800 --> 00:06:30,159 Speaker 1: letter also has to be read in the context of 92 00:06:30,200 --> 00:06:33,400 Speaker 1: statements from the President of the United States, such as 93 00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:37,280 Speaker 1: this one that was posted on truth Social on August nineteenth, 94 00:06:37,360 --> 00:06:42,040 Speaker 1: parts of which are in all caps quote the Smithsonian 95 00:06:42,240 --> 00:06:46,000 Speaker 1: is out of control, where everything discussed is how horrible 96 00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:50,000 Speaker 1: our country is, how bad slavery was, and how unaccomplished 97 00:06:50,080 --> 00:06:55,760 Speaker 1: the downtrodden have been. Nothing about success, nothing about brightness, nothing. 98 00:06:55,480 --> 00:06:58,480 Speaker 2: About the future. We are not going to allow this 99 00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:01,680 Speaker 2: to happen, and I have instructed my attorneys to go 100 00:07:01,800 --> 00:07:05,159 Speaker 2: through the museums and start the exact same process that 101 00:07:05,240 --> 00:07:09,680 Speaker 2: has been done with colleges and universities, where tremendous progress 102 00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:13,160 Speaker 2: has been made. This country cannot be woke, because woke 103 00:07:13,360 --> 00:07:16,360 Speaker 2: is broke. We have the hottest country in the world, 104 00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:18,880 Speaker 2: and we want people to talk about it, including in 105 00:07:19,160 --> 00:07:20,240 Speaker 2: our museums. 106 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:26,240 Speaker 1: A thousand blessings on Tracy for arranging this outline so 107 00:07:26,240 --> 00:07:28,200 Speaker 1: that I did not have to read that, because I 108 00:07:28,360 --> 00:07:30,920 Speaker 1: don't know what I would have done. This letter has 109 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:34,280 Speaker 1: raised a lot of the same concerns as earlier communications 110 00:07:34,280 --> 00:07:36,880 Speaker 1: that were sent to the federal land bureaus, including the 111 00:07:36,960 --> 00:07:40,640 Speaker 1: National Park Service, saying that they need to restore federal 112 00:07:40,720 --> 00:07:44,760 Speaker 1: sites dedicated to history to a quote solemn and uplifting 113 00:07:44,840 --> 00:07:49,680 Speaker 1: public monuments that remind Americans of our extraordinary heritage, consistent 114 00:07:49,760 --> 00:07:53,720 Speaker 1: progress toward becoming a more perfect union, and unmatched record 115 00:07:53,920 --> 00:07:58,880 Speaker 1: of advancing liberty, prosperity, and human flourishing. We talked about 116 00:07:58,880 --> 00:08:02,120 Speaker 1: those communications in earlier installments of On Earth this year 117 00:08:02,200 --> 00:08:04,920 Speaker 1: and about concerns that this kind of focus is going 118 00:08:04,960 --> 00:08:08,440 Speaker 1: to sanitize and whitewash the history that is presented to 119 00:08:08,480 --> 00:08:11,520 Speaker 1: the public. And this also applies to the Smithsonian. 120 00:08:12,360 --> 00:08:16,520 Speaker 2: Beyond that, the Smithsonian is not an executive branch agency. 121 00:08:17,720 --> 00:08:21,360 Speaker 2: It was founded in eighteen forty six as an autonomous institution. 122 00:08:21,960 --> 00:08:24,840 Speaker 2: It's governed as a federal trust with a seventeen member 123 00:08:24,920 --> 00:08:28,040 Speaker 2: panel of regents, and historically it has not been subject 124 00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:32,080 Speaker 2: to direct control by the executive branch or the President 125 00:08:32,200 --> 00:08:36,600 Speaker 2: in this way. So curators and archivists and historians have 126 00:08:36,679 --> 00:08:40,080 Speaker 2: all expressed a lot of alarm, both at the idea 127 00:08:40,200 --> 00:08:45,200 Speaker 2: that the Smithsonian should quote celebrate American exceptionalism, which again 128 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:49,640 Speaker 2: is an ideology, and at the overreach that's involved with 129 00:08:49,679 --> 00:08:51,160 Speaker 2: this effort from the White House. 130 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:55,480 Speaker 1: This review of the Smithsonian sparked the creation of Citizen 131 00:08:55,679 --> 00:08:59,920 Speaker 1: Historians for the Smithsonian, an all volunteer effort to document 132 00:09:00,080 --> 00:09:03,880 Speaker 1: everything that is currently on display at Smithsonian Museum, so 133 00:09:04,280 --> 00:09:06,679 Speaker 1: the eight museums that are part of this initial phase 134 00:09:06,720 --> 00:09:09,760 Speaker 1: of the review, as well as thirteen others, and the 135 00:09:09,840 --> 00:09:14,160 Speaker 1: National Zoo and the US Holocaust Memorial. In its first 136 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:17,560 Speaker 1: five weeks of existence, this effort documented more than half 137 00:09:17,679 --> 00:09:21,319 Speaker 1: of the current Smithsonian exhibits. That's a lot of work. 138 00:09:21,720 --> 00:09:25,640 Speaker 1: There's more information about this at citizenhistorians dot org. 139 00:09:26,800 --> 00:09:29,800 Speaker 2: There is also a teach in in defensive history and 140 00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:34,160 Speaker 2: Museums planned for SunUp to sundown on Sunday, October twenty 141 00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:37,440 Speaker 2: sixth on the National Mall. One of the organizers of 142 00:09:37,440 --> 00:09:40,199 Speaker 2: that is past guest and friend of the show Nate Demeyo, 143 00:09:40,360 --> 00:09:43,760 Speaker 2: host of The Memory Palace. There's more information on this 144 00:09:43,880 --> 00:09:47,040 Speaker 2: at linktree dot com slash history teachIn. 145 00:09:48,360 --> 00:09:50,319 Speaker 1: Also, on top of. 146 00:09:50,280 --> 00:09:54,040 Speaker 2: Everything that we've just talked about, the Department of Education 147 00:09:54,320 --> 00:09:59,600 Speaker 2: made various announcements about prioritizing quote patriotic education in public 148 00:09:59,600 --> 00:10:02,679 Speaker 2: school and that has a lot of the same themes 149 00:10:02,679 --> 00:10:05,760 Speaker 2: as we've been talking about with things like public broadcasting 150 00:10:05,800 --> 00:10:09,320 Speaker 2: in the Smithsonian, But those announcements also have multiple additional 151 00:10:09,400 --> 00:10:12,120 Speaker 2: layers that I just was not able to fully sort 152 00:10:12,160 --> 00:10:15,640 Speaker 2: through to really articulate in time to feel like I 153 00:10:15,679 --> 00:10:19,560 Speaker 2: could speak knowledgeably about it for this episode. So I guess, 154 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:23,400 Speaker 2: having acknowledged that that also exists, we can take a 155 00:10:23,520 --> 00:10:37,000 Speaker 2: quick sponsor break. Continuing with the updates on today's episode. 156 00:10:37,240 --> 00:10:39,720 Speaker 2: Prior hosts of the show did an episode on the 157 00:10:39,760 --> 00:10:42,920 Speaker 2: illuminated manuscript known as the Book of Kels in March 158 00:10:42,920 --> 00:10:46,959 Speaker 2: of twenty ten. The Book of Kels is an illuminated 159 00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:49,760 Speaker 2: account of the four Gospels of the Christian Bible, so 160 00:10:49,800 --> 00:10:52,720 Speaker 2: the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and there 161 00:10:52,760 --> 00:10:56,240 Speaker 2: is some debate about exactly where this manuscript was created. 162 00:10:56,840 --> 00:11:00,200 Speaker 2: The most common arguments are either that it started on 163 00:11:00,280 --> 00:11:03,960 Speaker 2: the island of Iona in western Scotland before being taken 164 00:11:04,040 --> 00:11:07,520 Speaker 2: to Kells after a Viking raid, or that it was 165 00:11:07,559 --> 00:11:12,320 Speaker 2: created entirely at Kells. According to an article published in 166 00:11:12,400 --> 00:11:16,160 Speaker 2: The Guardian, researched by doctor Victoria Whitworth suggests that it's 167 00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:19,000 Speaker 2: neither of those things, but that this is a Pictish 168 00:11:19,160 --> 00:11:23,880 Speaker 2: document that was started northeast of Inverness in eastern Scotland. 