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The myth of the 'Savage Indian' persists

Virginia McLaurin
Sapians
Wed, 27 Feb 2019 04:51 UTC
Native Indians
© Harold M. Lambert/Getty ImagesMedia portrayals of “good Indians” and “bad Indians” have shaped the minds of generations of Americans.
Peter Pan, the beloved children's classic, is sure to stun modern readers with its descriptions of "redskins" carrying "tomahawks and knives," their naked bodies glistening with oil. "Strung around them are scalps, of boys as well as of pirates," J.M. Barrie writes. The language, and the characterization, would be read as an offensive stereotype today, hardly helpful in creating realistic or healthy views of Indigenous peoples.

Such characterizations, it turns out, are rife-and not just in older, "classic" works that might be explicable as products of their time. They are evident in television and literature modern enough to have fed the brains of people now parenting children of their own.

As a person of Indigenous heritage, a Native American media scholar, and an avid (almost worryingly avid) fan of all things pop culture, I've seen a range of representations of Indigenous people on TV shows and in books. In graduate school, I decided to turn a more academic lens on the situation. I analyzed approximately 60 popular TV shows, films, and books from the early 1990s to 2011-ones that were set in modern times or had contemporary elements, as opposed to works of historical fiction. My goal was to find out what impression the average non-Native consumer would have of today's Native Americans from the media they grew up with.

What I found was a heavy dose of stereotypes, with-perhaps surprisingly-little sign of improvement over the decades. While some of the details changed, the overall picture was a harsh split between "good" and "bad" Indigenous characters. The negatively portrayed Indigenous characters were generally out of touch with their culture; they also often received benefits, operated casinos, were untrustworthy, and were frequently suggested to be "fake" Native Americans (especially in the eastern half of the country, where lineage is more likely to be "mixed"). Meanwhile, the more positively portrayed Indigenous characters were poor, living on reservations, honest, culturally knowledgeable, and often involved in supernatural occurrences.

The implication was that "real" Indigenous people must be impoverished, helpful to outsiders, and totally immersed in traditional Indigenous culture.
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Archaeology

Ancient Chinese tomb found to hold fabled 'elixir of immortality'


RT
Tue, 05 Mar 2019 20:52 UTC
Xu Fu leixer of life china
© WikipediaXu Fu's voyage in search of the Elixir of Life.
Archaeologists have announced the discovery of a drink that was said to promise everlasting life. It was found secretly stowed away in a 2,000-year-old bronze pot in an ancient tomb in central China's Henan province.

Around 3.5 litres of the "elixir of immortality" were found in the tomb in the city of Luoyang during excavations last October. It was initially thought that the liquid was liquor because it smelled like alcohol.

However, it was announced this week that, lab testing has revealed that the mysterious liquid is mainly comprised of potassium nitrate and alunite, which are the main ingredients of an immortality draught recorded in an ancient Taoist text.
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Dig

Balamku: Maya ritual cave untouched for 1,000 years stuns archaeologists

Gena Steffens
National Geographic
Mon, 04 Mar 2019 12:00 UTC
Tlaloc
© Karla OrtegaOver the centuries, stalagmites have formed around ritual objects such as this incense burner, which features an effigy of the rain god Tlaloc.
Archaeologists hunting for a sacred well beneath the ancient Maya city of Chichén Itzá on Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula have accidentally discovered a trove of more than 150 ritual objects-untouched for more than a thousand years-in a series of cave chambers that may hold clues to the rise and fall of the ancient Maya. The discovery of the cave system, known as Balamku or "Jaguar God," was announced by Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) in a press conference held today in Mexico City.

After its initial discovery by farmers in 1966, Balamku was visited by archaeologist Víctor Segovia Pinto, who wrote up a report noting the presence of an extensive amount of archaeological material. But instead of excavating the site, Segovia then directed the farmers to seal up the entrance, and all records of the discovery of the cave seemed to vanish.

Balamku remained sealed for more than 50 years, until it was reopened in 2018 by National Geographic Explorer Guillermo de Anda and his team of investigators from the Great Maya Aquifer Project during their search for the water table beneath Chichén Itzá. Exploration of the system was funded in part by a grant from the National Geographic Society.

Comment: The Little Ice Age, which began in the 1300s, drastically affected climate across the planet. European records attest to how these changes led to a massive loss of life there too. And so it's likely that this contributed in large part to the demise of the Maya.

