Archaeologists dig in the dirt. Experimental archaeologists recreate what they dig up. They search to determine if their theories for how things worked in the past are accurate.
This can be anything from grinding grain to constructing an entire Danish hut for the purpose of watching it burn – seriously.
Experimental archaeology is an extremely satisfying combination of book-learning and hand-dirtying. It requires academic curiosity and meticulous research. Before a project is begun, a specific question is decided upon – what needs to be learned from the experiment?
A good question is based on a broad body of knowledge providing historical context. If studying a tool, the experimenter should know what research has already been done concerning who used it, made it, what it was used for, and many other things about the environment, culture, etc.
Once the question is determined, then the experimenting begins. Usually some sort of physical labor is involved – hauling timber or hot water, splitting shingles, or…grinding grain.
Last fall, I spent hours crouched over a stone, furiously rubbing grain kernels, watching many fall into the carpet instead of becoming flour. My question? How long would it take to get the same amount of flour you could create in five minutes using a blender. Why? I was curious – but also, I took an archaeology class which required a video detailing an experimental archaeology project. So there was that;)
Above you’ll find the evidence of my living room experimental archaeology.
Thank you to all the new and faithful readers who have visited Historyquester over the last months! Life has been hectic with work and school, and I regret that I haven’t posted here in ages. But – I look forward to posting more and sharing my historical wanderings with you once again. Till next time!
Brushing our teeth is something we do – hopefully – at least twice every day without even questioning it. Mindlessly squeezing a fluoride paste onto plastic bristles, we rub our teeth and rinse it out.
Foul breath has always been a human concern, but what is involved in the maintenance and understanding of healthy teeth has come a long way.
According to Alberto Angela, who wrote the book, A Day in the Life of Ancient Rome, some tooth practices have been consistent over time.
“The Romans take good care of their teeth,” he writes. “At table they use toothpicks…[which]…are often made of silver and are the size of dinner forks,” (Angela, 2009)
Angela even says that the Romans used forms of toothpaste that included baking soda! However, these same people were also known to clean their teeth with urine… (Angela, 2009).
In the book, The Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century, Ian Mortimer describes Medieval dental care as focused on breath, not teeth.
Chewing on cardamom, licorice, fennel, or other spices were ways to eliminate foul breath.
Interestingly, “the increasing availability of sugars [meant] that dental caries [was] actually worse in the fourteenth century than it was in Anglo-Saxon times,” (Mortimer, 2008). However, methods of preventing rot were less than effective.
Mortimer writes that cavities were believed to be caused by small worms which could be gotten rid of by burning a candle “as close as possible” to the offending tooth. Needless to say, a lot of individuals were missing multiple teeth, (Mortimer, 2008).
By the 16th century, striking improvements in dental care had taken place. The Time Traveler’s Guide to Elizabethan England, also by Mortimer, says that sugar was now known to be the main cause of tooth rot.
In addition to chewing on spices for improved breath, Elizabethans picked their teeth frequently, used mouthwash, and rubbed their teeth with a “tooth cloth,” a.k.a. wet linen, (Mortimer, 2014).
Lydia Child, in her early 19th century book, The American Frugal Housewife, mentions the benefits of brushing your teeth. Her methods are much more recognizable to modern readers, but still different from a standard 21st century routine.
Child’s first suggestion is not that odd: “Clean teeth in pure water two or three times a day; but, above all, be sure to have them clean before you go to bed,” (Child, pg. 88).
The second is definitely unusual: “Honey mixed with pure pulverized charcoal is said to be excellent to cleanse the teeth, and make them white. Lime-water with a little Peruvian bark is very good to be occasionally used by those who have defective teeth, or an offensive breath,” (Child, pg. 114).
For a week, I tried brushing my teeth solely with “pure water,” a.k.a. tap water. And for the most part, I didn’t even miss toothpaste. (Though maybe you should ask my family, lol).
The morning was the only time when sometimes the water didn’t seem to fully erase the unpleasant taste in my mouth. However, my teeth never felt gross, because just the act of rubbing them removes a lot of buildup – thank you, Elizabethans.
Alberto Angela. A Day in the Life of Ancient Rome. New York, NY: Europa Editions, 2009.
Mortimer, Ian. The Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England: A Visitor’s Guide to the Fourteenth Century. New York, NY: Touchstone, 2008.
Mortimer, Ian. The Time Traveler’s Guide to Elizabethan England. New York, NY: Penguin Books, 2014.