169 00:11:24,800 --> 00:11:29,040 Speaker 2: According to Whitworth, a monastery in Portmahomic easter Ross was 170 00:11:29,120 --> 00:11:31,360 Speaker 2: home to monks who made the type of vellum that 171 00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:34,520 Speaker 2: was used in the book and who created carvings that 172 00:11:34,559 --> 00:11:38,640 Speaker 2: are a stylistic match to the Book of Kells. Inscriptions 173 00:11:38,679 --> 00:11:42,280 Speaker 2: in Iona, on the other hand, were more focused on legibility. 174 00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:46,960 Speaker 2: This isn't the first time someone has proposed a Pictish 175 00:11:47,080 --> 00:11:50,320 Speaker 2: origin for the Book of Kells, and it's kind of 176 00:11:50,400 --> 00:11:53,360 Speaker 2: difficult for us to really evaluate this claim at this point. 177 00:11:53,960 --> 00:11:57,320 Speaker 2: The details of Whitworth's research are in a book called 178 00:11:57,480 --> 00:12:00,439 Speaker 2: The Book of Kells, Unlocking the Enigma, which came out 179 00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:04,640 Speaker 2: on October ninth, That is before this episode is airing, 180 00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:09,280 Speaker 2: but it was after. It's after the episode was researched 181 00:12:09,320 --> 00:12:12,000 Speaker 2: and written. We are recording this two days before the 182 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:15,320 Speaker 2: book comes out. If this argument holds up, though, it 183 00:12:15,320 --> 00:12:18,600 Speaker 2: could have a major impact on the understanding of history 184 00:12:18,600 --> 00:12:21,760 Speaker 2: and illuminated manuscripts in this part of the world, since 185 00:12:22,240 --> 00:12:27,920 Speaker 2: no Pictish manuscripts are known to have survived today. Next, 186 00:12:28,160 --> 00:12:32,200 Speaker 2: research published in the journal Nature Communications in July has 187 00:12:32,240 --> 00:12:35,600 Speaker 2: examined the DNA of forty seven people whose remains were 188 00:12:35,640 --> 00:12:39,280 Speaker 2: found in the Eastern Italian Alps. These people lived between 189 00:12:39,320 --> 00:12:44,080 Speaker 2: about sixty three eighty and twelve ninety five BCE, and 190 00:12:44,120 --> 00:12:47,000 Speaker 2: that would make them neighbors of Utzy the Iceman, at 191 00:12:47,080 --> 00:12:51,800 Speaker 2: least relatively speaking. Utsy died in the region sometime around 192 00:12:51,800 --> 00:12:55,880 Speaker 2: thirty three fifty to thirty one oh five BCE, and 193 00:12:56,040 --> 00:12:58,480 Speaker 2: Utsy is of course the subject of a full episode 194 00:12:58,520 --> 00:13:01,559 Speaker 2: of the show. He has made many appearances on Unearth, 195 00:13:01,679 --> 00:13:04,920 Speaker 2: and previous research into his DNA showed that he was 196 00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:08,960 Speaker 2: most closely related to Neolithic farmers in Anatolia in what 197 00:13:09,080 --> 00:13:09,840 Speaker 2: is now Turkya. 198 00:13:11,120 --> 00:13:14,400 Speaker 1: So this research wanted to explore the question of whether 199 00:13:14,559 --> 00:13:18,600 Speaker 1: Utsey was an outlier or whether other people who were 200 00:13:18,640 --> 00:13:22,240 Speaker 1: in the Eastern Italian Alps thousands of years ago had 201 00:13:22,280 --> 00:13:27,800 Speaker 1: similar geographic origins and ancestry. According to their findings, these 202 00:13:27,840 --> 00:13:31,200 Speaker 1: people did share between eighty percent and ninety percent of 203 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:35,120 Speaker 1: their ancestry with Neolithic Anatolian farmers, so that was similar 204 00:13:35,120 --> 00:13:38,920 Speaker 1: to Utzy. And like Utsey, they also probably had dark 205 00:13:38,960 --> 00:13:42,719 Speaker 1: hair and brown eyes, and they were probably all lactose intolerant. 206 00:13:43,520 --> 00:13:47,080 Speaker 1: At the same time, there were some differences between Utzie's 207 00:13:47,200 --> 00:13:49,920 Speaker 1: DNA and that of most of the people whose DNA 208 00:13:50,080 --> 00:13:53,439 Speaker 1: was part of this study. Many of the male remains 209 00:13:53,440 --> 00:13:56,320 Speaker 1: in the study had paternal ancestry that came from what's 210 00:13:56,360 --> 00:14:00,800 Speaker 1: now Germany and France, while Utzi's paternal ancestry retraces to 211 00:14:00,920 --> 00:14:06,120 Speaker 1: a broader geographic region. Ussy's maternal lineage also seems different 212 00:14:06,160 --> 00:14:09,920 Speaker 1: from both modern people and the group analyzed in this study. 213 00:14:10,600 --> 00:14:13,280 Speaker 1: It's not clear whether he was related to a population 214 00:14:13,520 --> 00:14:16,200 Speaker 1: on his mother's side that has since died out, or 215 00:14:16,240 --> 00:14:20,640 Speaker 1: if there is some other explanation for this. For this 216 00:14:20,760 --> 00:14:24,720 Speaker 1: installment's update on Pompeii, which has also come up on 217 00:14:24,760 --> 00:14:28,320 Speaker 1: Earthed a lot, research at the site suggests that some 218 00:14:28,480 --> 00:14:31,920 Speaker 1: people returned to the city after the eruption of Mount 219 00:14:31,960 --> 00:14:35,440 Speaker 1: Vesuvius in the year seventy nine. These were probably people 220 00:14:35,440 --> 00:14:38,680 Speaker 1: who survived the eruption but just had nowhere else to 221 00:14:38,760 --> 00:14:42,120 Speaker 1: go and no money or resources to try to resettle 222 00:14:42,160 --> 00:14:46,000 Speaker 1: somewhere else. There is evidence that people who came back 223 00:14:46,040 --> 00:14:49,880 Speaker 1: to Pompeii lived in the upper levels of buildings that 224 00:14:49,920 --> 00:14:53,240 Speaker 1: were not completely buried in ash, and that they built 225 00:14:53,600 --> 00:14:58,200 Speaker 1: shelters and cellars and more sheltered areas, and the lower 226 00:14:58,320 --> 00:15:00,680 Speaker 1: levels of those buildings kind of clear hearing them out, 227 00:15:01,040 --> 00:15:04,000 Speaker 1: and also dug into the ash deposits to look for 228 00:15:04,120 --> 00:15:07,280 Speaker 1: things that they could make use of. At first, this 229 00:15:07,320 --> 00:15:10,400 Speaker 1: would have been kind of a dirty, dusty existence, but 230 00:15:10,600 --> 00:15:13,360 Speaker 1: it didn't take long for plant life to flourish in 231 00:15:13,400 --> 00:15:16,840 Speaker 1: the volcanic debris. But this community would have had a 232 00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:21,160 Speaker 1: very different existence from the Pompei of prior to the eruption, 233 00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:24,600 Speaker 1: not just because of the physical destruction, but also because 234 00:15:24,680 --> 00:15:29,320 Speaker 1: Pompeii had been a structured Roman city. Emperor Titus, who 235 00:15:29,440 --> 00:15:33,520 Speaker 1: was emperor when the volcano erupted, did send two former 236 00:15:33,600 --> 00:15:37,880 Speaker 1: consuls to try to refound the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, 237 00:15:38,320 --> 00:15:41,960 Speaker 1: but those efforts failed. Survivors who returned to the area 238 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:44,680 Speaker 1: would have been its poorest residents, and they were now 239 00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:47,800 Speaker 1: living without any of the social or governmental structures that 240 00:15:47,840 --> 00:15:51,200 Speaker 1: were typically part of Roman life. A statement from the 241 00:15:51,200 --> 00:15:56,040 Speaker 1: site's director describes it as a quote precarious, gray populated area, 242 00:15:56,320 --> 00:15:59,560 Speaker 1: a kind of campsite with shacks sprouting up amongst the 243 00:15:59,560 --> 00:16:03,359 Speaker 1: still recognizable ruins of the former city of Pompeii. 