See also: And for more information on why what we're witnessing on our planet today bears some relation to what was occurring back then, check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Earth changes in an electric universe: Is climate change really man-made?

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Info

First confirmed Denisovan skull piece found in Siberian cave

Nicola Jones
Sapiens
Mon, 04 Mar 2019 07:18 UTC
Siberian Cave
© IAET SB RAS/Sergei Zelensky/Fragments of a hominin skull add to the sparse collection from our obscure cousins.
A chunk of a Denisovan skull has been identified for the first time-a dramatic contribution to the handful of known samples from one of the most obscure branches of the hominin family tree. Paleoanthropologist Bence Viola from the University of Toronto will discuss the as-yet-unpublished discovery at the upcoming meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists in Cleveland, Ohio, at the end of March.

Very little is known about the Denisovans, an extinct branch of hominins that was a sister group to Neanderthals. Only four individual Denisovans had been identified previously, all from one cave in Siberia. The first Denisovan was described in 2010 from the fragment of a pinky finger bone, and three more were identified from teeth. This skull piece, excavated about three years ago in that same Siberian cave, represents a fifth individual.

"It's very nice that we finally have fragments like this," says Viola. "It's not a full skull, but it's a piece of a skull. It gives us more. Compared to the finger and the teeth, it's nice to have." But, he adds, it's hardly a full skeleton. "We're always greedy," he laughs. "We want more."
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Cow Skull

Mystery of 6000 year old human skull defleshed and boiled by ancient farmers


Nature
Fri, 01 Mar 2019 21:39 UTC
skull
© J. Santana et al./Am. J. Phys. Anthropol.This skull cup, made from a human cranium, shows striations from stone tools; other marks indicate that it was also boiled in a pottery vessel.
Marks on a skullcap and other well-scraped human bones suggest that cannibalism was prevalent among prehistoric people in the south of the Iberian Peninsula.

Archaeologists discovered the 6,000-year-old remains inside a Spanish cave. On closer inspection, Jonathan Santana at Durham University, UK, and his colleagues found marks on some of the bones that indicated someone had chewed them and sucked their nutrient-rich marrow. In addition, a skullcap had been skinned, polished and boiled, apparently to give it a smooth appearance. This carefully prepared cranium, known as a skull cup, might have been used in cannibalistic rituals.

The finds strongly indicate that early Iberian farming communities included human flesh in their diets. But why they ate their kin and carved their skulls is unclear.

Comment: According to a similar find also in Spain, although possibly dating from 2,000 years earlier, there is even more evidence of cannibalism. The article Prehistoric Human Bones Show Signs of Cannibalism notes:
To be sure, the researchers compared the bite marks in the prehistoric bones to human bite marks on modern-day rabbit bones, and found that the marks were similar in shape. Moreover, they found human bones within human coprolites (mummified human poop) within the cave, the researchers said.
See also:

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Eagle

Flashback Best of the Web: Never Forget: Interviews With Waco Survivor David Thibodeau and FBI Negotiator Gary Noesner Give Very Different Perspectives on Tragic Event

Cassandra Fairbanks
The Gateway Pundit
Sat, 03 Mar 2018 00:00 UTC
Branch Davidian compound
Wednesday marked the 25th anniversary of the start of the infamous 51-day standoff near Waco, Texas, between the FBI, ATF and a religious group called the Branch Davidians - the horrific conclusion of which left 76 people dead, including 25 children.

The Gateway Pundit interviewed two people who were each intimately involved with the 1993 siege. One of the men was with law enforcement on the outside and the other was a survivor who viewed it from the inside.

The deadly assault on David Koresh's Branch Davidian compound took place from February 28 through April 19 over suspected weapons violations. The ATF had attempted to raid the compound and a gun battle ensued, leaving four government agents and six Branch Davidians dead. For the next 50 days, the government would use psychological warfare, such as playing the sound of animals being slaughtered, until ultimately the compound was burned to the ground with nearly everyone still inside.

Comment: It is getting worse: The militarized ABC agencies and federal and state police forces have never been more ready and more equipped to mow down the public when given the order to. See also:

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NPC

Mad Science: The history of misguided attempts to geoengineer Earth

Barry Brownstein
FEE
Sat, 02 Mar 2019 11:12 UTC
earth
Harvard's Gernot Wagner wants to save the world from global warming. His method? Develop a new type of plane that will fly more than 4,000 missions a year dumping particulates into the stratosphere.