Hoofbeats pounded up the wet road lined with a small crowd in the grey dawn. Coming closer, you could hear the rider crying out, “The Regulars are coming! The Regulars are coming!” Then came the faint sounds of fifes and drums, signaling the British army was not far behind.
Last year, in Massachusetts, my sister, friend, and myself celebrated Patriots’ Day with numerous historical activities. We woke up at 3:30 am to be in Lexington for the 5:30 am reenactment of the Battle of Lexington where the “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” was fired. Later we marched with the Sudbury Minutemen along the same route the original company would have taken to join the fight. With high hopes I declared I would definitely be doing it all again next year.
But a few events put a crimp in those plans. First of all, moving across the country. Secondly, being required to quarantine for two weeks on either end of traveling. So the festivities were a bit different than I had imagined, but still enjoyable nonetheless.
Lexington Green, Patriots’ Day 2019
To commemorate the special day, my sister and I decided to walk the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, which runs about 11 miles along the northern coastline of Anchorage, Alaska. The distance was approximately equal to the march we did with the Sudbury Minutemen last year. To note, the Sudbury Minutemen march on every April 19th early in the morning, in order to coincide with the exact date and time of the 1775 events. However, we walked on Monday the 20th, which is the official holiday of Patriots’ Day. We also left our starting line a little later than 2019’s 6:30 am.
Beginning of the Trail on the North Side of Anchorage
We arrived at the railroad depot just north of downtown Anchorage at 7:45am. Never before had we walked the entire Tony Knowles Trail from start to finish. With many access points, we had often walked short segments of the trail near significant city parks.
As we walked, we decided to wish any and all passersby a ‘Happy Patriots’ Day.’ Judging from their responses, none of them had the least idea of what we were talking about.
Patriots’ Day honors the first official battles of the American Revolution: Lexington and Concord. British soldiers marched out from Boston in the wee hours of the night, aiming to confiscate a store of ammunition located in Concord, Massachusetts. Revolutionaries spread the word of their impending arrival (the midnight ride of Paul Revere, anyone? – though Revere wasn’t the only one).
When the Redcoats reached Lexington in the early morning, a few brave souls stood on the green (common land in the center of town), defying the soldiers’ advance. A shot – to this day no one knows from which side it came– was fired. Within moments, eight colonists were dead or dying, and the British marched on.
As my sister and I marched, we paused at the planet stations placed strategically along the path. An Anchorage highschool student devised this clever “Planet Walk.” Signs representing the planets are positioned in order, radiating out from a sun sculpture in downtown Anchorage. Each intervening distance is calculated to equate to the light speed distance actually between them. Now pedestrians can stroll along at light speed. Apparently we were walking faster than light speed, because we completed the trail in just over 4 hours, instead of the predicted 5.5 hours.
The Planets I Remembered to Photograph (the Sun is Located in Downtown)
The second battle on April 19, 1775 took place in Concord. Upon their arrival, the Redcoats began burning supplies and cannons gathered by the colonists. From a hill vantage point, 400 minute men and militia saw the smoke and believed the town was being burned. They advanced on the town’s North Bridge, which was guarded by 96 British Soldiers, who fired upon them. The colonists shot back. Five fell dead and more were wounded.
But the exhausting day was nowhere near finished yet.
We stopped for a brief break at the Earthquake Park overlook point. This park is a crazy testament to the total upheaval of earth that takes place during earthquakes. Signs illustrate how the steep drop-offs and jutting hills you now see were all creating during Alaska’s 1964 Good Friday quake.
Not long afterwards, we reached Point Woronzoff, a park and beach that sits at the foot of the airport runway. We watched several planes take off directly overhead including the one videoed below. In the summer, we’ve enjoyed coming here to walk the steep path down to the muddy beach.
Plane Takes Off Over Point Woronzoff Park
The British began their march back to Boston. However, unbeknownst to them, more and more minutemen and militia from the surrounding country began to congregate around their return route. The first ambush waited one mile outside of Concord, at Meriam’s Corner. Subsequent attacks took place at Brooks Hill and the Bloody Angle in addition to other skirmishes, creating a “running 16-mile-long battle,” according to Minuteman National Park’s webpage on “Battle Site Explorations.”
Our views were a bit different from those the Redcoats and colonists traveled through 245 years ago. 🙂 In the photos you can see the infamous mudflats, with some snow still lingering on top. The day was pretty cloudy and foggy; on clear days there are mountains visible in the distance.