244 00:16:04,440 --> 00:16:08,479 Speaker 2: It's likely that this area was at least partially inhabited 245 00:16:08,600 --> 00:16:12,680 Speaker 2: until the aftermath of another major eruption in the fifth century, 246 00:16:13,320 --> 00:16:17,880 Speaker 2: at which point it's believed to have been abandoned. We 247 00:16:17,960 --> 00:16:21,120 Speaker 2: didn't have that many updates as time, relatively speaking, so 248 00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:23,640 Speaker 2: now we're ready to move on to books and letters. 249 00:16:24,200 --> 00:16:28,080 Speaker 2: In the fourteenth century, poet and writer Jeffrey Chaucer made 250 00:16:28,120 --> 00:16:30,760 Speaker 2: references to a medieval poem known as the Song of 251 00:16:30,840 --> 00:16:34,120 Speaker 2: Wade in two of his works, Troy Lis and Cressida 252 00:16:34,240 --> 00:16:37,880 Speaker 2: and Canterbury Tales. Both times he seemed to take for 253 00:16:37,960 --> 00:16:41,000 Speaker 2: granted that his audience would know what he was referencing. 254 00:16:41,480 --> 00:16:43,800 Speaker 2: It would be a little like someone today referencing one 255 00:16:43,840 --> 00:16:47,040 Speaker 2: of Shakespeare's plays, or maybe King Arthur or Robin Hood 256 00:16:47,320 --> 00:16:49,560 Speaker 2: and just taking for granted that the reader was going 257 00:16:49,600 --> 00:16:52,840 Speaker 2: to get the connection. Yeah, there are people who would 258 00:16:52,840 --> 00:16:54,800 Speaker 2: get the Song of Wade connection, but not like a 259 00:16:54,920 --> 00:16:59,440 Speaker 2: general audience for the both part. While Chaucer's works have 260 00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:03,160 Speaker 2: survived until today, the text of Song of Wade has not. 261 00:17:03,920 --> 00:17:07,520 Speaker 2: In the nineteenth century, University of Cambridge medievalist M. R. 262 00:17:07,760 --> 00:17:11,480 Speaker 2: James found the only known surviving fragment of it in 263 00:17:11,520 --> 00:17:15,000 Speaker 2: a collection of Latin documents that dated back to the 264 00:17:15,040 --> 00:17:18,680 Speaker 2: twelfth and thirteenth centuries. This collection is known as Peterhouse 265 00:17:18,760 --> 00:17:22,600 Speaker 2: Manuscript two fifty five. The fragment of the poem was 266 00:17:22,640 --> 00:17:27,000 Speaker 2: included in a sermon which also referenced Wade's story. So, 267 00:17:27,119 --> 00:17:30,040 Speaker 2: like the narrative of what happens in the poem, and 268 00:17:30,200 --> 00:17:33,040 Speaker 2: like Jeffrey Chaucer, the author of this sermon seemed to 269 00:17:33,080 --> 00:17:35,960 Speaker 2: just assume that the congregation would get it, like he 270 00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:37,960 Speaker 2: didn't need to explain who this was. 271 00:17:39,119 --> 00:17:43,560 Speaker 1: But this fragment was confusing. It was translated as referencing 272 00:17:43,760 --> 00:17:49,560 Speaker 1: elves and adders and sprites. Later translators used slightly different language, 273 00:17:49,600 --> 00:17:53,280 Speaker 1: like water monsters instead of sprites. But the references in 274 00:17:53,320 --> 00:17:56,719 Speaker 1: the sermon and Chaucer's work didn't really make sense if 275 00:17:56,760 --> 00:18:00,240 Speaker 1: the Song of Wade was a story involving fantastical or 276 00:18:00,280 --> 00:18:06,199 Speaker 1: mythological creatures. New research at the University of Cambridge suggests 277 00:18:06,560 --> 00:18:10,280 Speaker 1: that people have been reading this work incorrectly for centuries, 278 00:18:10,359 --> 00:18:16,280 Speaker 1: basically because of unclear handwriting. The twelfth century transcriber who 279 00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:20,119 Speaker 1: copied this sermon was probably more familiar with reading and 280 00:18:20,200 --> 00:18:24,080 Speaker 1: writing in the Latin of the sermon rather than the 281 00:18:24,119 --> 00:18:27,679 Speaker 1: Middle English of the poem that was being quoted. Middle 282 00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:31,640 Speaker 1: English uses some letters that Latin does not, including win, 283 00:18:31,840 --> 00:18:34,760 Speaker 1: which represents a W sound and looks kind of like 284 00:18:34,800 --> 00:18:39,159 Speaker 1: a P, and thorn, which represents a thh sound and 285 00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:42,919 Speaker 1: also looks kind of like a P. Whin and thorn 286 00:18:43,040 --> 00:18:45,680 Speaker 1: can also be written to look more like the letter why. 287 00:18:46,040 --> 00:18:49,560 Speaker 1: It's a character that's evolved over centuries, and there's a 288 00:18:49,600 --> 00:18:53,080 Speaker 1: dot written over win that's used to distinguish between these 289 00:18:53,080 --> 00:18:57,240 Speaker 1: two letters. So the idea is that either this scribe 290 00:18:57,280 --> 00:19:00,720 Speaker 1: mixed up some of these letters or was copying them 291 00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:04,280 Speaker 1: from another document that didn't clearly distinguish among them, and 292 00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:08,600 Speaker 1: consequently made a few mistakes that changed the words. By 293 00:19:08,640 --> 00:19:12,840 Speaker 1: this reasoning, elves should have been wolves and sprites should 294 00:19:12,840 --> 00:19:15,639 Speaker 1: have been sea snakes, which would have put the poem 295 00:19:15,720 --> 00:19:18,320 Speaker 1: more in line of a Middle English romance grounded in 296 00:19:18,400 --> 00:19:21,919 Speaker 1: ideas of chivalry instead of a more fantastic work with 297 00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:25,840 Speaker 1: roots in mythology. The biggest conflicts in such a poem 298 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:29,280 Speaker 1: would have been among human beings, not between humans and 299 00:19:29,320 --> 00:19:32,000 Speaker 1: mythological beings or monsters. 300 00:19:32,560 --> 00:19:36,040 Speaker 2: As happens so often and unearthed. A lot of the 301 00:19:36,080 --> 00:19:40,480 Speaker 2: writing about this has described it as like conclusively cracking 302 00:19:40,520 --> 00:19:44,120 Speaker 2: one hundred and thirty year old mystery when it's really 303 00:19:44,160 --> 00:19:48,160 Speaker 2: more like it is offering a different interpretation and potential 304 00:19:48,440 --> 00:19:52,320 Speaker 2: explanation of what's going on with this text. And that 305 00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:56,840 Speaker 2: kind of broad language includes things like press releases from 306 00:19:56,840 --> 00:20:01,199 Speaker 2: the University of Cambridge about the research. Research published in 307 00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:04,440 Speaker 2: the journal Iraq has translated a fragment of a qneiform 308 00:20:04,560 --> 00:20:10,159 Speaker 2: tablet revealing a previously unrecorded Sumerian myth. The tablet was 309 00:20:10,200 --> 00:20:13,320 Speaker 2: excavated back in the nineteenth century and an image of 310 00:20:13,359 --> 00:20:15,520 Speaker 2: it was used on the dust jacket of a book 311 00:20:15,560 --> 00:20:19,240 Speaker 2: called from the Tablets of sumer twenty five firsts in 312 00:20:19,359 --> 00:20:22,919 Speaker 2: Man's Recorded History, but it wasn't translated for the book 313 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:25,720 Speaker 2: and it hasn't been thoroughly studied before now. 314 00:20:26,720 --> 00:20:27,600 Speaker 1: It was basically on. 315 00:20:27,600 --> 00:20:30,480 Speaker 2: The dust jacket and like on an interior picture because 316 00:20:30,520 --> 00:20:34,439 Speaker 2: it was a striking looking tablet covered in letters that 317 00:20:35,560 --> 00:20:37,719 Speaker 2: was pretty evocative, but they did not look at what 318 00:20:37,720 --> 00:20:42,200 Speaker 2: it actually said. So now that people have this seems 319 00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:46,639 Speaker 2: to tell the story of the Sumerian storm god Ishkur 320 00:20:47,480 --> 00:20:50,720 Speaker 2: Ishkur is held captive in the nether world or Kerr, 321 00:20:50,760 --> 00:20:54,040 Speaker 2: which leads to a drought. Ishker's father, the King of 322 00:20:54,040 --> 00:20:57,240 Speaker 2: the Gods, summons the divine pantheon to decide who is 323 00:20:57,320 --> 00:21:00,240 Speaker 2: going to go to Ishker's rescue, and one none of 324 00:21:00,320 --> 00:21:03,840 Speaker 2: the other gods want to go, Fox goes in their place. 