Wagner and his colleague Wake Smith call the proposed plane "SAI Lofter (SAIL)." Anonymous individuals at "Airbus, Atlas Air, Boeing, Bombardier, GE Engines, Gulfstream, Lockheed Martin, NASA, Near Space Corporation, Northrup Grumman, Rolls Royce Engines, Scaled Composites, The Spaceship Company, and Virgin Orbit" provided input.

Estimates for SAIL's design and operation seem sophisticated but are fabricated. Wagner and Smith admit, "No existing aircraft design-even with extensive modifications-can reasonably fulfill [their] mission."
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Bizarro Earth

The last megaquake that rocked the Pacific Northwest

Alex Bruell
The Daily Chronicle
Sat, 02 Mar 2019 02:27 UTC
Cascadia Subduction Zone
© American Geoscience InstituteScreenshot of a graphic showing the Cascadia Subduction Zone.
Red cedar "ghost forests," a Japanese villager's handwritten notes, and Native American oral histories: They all offered clues that led scientists to precisely date the last megaquake that rocked the Pacific Northwest.

It occurred on Jan. 26, 1700.

Unraveling the clues was similar to being a detective investigating a "not-so-ancient geological crime," U.S. Geological Survey scientist Brian Atwater said during a presentation to a full house at LCC's Health and Science lecture hall Wednesday night.

But "there's an edge to this story," he said. "It's a frightening thing. ... The effects of the tsunami are not so pretty."

That is because the next quake could come at any time, though they recur on average every 500 years or so. But the intervals are highly variable, and researchers estimate that there's a 10 percent chance the region will be hit with the next magnitude 8 or larger earthquake within the next 50 years.

Whenever it occurs, it will shake the ground for several minutes from Vancouver Island to Northern California and churn up tsunamis that swamp coastal communities. Thousands may die, and the region's highway and utility infrastructure and thousands of buildings will collapse, geologists say.

Atwater is a pioneer whose research helped determine that giant "subduction zone" earthquakes have occurred in the Pacific Northwest in the past and will do so again.
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Bad Guys

Why do they hate us? Why the West should stop its Middle East interventions

Elijah J. Magnier
ejmagnier.com
Fri, 01 Mar 2019 18:16 UTC
sdf civilians syria
© REUTERS/Rodi SaidA large influx of civilians released from Baghouz through a corridor opened by
SDF February 20, 2019.
In 2003, when the US declared its occupation of Iraq, journalists used to reach the country embedded with the occupation forces through their air transport or via Kuwait. I did not have this luxury. I took a taxi from Beirut to Damascus and from the Syrian capital to Baghdad. It was a long drive, and I had no information on how to travel alone in a new country I had never visited before, but that in itself was not a new experience for me.

It was my first time in Iraq but I never imagined I was about to spend the next nine years in the country. I reached the al-Tanf border crossing, and waved goodbye to the final Syrian checkpoint behind me. Al-Tanf became my favourite destination for years to come until, years later, Baghdad (and Mosul) airport started civilian flights from and to Iraq. I was oblivious to the fact that this desert signpost, over 100 km from the nearest gasoline station, would someday become known worldwide due to US occupation of this crossing in 2017.

The borders on the Iraqi side were empty: unusually, no visa was required nor was anyone present to ask for it. No border guards were there on the Iraqi side. The first few kilometres in Iraq were punctuated by craters a couple of meters deep caused by the US bombing; this made driving quite acrobatic but possible for skillful drivers. The high fares taxi drivers asked for the ride seemed quite understandable.

Life in Baghdad in 2003 was not very difficult for a war zone journalist with experience in besieged cities like Beirut in 1982 or Sarajevo, the Bosnian capital, under tight siege in 1993-1994 (it became less difficult in following years). Seasonal vegetables and fruits were not lacking, although nothing was exported except for bananas. Talking to people was easy but communication systems and internet contact with the outside world were absent and only possible via Thuraya satellite phone or similar means. The language was a barrier at first, but with time I learned to understand and then speak the local Arabic dialect, which is different from the Levantine dialect familiar to me from the many years I spent covering other wars.

Comment: See Magnier's previous parts in this series here: Reshaping the Middle East: Why the West should stop its interventions

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Dig

6ft "Pictish stone" with eagle symbol discovered in north of Scotland

Alison Campsie
Scotman
Fri, 01 Mar 2019 11:51 UTC
Pictish stone
© Wayne Miles/Pictish Arts Society.The stone, which was found on a building site on the outskirts of Elgin, could be Pictish in origin.
A new Pictish stone may have been found on a building site in the north of Scotland.