325 00:21:04,720 --> 00:21:08,360 Speaker 2: The tablet starts to describe Fox's adventures on this quest, 326 00:21:08,480 --> 00:21:10,679 Speaker 2: but the end of the story is missing because the 327 00:21:10,720 --> 00:21:14,879 Speaker 2: tablet's broken. It seems like it would probably end with 328 00:21:15,080 --> 00:21:19,240 Speaker 2: Fox successfully rescuing Ishker, but we don't really know. We're 329 00:21:19,280 --> 00:21:22,840 Speaker 2: kind of guessing logically what would happen next. 330 00:21:23,080 --> 00:21:25,760 Speaker 1: That's us presuming a happy ending. Maybe it's like a 331 00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:30,080 Speaker 1: European film. It just a maybe. This is a story 332 00:21:30,119 --> 00:21:34,399 Speaker 1: that seems to have similarities to other myths, involving seasons, floods, 333 00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:38,000 Speaker 1: and changes in weather. It starts with images of rivers 334 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:42,080 Speaker 1: and canals filled with fish before Isher's capture changes all 335 00:21:42,119 --> 00:21:44,880 Speaker 1: of that, and it also features Fox as a sly 336 00:21:45,119 --> 00:21:48,360 Speaker 1: cunning character, which is also a theme in other mythology. 337 00:21:49,200 --> 00:21:51,280 Speaker 2: We will take a sponsor break and then get to 338 00:21:51,480 --> 00:22:04,920 Speaker 2: lots of fines related to food and drink. I always 339 00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:07,919 Speaker 2: love all of our unearthed fines that are related to 340 00:22:08,080 --> 00:22:11,440 Speaker 2: food and drink, and I think my favorite ones are 341 00:22:11,440 --> 00:22:15,560 Speaker 2: when actual remnants of food are found at historical and 342 00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:19,600 Speaker 2: archaeological sites. This time, though we have more research that's 343 00:22:19,640 --> 00:22:25,560 Speaker 2: more about food rather than actual food items. First, archaeologists 344 00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:29,080 Speaker 2: in China have found ancient wooden tools at a site 345 00:22:29,080 --> 00:22:32,320 Speaker 2: that is roughly three hundred thousand years old. It is 346 00:22:32,600 --> 00:22:37,080 Speaker 2: incredibly unusual to find wooden tools that are that old, 347 00:22:37,680 --> 00:22:40,239 Speaker 2: and these only survived until today because they were in 348 00:22:40,359 --> 00:22:44,040 Speaker 2: layers of low oxygen sediment that was mostly clay, so 349 00:22:44,080 --> 00:22:45,280 Speaker 2: that helped preserve them. 350 00:22:46,080 --> 00:22:49,680 Speaker 1: These tools were likely used for cutting, grinding, and digging, 351 00:22:49,760 --> 00:22:52,560 Speaker 1: and the site where they were found also contained evidence 352 00:22:52,840 --> 00:22:56,359 Speaker 1: of an assortment of foods pine nuts and hazel nuts, 353 00:22:56,640 --> 00:23:00,840 Speaker 1: various fruits, herbs, and ferns. There was also evidence of 354 00:23:01,040 --> 00:23:04,960 Speaker 1: edible aquatic plants, so these wooden tools were likely used 355 00:23:04,960 --> 00:23:09,159 Speaker 1: for both harvesting and processing an array of foods, or, 356 00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:12,840 Speaker 1: if your mind is like me, muddling a cocktail, that too, 357 00:23:13,080 --> 00:23:17,120 Speaker 1: are used in those herbs to make something delicious. This 358 00:23:17,320 --> 00:23:22,040 Speaker 1: find is the earliest known use of purpose made digging 359 00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:26,080 Speaker 1: sticks in what is now southern China and the surrounding areas, 360 00:23:26,560 --> 00:23:30,640 Speaker 1: and it's also the earliest evidence of underground plant parts 361 00:23:30,720 --> 00:23:34,879 Speaker 1: like roots and tubers being used as food. The tools 362 00:23:34,880 --> 00:23:38,639 Speaker 1: are also so old that they date back to before 363 00:23:38,840 --> 00:23:42,360 Speaker 1: Homo sapiens were known to be in this part of Asia, 364 00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:46,640 Speaker 1: so it's possible that they were made and used by Denisovians, 365 00:23:46,840 --> 00:23:51,359 Speaker 1: or by homoerectus, or by some other early hominin. On 366 00:23:51,400 --> 00:23:54,960 Speaker 1: a somewhat similar note, research at two caves near the 367 00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:58,920 Speaker 1: Mediterranean Sea that were used by Neanderthals suggests that each 368 00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:02,600 Speaker 1: group had its own distinct practices for butchering animals and 369 00:24:02,680 --> 00:24:06,360 Speaker 1: preparing meat. The two caves are only about forty five 370 00:24:06,400 --> 00:24:09,639 Speaker 1: miles apart and were occupied at roughly the same time 371 00:24:09,800 --> 00:24:15,200 Speaker 1: during the Middle Paleolithic period. This research involved examining almost 372 00:24:15,320 --> 00:24:19,359 Speaker 1: three hundred and fifty bone fragments, and they had distinctly 373 00:24:19,560 --> 00:24:23,280 Speaker 1: different cut marks at each of these two caves. The 374 00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:27,400 Speaker 1: differences have been described as the groups having different family 375 00:24:27,560 --> 00:24:33,040 Speaker 1: recipes or having different traditions around food. It's also just 376 00:24:33,119 --> 00:24:36,399 Speaker 1: possible that the two groups had different preferences on what 377 00:24:36,520 --> 00:24:39,800 Speaker 1: kinds of meat to eat. One cave had more bones 378 00:24:39,840 --> 00:24:43,000 Speaker 1: that came from larger animals, although that could also mean 379 00:24:43,040 --> 00:24:46,200 Speaker 1: that the group from the other cave butchered larger animals 380 00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:49,720 Speaker 1: somewhere else rather than at the cave. So this research 381 00:24:49,800 --> 00:24:54,000 Speaker 1: suggests that Neanderthal society was more complex and varied than 382 00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:55,199 Speaker 1: we might imagine today. 383 00:24:56,200 --> 00:24:58,919 Speaker 2: I can't remember if it was in this, uh, this 384 00:24:59,080 --> 00:25:01,600 Speaker 2: find or something else, because I think there's more than 385 00:25:01,640 --> 00:25:05,400 Speaker 2: one Neanderthal thing this time, but one of them had 386 00:25:05,440 --> 00:25:08,000 Speaker 2: a subhead in the text of the article that was 387 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:16,000 Speaker 2: something like Neanderthal's colon not dummies, which is a recurring 388 00:25:16,080 --> 00:25:18,600 Speaker 2: theme on the kinds of Neanderthal things we talk about 389 00:25:18,680 --> 00:25:24,280 Speaker 2: on Unearthed. Keeping with this ancient food theme, research in Shangdong, 390 00:25:24,400 --> 00:25:28,119 Speaker 2: China have found charred at zuki beans dating back to 391 00:25:28,280 --> 00:25:32,080 Speaker 2: eight thousand to nine thousand years ago, meaning those were 392 00:25:32,119 --> 00:25:35,480 Speaker 2: being grown and used in the Yellow River region at 393 00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:40,320 Speaker 2: least four thousand years earlier than was previously thought. At 394 00:25:40,440 --> 00:25:43,240 Speaker 2: Zuki beans are a nutritious food and they also have 395 00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:48,160 Speaker 2: nitrogen fixing properties that helps enrich the soil. This research 396 00:25:48,280 --> 00:25:50,480 Speaker 2: was part of a larger study that looked at how 397 00:25:50,520 --> 00:25:53,600 Speaker 2: these beans were used at sites in China, Japan, and 398 00:25:53,680 --> 00:25:58,840 Speaker 2: South Korea. Another finding involved significant differences in how large 399 00:25:58,840 --> 00:26:02,520 Speaker 2: the beans were and how they were used. These findings 400 00:26:02,560 --> 00:26:06,080 Speaker 2: suggest that these beans were domesticated at several different places 401 00:26:06,119 --> 00:26:09,639 Speaker 2: in parallel, rather than having one variety of bean plant 402 00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:12,480 Speaker 2: that was domesticated in one place and then spread out 403 00:26:12,520 --> 00:26:16,240 Speaker 2: from that point. I'm laughing because I'm like in my garden, 404 00:26:16,359 --> 00:26:19,000 Speaker 2: some plants make big beans and some plants just kind 405 00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:24,520 Speaker 2: of peter out. Sure, sure there were trends among the beans. 406 00:26:24,600 --> 00:26:27,359 Speaker 1: Yes, it's just like maybe one of them is just 407 00:26:27,400 --> 00:26:28,600 Speaker 1: a really bad gardener. 408 00:26:31,640 --> 00:26:35,320 Speaker 2: Continuing on with our plant based food, researchers working in 409 00:26:35,359 --> 00:26:39,159 Speaker 2: the Canary Islands have studied the DNA of lentils that 410 00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:42,320 Speaker 2: were placed in storage silos there more than a thousand 411 00:26:42,359 --> 00:26:46,960 Speaker 2: years ago. The indigenous people on the islands created these 412 00:26:47,480 --> 00:26:51,720 Speaker 2: silos by digging down into the volcanic bedrock, and some 413 00:26:51,760 --> 00:26:54,680 Speaker 2: of the seeds that are still in there are extremely 414 00:26:54,760 --> 00:26:58,879 Speaker 2: well preserved. When Europeans arrived in the Canary Islands in 415 00:26:58,920 --> 00:27:03,399 Speaker 2: the thirteen hundred, they described their inhabitants farming methods, but 416 00:27:03,440 --> 00:27:08,080 Speaker 2: they didn't mention lentils. Spain ultimately colonized the islands in 417 00:27:08,119 --> 00:27:11,320 Speaker 2: the fifteenth century, and a lot of the indigenous population 418 00:27:11,560 --> 00:27:15,480 Speaker 2: and knowledge were lost through conquest in genocide, But by 419 00:27:15,520 --> 00:27:19,199 Speaker 2: that time lentils were being grown there. So the question 420 00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:23,000 Speaker 2: was when and how did the lentils arrive there? Did 421 00:27:23,040 --> 00:27:27,840 Speaker 2: they predate those fourteenth century accounts or were they introduced afterward. 422 00:27:28,760 --> 00:27:32,720 Speaker 2: So this genetic research and other parts of this suggest 423 00:27:32,840 --> 00:27:37,520 Speaker 2: that the Canary Islands indigenous peoples brought lentils from northern 424 00:27:37,600 --> 00:27:41,600 Speaker 2: Africa roughly two thousand years ago, so long before the 425 00:27:41,720 --> 00:27:46,160 Speaker 2: arrival of Europeans, and that the same types of lentils 426 00:27:46,200 --> 00:27:50,439 Speaker 2: have been cultivated on these islands ever since. The particular 427 00:27:50,560 --> 00:27:54,320 Speaker 2: lentil variety that they were studying is also really well 428 00:27:54,359 --> 00:27:58,000 Speaker 2: adapted to a hot and dry climate, and that is 429 00:27:58,040 --> 00:28:01,200 Speaker 2: something researchers say could be useful as the Earth climate 430 00:28:01,320 --> 00:28:05,840 Speaker 2: continues to get warmer due to climate change. Other food 431 00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:09,480 Speaker 2: DNA research has looked into the question of whether DNA 432 00:28:09,560 --> 00:28:12,639 Speaker 2: can help researchers figure out what kinds of fish people 433 00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:15,920 Speaker 2: were eating in the ancient world, even when the fish 434 00:28:15,920 --> 00:28:19,480 Speaker 2: were heavily processed. We have talked about the use of 435 00:28:19,520 --> 00:28:22,840 Speaker 2: food residues on pots to figure out what those pots contained. 436 00:28:22,960 --> 00:28:26,560 Speaker 2: So this isn't like a totally new idea, but this 437 00:28:26,600 --> 00:28:30,240 Speaker 2: study involved Roman fish fermentation vats that were used to 438 00:28:30,280 --> 00:28:34,280 Speaker 2: make a paste called garum. In addition to being fermented, 439 00:28:34,480 --> 00:28:38,520 Speaker 2: these fish were salted and crushed, So it's extremely rare 440 00:28:38,560 --> 00:28:43,120 Speaker 2: for archaeologists to find a recognizable sample that could conclusively 441 00:28:43,240 --> 00:28:48,440 Speaker 2: point to one specific type of fish. Researchers were able 442 00:28:48,480 --> 00:28:52,360 Speaker 2: to extract DNA from residue at a site in what's 443 00:28:52,400 --> 00:28:56,760 Speaker 2: now Spain, which they compared to DNA from modern sardines, 444 00:28:57,240 --> 00:28:59,200 Speaker 2: and they confirmed that what they were looking at in 445 00:28:59,280 --> 00:29:03,360 Speaker 2: this paste residue was from sardines and that it was 446 00:29:03,440 --> 00:29:07,160 Speaker 2: genetically similar to today's sardines from the same part of 447 00:29:07,200 --> 00:29:07,719 Speaker 2: the world. 448 00:29:08,480 --> 00:29:09,240 Speaker 1: At the same. 449 00:29:09,040 --> 00:29:12,480 Speaker 2: Time, the researchers stress that this is not a perfect technique. 450 00:29:12,880 --> 00:29:16,120 Speaker 2: The process of creating these kinds of fish pastes can 451 00:29:16,160 --> 00:29:19,920 Speaker 2: still mean that there is just no usable DNA left 452 00:29:19,960 --> 00:29:22,480 Speaker 2: and residues that survive until today, so at worked this 453 00:29:22,600 --> 00:29:25,080 Speaker 2: time might not always work. 454 00:29:25,440 --> 00:29:29,120 Speaker 1: This may have been a fluke. Research on samples from 455 00:29:29,120 --> 00:29:32,960 Speaker 1: the Levant region and northern Mesopotamia has examined seed and 456 00:29:33,040 --> 00:29:36,480 Speaker 1: wood samples from grape and olive plants that date back 457 00:29:36,520 --> 00:29:40,240 Speaker 1: to between five thousand and twenty six hundred years ago. 458 00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:45,120 Speaker 1: Researchers used carbon isotope analysis to assess how much water 459 00:29:45,200 --> 00:29:48,920 Speaker 1: these plants had available when they were growing during the 460 00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:52,480 Speaker 1: earlier part of that time span. Evidence of water stress 461 00:29:52,600 --> 00:29:56,440 Speaker 1: lined up with seasonal variations in average moisture and rainfall, 462 00:29:57,040 --> 00:30:00,680 Speaker 1: but in later samples a different pattern emerged. There was 463 00:30:00,720 --> 00:30:03,720 Speaker 1: a wider range in the periods of water stress and 464 00:30:03,880 --> 00:30:06,800 Speaker 1: evidence of plants being grown in places that were not 465 00:30:06,960 --> 00:30:10,000 Speaker 1: as well suited to them, requiring more irrigation. 