The monument was discovered by amateur metal detectorist Wayne Miles on the site of a new business park outside Elgin, Moray.

The stone, which is around 6ft tall and estimated to weigh around two tonnes, is similar in design to the Dandaleith Stone which was found at Craigellachie, around 13 miles south of Elgin, in 2013.

Both are decorated with a notched rectangle design and eagle symbol.

Comment: As noted in 1,000-year-old Pictish fort unearthed in Scotland:
Almost nothing survives of the mysterious Pictish culture, including the name they called themselves. The Romans first mentioned the Picts, which means "painted people," likely because of their distinctive tattoos and war paint. However, relatively few Pictish writings survive, and much of what historians know about the Picts' early history comes from the accounts of Roman speechwriters such as Eumenius.
The following article from the BBC provides some examples of how these Pictish stones may have looked with colour:
Scotland's carved Pictish stones re-imagined in colour

Knocknagael Boar Stone
© Historic Environment RecordAn illustration of Inverness' Knocknagael Boar Stone
Archaeologists have been uncovering ornately decorated Pictish stones across northern Scotland for many years.

For many, the sculptures' mysterious carvings of animals and symbols are impressive as they are.

But some scholars suggest their ancient creators may also have painted the stones, bringing out in vivid colours their carved salmon, ravens, wolves, boars and even a battle scene.

Pictish stones
© UHI Archaeology InstitutePictish stones continue to be discovered including this one on Orkney
Working with experts, Historic Environment Scotland (HES) has created new interpretation panels for some of the best-known Pictish stones.

Archaeologists and historians have long debated the origins and activities of the Picts, HES says the idea they painted their carved stones is speculative.

Many academics agree the Picts were descended from indigenous Iron Age people of northern Scotland, and the term "Picti" was likely to have been a nickname the Romans used to describe communities north of Hadrian's Wall.
Aberlemno
© Historic Environment ScotlandAberlemno's battle stone
The Picts created intricately decorated standing stones and also constructed impressive hill forts to defend themselves against rival tribes and invaders.

They battled against the Romans, Angles and the Vikings.

To add colour to their carved stones they would have used minerals and plants to make their paints, says HES.
Pictish
© ACASAnother example of a new-found Pictish carved stone
But sculptures found so far have stood outside for more than 1,000 years so any pigment is likely to have been "scrubbed away" by long exposure to the effects of the sun, rain and wind.

However, there is evidence the Picts used colour on other objects, including metalwork.

Pigment has also survived on other relics elsewhere at the time of the Picts.

These include on stonework from Northumbria and Mercia, while colour is a strong a feature of early Christian manuscripts such as the Book of Durrow and the Book of Kells.

Bannocks challenge

Added to that were the Romans, who used colour on their sculptures and were a "significant cultural influence" on the Picts.

"The hypothesis is supported by many Pictish scholars as probable or the very at least possible," said HES.

"We drew on their advice throughout this project."
Maiden Stone
© Historic Environment RecordAn illustration of how The Maiden Stone in Aberdeenshire may have looked with colour
Stones with the new interpretation panels include one at Aberlemno in Angus.

It is believed to show the Battle of Dun Nechtain, in or around 685AD, which saw a Pictish army defeat invaders from Northumbria.

Also, the Dunfallandy Stone in Pitlochry, Perthshire.
dyce pict
© Historic Environment ScotlandOne of the new interpretation panels created by HES
Another is the Maiden Stone in Aberdeenshire.It was carved more than 1,200 years ago.

Legends attached to the stone include one that purports the stone is actually a woman who was turned stone after losing a wager with the Devil that she could bake bannocks faster than he could build a road to Mither Tap, a summit on the hill Bennachie near Inverurie.

Dragon-like carving

Inverness' Knocknagael Boar Stone was carved more than 1,400 years ago.

It has been in the care of Highland Council for many years after it was damaged by bad weather and vandals.

It is on display at the local authority's headquarters in Inverness.

Pictish stones are still being uncovered today, including one with a dragon-like carving in Orkney and another near Craigellachie in Moray.
Dunfallandy
© Historic Environment ScotlandThe Dunfallandy Stone stands near Pitlochry in Highland Perthshire
See also: And check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Who was Jesus? Examining the evidence that Christ may in fact have been Caesar!

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