466 00:30:11,080 --> 00:30:15,200 Speaker 2: Grape plants, in particular, were increasingly grown in areas that 467 00:30:15,320 --> 00:30:21,520 Speaker 2: required extra water, so researchers concluded that this suggests grapes 468 00:30:21,560 --> 00:30:23,680 Speaker 2: and the wines that were made from them had a 469 00:30:23,720 --> 00:30:28,080 Speaker 2: particularly high economic value, more so than olives and olive oil, 470 00:30:28,120 --> 00:30:31,120 Speaker 2: because otherwise people would not have bothered to put in 471 00:30:31,160 --> 00:30:34,040 Speaker 2: the effort to grow them in places where it was 472 00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:37,920 Speaker 2: harder to do so. The press release headline on this 473 00:30:37,960 --> 00:30:41,400 Speaker 2: boiled it down to quote bronze and iron age cultures 474 00:30:41,440 --> 00:30:45,120 Speaker 2: in the Middle East were committed to wine production. We've 475 00:30:45,240 --> 00:30:47,880 Speaker 2: finally gotten to a couple of fines that involved the 476 00:30:47,880 --> 00:30:52,240 Speaker 2: discovery of an actual food substance. For this first one, 477 00:30:52,360 --> 00:30:55,600 Speaker 2: we got a tip from our listener Tom Its bottles 478 00:30:55,680 --> 00:30:59,680 Speaker 2: containing lactic acid bacteria cultures found in a basement under 479 00:30:59,720 --> 00:31:04,080 Speaker 2: green houses at the University of Copenhagen. Lactic acid can 480 00:31:04,160 --> 00:31:07,960 Speaker 2: extend the shelf life of cheese's butter and other dairy products, 481 00:31:07,960 --> 00:31:10,880 Speaker 2: and these bottles dated back to the late eighteen hundreds. 482 00:31:11,800 --> 00:31:15,880 Speaker 2: DNA research confirmed that the bottle's contents still matched up 483 00:31:15,920 --> 00:31:18,960 Speaker 2: with what was on their labels, and these strains of 484 00:31:19,040 --> 00:31:23,120 Speaker 2: lactic acid cultures match ones that were used in Danish 485 00:31:23,320 --> 00:31:28,120 Speaker 2: dairies after the introduction of pasteurization, that's heat treating milk 486 00:31:28,160 --> 00:31:32,840 Speaker 2: and other foods to kill pathogenic bacteria. These cultures were 487 00:31:32,840 --> 00:31:38,520 Speaker 2: probably used as part of butter production. Perhaps unsurprisingly, researchers 488 00:31:38,560 --> 00:31:43,320 Speaker 2: also found evidence of contamination from other bacteria in these samples, 489 00:31:43,680 --> 00:31:49,760 Speaker 2: including pathogenic bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus and Vibrio furnissie. 490 00:31:49,880 --> 00:31:55,120 Speaker 1: Please do not taste these culturesbatter make you see. 491 00:31:55,840 --> 00:32:01,840 Speaker 2: The other actual food substance is a residue from bronze 492 00:32:02,160 --> 00:32:06,320 Speaker 2: vessels at a shrine in southern Italy. These vessels were 493 00:32:06,320 --> 00:32:09,560 Speaker 2: discovered in nineteen fifty four, and a series of tests 494 00:32:10,040 --> 00:32:12,760 Speaker 2: carried out in the year since then had been inconclusive. 495 00:32:13,400 --> 00:32:17,520 Speaker 2: Oxford University's Ashmolean Museum received some of the residue in 496 00:32:17,560 --> 00:32:22,080 Speaker 2: twenty nineteen, and they've concluded that it is nearly identical 497 00:32:22,120 --> 00:32:26,480 Speaker 2: to today's beeswax and honey, although with a higher acidity 498 00:32:26,600 --> 00:32:29,400 Speaker 2: level because it's basically been in storage for about twenty 499 00:32:29,400 --> 00:32:33,680 Speaker 2: five hundred years. They also found some proteins similar to 500 00:32:33,800 --> 00:32:37,200 Speaker 2: royal jelly. It didn't obviously look like any of these 501 00:32:37,200 --> 00:32:40,200 Speaker 2: things just by looking at it because it was so old, 502 00:32:40,400 --> 00:32:44,520 Speaker 2: but that's where we seem to have landed, and our. 503 00:32:44,440 --> 00:32:47,560 Speaker 1: Last food is more food adjacent. But Tracy just found 504 00:32:47,560 --> 00:32:49,880 Speaker 1: it charming and there is no better reason for inclusion 505 00:32:49,920 --> 00:32:52,600 Speaker 1: in my opinion. It's a pottery vessel found in what 506 00:32:52,680 --> 00:32:55,880 Speaker 1: is now Tajikistan, dating back to between the first century 507 00:32:55,880 --> 00:32:59,960 Speaker 1: BCE and the third century CE, when the Kushan Empire 508 00:33:00,120 --> 00:33:03,800 Speaker 1: controlled the area. It had an inscription in the Bactrian 509 00:33:03,920 --> 00:33:08,560 Speaker 1: language which reads, this water jug belongs to the woman's sagkeina. 510 00:33:08,840 --> 00:33:11,880 Speaker 1: This jug was broken when archaeologists found it, and some 511 00:33:11,920 --> 00:33:14,680 Speaker 1: of the pieces are missing, but all of the pieces 512 00:33:14,760 --> 00:33:19,040 Speaker 1: containing parts of the inscription are there. Inscriptions in this 513 00:33:19,200 --> 00:33:22,480 Speaker 1: language are very rare in what is now Tajikistan, so 514 00:33:22,760 --> 00:33:25,040 Speaker 1: this is a very great find, okay. 515 00:33:25,080 --> 00:33:28,360 Speaker 2: I just like the idea that somebody basically wrote their 516 00:33:28,440 --> 00:33:30,880 Speaker 2: name on their water jug because they were tired of 517 00:33:31,080 --> 00:33:34,120 Speaker 2: people taking it from the well without asking or whatever. 518 00:33:34,560 --> 00:33:36,040 Speaker 1: Ye uh. 519 00:33:36,120 --> 00:33:40,320 Speaker 2: Before we close out today's installment of Unearthed, I wanted 520 00:33:40,320 --> 00:33:43,080 Speaker 2: to talk about a paper that is connected to like 521 00:33:43,200 --> 00:33:46,120 Speaker 2: the research that goes into these episodes and then the 522 00:33:46,120 --> 00:33:49,680 Speaker 2: episodes that we produce as a result. I have talked 523 00:33:49,720 --> 00:33:52,760 Speaker 2: before about how it can be challenging to feel like 524 00:33:52,880 --> 00:33:56,720 Speaker 2: we are covering fines from all over the world because 525 00:33:56,720 --> 00:34:01,000 Speaker 2: we're dependent on what's being published and publicized and covered 526 00:34:01,040 --> 00:34:05,160 Speaker 2: in English language media. So this paper, which was published 527 00:34:05,160 --> 00:34:09,080 Speaker 2: in the journal Science Advances in July, is called regional 528 00:34:09,160 --> 00:34:13,160 Speaker 2: disparities in US media coverage of archaeology research, and it 529 00:34:13,280 --> 00:34:17,560 Speaker 2: is about what kinds of peer reviewed papers wind up 530 00:34:17,600 --> 00:34:23,600 Speaker 2: being covered as popular science news. Overwhelmingly, the general public 531 00:34:23,680 --> 00:34:27,719 Speaker 2: learns about archaeology research from news sources or maybe from 532 00:34:27,760 --> 00:34:31,440 Speaker 2: our podcast, and not directly from the peer reviewed journals 533 00:34:31,480 --> 00:34:35,080 Speaker 2: where it's published. But there's a big gap between popular 534 00:34:35,120 --> 00:34:38,520 Speaker 2: science news and peer reviewed journals. Some of this is 535 00:34:38,680 --> 00:34:41,480 Speaker 2: really to be expected, since what is newsworthy to a 536 00:34:41,560 --> 00:34:45,360 Speaker 2: general audience is not necessarily the same as what's notable 537 00:34:45,400 --> 00:34:49,400 Speaker 2: from a scientific perspective. At the same time, there are 538 00:34:49,520 --> 00:34:54,200 Speaker 2: editorial decisions and judgment calls about what to cover. So 539 00:34:54,520 --> 00:34:58,880 Speaker 2: this paper looked at how what's published in journals compares 540 00:34:58,920 --> 00:35:02,879 Speaker 2: to what is covered in mainstream news reporting. The researchers 541 00:35:02,960 --> 00:35:07,440 Speaker 2: surveyed archaeology papers published in seven peer reviewed journals. Those 542 00:35:07,520 --> 00:35:13,800 Speaker 2: were Antiquity Science, Nature, Science Advances, Nature Communications, Scientific Reports, 543 00:35:13,840 --> 00:35:18,000 Speaker 2: and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. They also 544 00:35:18,120 --> 00:35:21,800 Speaker 2: collected metrics on all of these publications, and they noted 545 00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:26,239 Speaker 2: whether press releases about the archaeology papers were published on 546 00:35:26,640 --> 00:35:30,920 Speaker 2: eurek alert, which is a news release platform. They also 547 00:35:30,960 --> 00:35:34,840 Speaker 2: looked at whether each paper got coverage in fifteen different 548 00:35:34,960 --> 00:35:39,640 Speaker 2: major US media outlets and news aggregators. So those peer 549 00:35:39,680 --> 00:35:42,440 Speaker 2: reviewed journals, I feel like every one of them has 550 00:35:42,560 --> 00:35:48,160 Speaker 2: been cited repeatedly on Unearthed and eurek alert and major 551 00:35:48,320 --> 00:35:51,360 Speaker 2: US media outlets. They are all part of what goes 552 00:35:51,520 --> 00:35:54,080 Speaker 2: into creating our Unearthed episodes. 553 00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:59,680 Speaker 1: This paper has a lot of math and statistics. It's 554 00:35:59,680 --> 00:36:04,040 Speaker 1: offul found that relatively speaking, articles about North America were 555 00:36:04,080 --> 00:36:06,720 Speaker 1: twice as likely to have a press release on eurek 556 00:36:06,760 --> 00:36:10,840 Speaker 1: alert than articles about Asia, and across the board, news 557 00:36:10,840 --> 00:36:14,160 Speaker 1: outlets covered articles with a press release at eurek alert 558 00:36:14,719 --> 00:36:17,040 Speaker 1: far more often than they covered ones that did not. 559 00:36:18,120 --> 00:36:22,319 Speaker 1: Paleolithic archaeology articles were also covered more often than archaeology 560 00:36:22,440 --> 00:36:27,360 Speaker 1: about more recent periods, possibly because people interpret Payolithic findings 561 00:36:27,440 --> 00:36:32,560 Speaker 1: as universal regardless of where the research takes place. One 562 00:36:32,600 --> 00:36:37,600 Speaker 1: of this paper's overall conclusions was that papers about archaeology 563 00:36:37,800 --> 00:36:42,359 Speaker 1: in the United Kingdom, Israel and Palestine, and Australia were 564 00:36:42,480 --> 00:36:46,600 Speaker 1: all more likely to be covered in US popular publications 565 00:36:46,680 --> 00:36:52,040 Speaker 1: than papers about archaeology in China and Taiwan. Asia was 566 00:36:52,080 --> 00:36:56,960 Speaker 1: the geographic region least likely to receive news coverage, even 567 00:36:57,040 --> 00:37:01,719 Speaker 1: though the greatest numbers of papers were about China or Taiwan. 568 00:37:02,800 --> 00:37:07,040 Speaker 1: The authors concluded that these disparities reflect an anti Chinese 569 00:37:07,160 --> 00:37:11,480 Speaker 1: bias and the false notion that only history related to 570 00:37:11,680 --> 00:37:15,719 Speaker 1: quote white Judaeo Christian pasts is relevant to people in 571 00:37:15,760 --> 00:37:20,560 Speaker 1: the United States today. So, after working on Unearthed episodes 572 00:37:20,600 --> 00:37:23,800 Speaker 1: for more than a decade and just really immersing myself 573 00:37:23,840 --> 00:37:27,759 Speaker 1: in both peer reviewed papers and the news coverage of 574 00:37:27,880 --> 00:37:30,560 Speaker 1: them multiple times a year for all of that time, 575 00:37:31,239 --> 00:37:34,160 Speaker 1: these trends are really apparent. Like we talked so much 576 00:37:34,200 --> 00:37:41,120 Speaker 1: about like early human history Paleolithic era stuff today compared 577 00:37:41,160 --> 00:37:44,759 Speaker 1: to things that are more recent. Geographic trends are also 578 00:37:44,800 --> 00:37:49,040 Speaker 1: really apparent. This paper wasn't really focused on Africa, but 579 00:37:49,239 --> 00:37:53,560 Speaker 1: some of these same things also apply to archaeological research 580 00:37:53,560 --> 00:37:57,200 Speaker 1: in Africa. These trends totally make their way into our show. 581 00:37:57,280 --> 00:38:02,160 Speaker 1: As I just said, it's absolutely true that editor's decisions 582 00:38:02,200 --> 00:38:07,840 Speaker 1: are influenced by their own biases and by their perceptions 583 00:38:07,880 --> 00:38:11,680 Speaker 1: of what will be relevant to their audiences. All people 584 00:38:11,760 --> 00:38:15,480 Speaker 1: have biases, and these biases are still there when we 585 00:38:15,560 --> 00:38:18,920 Speaker 1: are consciously trying to be aware of them and not 586 00:38:19,680 --> 00:38:23,399 Speaker 1: fall into that same pattern. This is not in any 587 00:38:23,440 --> 00:38:26,839 Speaker 1: way a criticism of the paper, but in my experience, 588 00:38:26,960 --> 00:38:31,000 Speaker 1: I do think the news releases on eurek Alert play 589 00:38:31,080 --> 00:38:34,680 Speaker 1: an even bigger role in these patterns than the paper suggests. 590 00:38:35,400 --> 00:38:38,320 Speaker 1: It's not just a yes or no checkbox about whether 591 00:38:38,440 --> 00:38:41,560 Speaker 1: there is a press release. A press release on eurek 592 00:38:41,560 --> 00:38:45,320 Speaker 1: alert is typically written to be accessible to a general audience, 593 00:38:45,400 --> 00:38:49,040 Speaker 1: which peer reviewed papers and academic journals often are not. 594 00:38:49,960 --> 00:38:53,800 Speaker 1: The press releases also signaled that there is a media 595 00:38:53,920 --> 00:38:57,640 Speaker 1: contact who is prepared to answer questions about the research 596 00:38:57,680 --> 00:39:01,800 Speaker 1: and give quotes to reporters, and that person's contact information 597 00:39:01,920 --> 00:39:04,080 Speaker 1: is right there on the press release, so it's easy 598 00:39:04,120 --> 00:39:09,319 Speaker 1: to find. Overwhelmingly when I'm working on these episodes and 599 00:39:09,360 --> 00:39:12,240 Speaker 1: there is an archaeology story that gets just a ton 600 00:39:12,360 --> 00:39:15,680 Speaker 1: of coverage and lots of different publications, with lots of 601 00:39:15,719 --> 00:39:20,160 Speaker 1: perspectives and lots of different quotes from archaeologists or the 602 00:39:20,280 --> 00:39:24,120 Speaker 1: lead authors of the papers, it's overwhelmingly something that also 603 00:39:24,280 --> 00:39:27,239 Speaker 1: has a press release on EUREK Alert, or if not, 604 00:39:28,120 --> 00:39:31,480 Speaker 1: it is coming from a university or another institution that 605 00:39:31,640 --> 00:39:35,919 Speaker 1: has dedicated PR and media relations people on staff who 606 00:39:35,920 --> 00:39:39,120 Speaker 1: are doing outreach and promoting the work of their faculty 607 00:39:39,120 --> 00:39:42,760 Speaker 1: and staff. Additionally, some of the countries that the paper 608 00:39:42,800 --> 00:39:48,440 Speaker 1: showed as getting proportionally more news coverage are also countries 609 00:39:48,480 --> 00:39:54,200 Speaker 1: that intentionally use archaeological research as a PR and international 610 00:39:54,239 --> 00:39:57,759 Speaker 1: publicity effort, and so that includes Egypt and Israel. So 611 00:39:58,920 --> 00:40:02,880 Speaker 1: this paper was published as open access anyone can read it, 612 00:40:02,920 --> 00:40:05,680 Speaker 1: and I mostly wanted to say, yeah, this really aligns 613 00:40:05,760 --> 00:40:09,279 Speaker 1: with my observations. It includes trends that I try to 614 00:40:09,320 --> 00:40:12,200 Speaker 1: be aware of and should try to take into account 615 00:40:12,320 --> 00:40:15,719 Speaker 1: and as much as possible, kind of undermine when I'm 616 00:40:15,760 --> 00:40:19,720 Speaker 1: working on these episodes. Again, it is called regional disparities 617 00:40:19,760 --> 00:40:23,400 Speaker 1: in US media coverage of archaeology research, and it was 618 00:40:23,480 --> 00:40:28,239 Speaker 1: published in the journal Science Advances in July, and that 619 00:40:28,320 --> 00:40:30,360 Speaker 1: concludes part one of Unearthed. 620 00:40:31,440 --> 00:40:34,120 Speaker 2: I'll have a question about this on Friday. Yeah, I'm 621 00:40:34,120 --> 00:40:36,560 Speaker 2: sure we can talk more about it on Friday. Do 622 00:40:36,600 --> 00:40:38,880 Speaker 2: you have listener mail in the meantime? I do have 623 00:40:39,000 --> 00:40:43,320 Speaker 2: listener mail in the meantime. This email is actually from 624 00:40:43,360 --> 00:40:47,560 Speaker 2: back in July, and I accidentally skipped it when I 625 00:40:47,600 --> 00:40:52,480 Speaker 2: was reading things. It has come from Megan, and Meghan wrote, Hi, 626 00:40:52,560 --> 00:40:55,080 Speaker 2: Tracy and Holly. I've been listening to stuff you mists 627 00:40:55,080 --> 00:40:57,319 Speaker 2: in history class for the past ten years or so. 628 00:40:57,400 --> 00:41:00,600 Speaker 2: Thank you for the hours of education and entertainment. I 629 00:41:00,640 --> 00:41:04,240 Speaker 2: really enjoyed your recent episode about Wilfred Owen and wanted 630 00:41:04,280 --> 00:41:07,080 Speaker 2: to recommend one of my favorite books, actually the first 631 00:41:07,080 --> 00:41:11,520 Speaker 2: of a trilogy, Regeneration by Pat Barker. It's a fictionalized 632 00:41:11,520 --> 00:41:15,280 Speaker 2: account of Owen, Sasoon, and their contemporaries at Craig Lockhart 633 00:41:15,280 --> 00:41:18,080 Speaker 2: Hospital under the care of WHR. 634 00:41:18,239 --> 00:41:22,720 Speaker 1: Rivers. Fun fact, the R in Rivers's middle initials also 635 00:41:22,800 --> 00:41:26,480 Speaker 1: stands for Rivers. The novel is powerful, haunting, and will 636 00:41:26,480 --> 00:41:28,920 Speaker 1: stay with you for a long time. I like to 637 00:41:28,960 --> 00:41:31,600 Speaker 1: reread the books that have affected me the most, especially 638 00:41:31,640 --> 00:41:34,000 Speaker 1: so I can revisit them and relate to them at 639 00:41:34,000 --> 00:41:37,239 Speaker 1: different stages of my own life. On your recommendation, I 640 00:41:37,280 --> 00:41:40,680 Speaker 1: read Doomsday Book by Connie Willis, which was good timing 641 00:41:40,800 --> 00:41:43,000 Speaker 1: since I got COVID last month and I felt like 642 00:41:43,040 --> 00:41:44,000 Speaker 1: I had the plague. 643 00:41:44,480 --> 00:41:46,600 Speaker 2: I'm sure I will come back to it in the 644 00:41:46,600 --> 00:41:50,120 Speaker 2: future At Christmas time. Listening to your episode about Wilfred 645 00:41:50,160 --> 00:41:53,480 Speaker 2: Owen made me realize that I haven't reread the Regeneration 646 00:41:53,680 --> 00:41:57,640 Speaker 2: trilogy since I started my current job almost six years ago. 647 00:41:58,360 --> 00:42:01,520 Speaker 2: I'm a psychologist for the US Department of Veteran Affairs 648 00:42:01,560 --> 00:42:04,960 Speaker 2: in North Carolina. Working in mental health at the VA 649 00:42:05,000 --> 00:42:07,800 Speaker 2: has allowed me to bear witness to generations of trauma, 650 00:42:08,280 --> 00:42:10,959 Speaker 2: from veterans who served in conflicts dating back to World 651 00:42:11,000 --> 00:42:13,920 Speaker 2: War II in Korea, to those who faced violence and 652 00:42:13,960 --> 00:42:17,600 Speaker 2: discrimination related to their race or sexual orientation, to those 653 00:42:17,640 --> 00:42:21,800 Speaker 2: who have experienced military sexual trauma. When you discussed Rivers's 654 00:42:21,840 --> 00:42:24,960 Speaker 2: treatments for shell shock at Craig Lockhart, it struck me 655 00:42:25,080 --> 00:42:28,640 Speaker 2: that he was remarkably insightful about how to work with PTSD. 656 00:42:29,400 --> 00:42:32,400 Speaker 2: The evidence to based psychotherapies we used today are also 657 00:42:32,480 --> 00:42:36,719 Speaker 2: based in helping veterans retell their stories of trauma, exposing 658 00:42:36,760 --> 00:42:40,360 Speaker 2: themselves in a safe environment to painful memories and emotions. 659 00:42:40,960 --> 00:42:44,560 Speaker 2: I often use written exposure therapy, which is directly related 660 00:42:44,600 --> 00:42:46,880 Speaker 2: to the writing therapy at Craig Lockhart. Thank you for 661 00:42:46,960 --> 00:42:52,080 Speaker 2: reminding me that it's time for a regeneration read for Pettas. 662 00:42:52,440 --> 00:42:55,040 Speaker 2: Here are some pictures of my boys, Mino and Tibby. 663 00:42:55,160 --> 00:42:57,600 Speaker 2: They are littermates twelve years old and have the biggest 664 00:42:57,640 --> 00:43:01,080 Speaker 2: personalities of any cat I have ever known. Tibby is 665 00:43:01,120 --> 00:43:03,400 Speaker 2: the one lying on his back like he owns the place, 666 00:43:03,440 --> 00:43:06,359 Speaker 2: and Minnow is on my lap. The picture of them 667 00:43:06,600 --> 00:43:09,960 Speaker 2: on the beams of my parents' ceiling shows minnows distinguishing quirk. 668 00:43:10,000 --> 00:43:12,480 Speaker 2: He always holds his tail in a curly cube or 669 00:43:12,560 --> 00:43:16,439 Speaker 2: loop over his back like a chow. Tibby's formal name 670 00:43:16,560 --> 00:43:21,000 Speaker 2: is Tibbolt, after Shakespeare's Tibolt Capulate and Tibert, the cat 671 00:43:21,040 --> 00:43:24,600 Speaker 2: for medieval Reynard stories. Like his namesakes, he's smart and 672 00:43:24,640 --> 00:43:26,400 Speaker 2: strong willed, and can sometimes have a bit of a 673 00:43:26,400 --> 00:43:29,040 Speaker 2: timber when he doesn't get his way. But he's also 674 00:43:29,040 --> 00:43:31,440 Speaker 2: a sweetheart and sleeps cuddled next to me every night, 675 00:43:31,440 --> 00:43:37,160 Speaker 2: although he snores. Minnow's name is really Minilouche after the 676 00:43:37,200 --> 00:43:40,359 Speaker 2: poem The Cat in the Moon by Yates. It's about 677 00:43:40,400 --> 00:43:43,600 Speaker 2: a cat named black Miniluchhe who dances under the moon. 678 00:43:44,080 --> 00:43:47,600 Speaker 2: My Mino also dances wanders and whales at night, although 679 00:43:47,640 --> 00:43:50,400 Speaker 2: he is an indoor cat. But Minnow has the most 680 00:43:50,520 --> 00:43:53,120 Speaker 2: jouis de vive of any creature I've ever met. I 681 00:43:53,120 --> 00:43:54,680 Speaker 2: don't know when I gave him the name as a kitten, 682 00:43:54,760 --> 00:43:56,680 Speaker 2: just how apt it would be. He really does dance. 683 00:43:57,080 --> 00:43:59,120 Speaker 2: Thank you for letting me share my book War and 684 00:43:59,200 --> 00:44:01,600 Speaker 2: Cat Stories. The work you do helps me make sense 685 00:44:01,640 --> 00:44:04,280 Speaker 2: of the world and keeps me going through the hard times. 686 00:44:04,320 --> 00:44:09,520 Speaker 2: Best Megan. Thank you so much Megan for this email. 687 00:44:10,480 --> 00:44:13,000 Speaker 2: I don't think I had heard of the Regeneration trilogy, 688 00:44:13,200 --> 00:44:16,560 Speaker 2: and I am intrigued. And thanks for also talking about 689 00:44:16,600 --> 00:44:20,600 Speaker 2: your experience at the VA. There's a paragraph that I 690 00:44:20,680 --> 00:44:24,479 Speaker 2: skipped over that talked about how that is a rough 691 00:44:24,520 --> 00:44:26,920 Speaker 2: moment right now, and I hope you are doing as 692 00:44:26,960 --> 00:44:29,719 Speaker 2: well as possible, uh, and that things are going as 693 00:44:29,719 --> 00:44:34,600 Speaker 2: well as possible for you. And then we have adorable 694 00:44:34,600 --> 00:44:35,080 Speaker 2: pictures of. 695 00:44:35,040 --> 00:44:38,120 Speaker 1: Black cats, and I love black cats. I have two 696 00:44:38,160 --> 00:44:41,160 Speaker 1: of them. They are also littermates and today are the best. 697 00:44:42,400 --> 00:44:46,120 Speaker 2: I have a curly que tail cat, except her curly 698 00:44:46,200 --> 00:44:50,160 Speaker 2: cue is often in the opposite direction, so instead of 699 00:44:50,200 --> 00:44:52,680 Speaker 2: going up and over her back, it goes up and 700 00:44:52,760 --> 00:44:55,240 Speaker 2: over the opposite way and makes a little spiral. 701 00:44:56,000 --> 00:44:57,000 Speaker 1: It is very cute. 702 00:44:57,480 --> 00:45:01,440 Speaker 2: Uh So, thank you again for this email, Megan. If 703 00:45:01,440 --> 00:45:04,120 Speaker 2: you would like to send us a note about this 704 00:45:04,239 --> 00:45:07,560 Speaker 2: or any other podcast, we are at History Podcast at 705 00:45:07,560 --> 00:45:11,520 Speaker 2: iHeartRadio dot com, and you can subscribe to our show 706 00:45:11,680 --> 00:45:14,120 Speaker 2: on the iHeartRadio app and anywhere else you'd like to 707 00:45:14,120 --> 00:45:21,960 Speaker 2: get your podcasts. Stuff you missed in History Class is 708 00:45:21,960 --> 00:45:26,319 Speaker 2: a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit 709 00:45:26,400 --> 00:45:29,799 Speaker 2: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 710 00:45:29,840 --> 00:45:30,720 Speaker 2: your favorite shows.