Views of Cook Inlet From the Trail
Later that fateful day, the British were met by reinforcements as well, but not nearly as many as the colonists. The book, Reporting the Revolution by Todd Andrlik, says that “by the end of the day, almost 3,800 militiamen had seen action against about 1,500 regulars. More than 270 British were left dead, wounded, or missing; for the Americans, only ninety-four.” Keep in mind that these Redcoat soldiers had been up all through the night!
Our destination, the 10.5 mile-marker in Kincaid Park, was met with excitement, though I’m sure not nearly as much as the British must have felt upon reaching Boston. We only took just over four hours to make our goal, but the British had already been traveling for hours when they reached Lexington at 5:30am. Then they fought all through the day.
April 19th marked the official outbreak of the American War for Independence that had been brewing for years. Many men lost their lives that day in defense of their rights. We would do well to remember what has been sacrificed by others for our benefit, and to follow their example of standing up against injustice. Here’s to next Patriots’ Day!
Our Final Mile Marker
The Tony Knowles Trail is an amazing resource, whether you’re visiting Anchorage for the first time, or have lived here for 20 years. Make sure to check out their website and take a “light speed” walk through Anchorage 🙂
The Minuteman National park has awesome online resources! Check out their website, YouTube channel, and FaceBook page for Patriots’ Day activities and more.
Annually on April 19, the Sudbury Companies of Militia and Minute march from Sudbury Center to the Old North Bridge in Concord, Massachusetts. This event reenacts and commemorates the mission of our forefathers who did the same on April 19, 1775, at the start of the American Revolution.
Todd Andrlik is the founding editor of Journal of the American Revolution , as well as author/editor of Reporting the Revolutionary War: Before It Was History, It Was News (Sourcebooks, 2012), named one of the Best Books of 2012 by Barnes & Noble and Best American Revolution Book of the Year by the New York American Revolution Round Table.
Did you know that March 17th has been celebrated as St. Patrick’s Day for over 1,000 years? But all the traditions we associate with it now, most certainly weren’t there to begin with. In the middle ages, people weren’t saying: wear something green or be pinched, eat some corned beef and cabbage, wear a shamrock pin, etc. March 17th was a day to remember a man with great forgiveness, who dedicated a lot to Ireland. Yep, St. Patrick.
In the centuries that have passed, some of the details (such as his name) have been misplaced and disagreed upon, but the core of the history is true. A young boy, perhaps named Maewyn Succat, lived in Britain. Not only was “Patrick” not Irish, you could even say he was Roman. For the Romans were only just leaving their British colony alone, after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in 476 A.D.
When he was sixteen years old, Maewyn/Patrick was captured by Irish who desired to take advantage of the newly relinquished Britain. Maewyn was kept as a slave in Ireland for some six to ten years. After that time, he either escaped, or was freed, and made it back to Britain.
After he returned, Maewyn decided to train to become a Catholic priest. This is when Maewyn changed his name to Patrick (or Patricius, Latin for “father figure”). He then received a calling from God to return to the Irish as a missionary. Faithfully, Patrick did just that. He sailed back to Ireland and had success in reaching the people of Ireland, largely Druid, with the Catholic faith. Churches sprouted up all over the island, and Ireland was never the same because of Patrick.
Out of gratefulness, the Irish people began celebrating Patrick on the supposed day of his death, March 17th. Since its inception, many traditions have become part of the annual festival.
The iconic tradition of decorating with shamrocks on St. Patrick’s Day springs from the legend that Patrick used the plant (either clover or sorrel) to illustrate the hard-to-grasp concept of the Holy Trinity. Though each leaf is a distinct, separate leaf, together the three form one, single clover (or sorrel), just as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct, but One. To remember Patrick and his explanation, people started wearing the three-leaf plant on his holiday.
There are many other more unusual St. Patrick’s Day customs that developed as Irish Americans spread their cultural pride across the nation. For example, dying entire rivers green, giant parades, and chugging beer. But amidst the Irish-themed revelry, I think there’s an important take-away from Patrick: forgiveness.
While reading about Patrick, it struck me how difficult it must have been to be a missionary to the same people who had hurt him so much. To serve those who enslaved him took an immense amount of forgiveness. Not only did Patrick let go of his bitterness, he desired to help his captors by obeying God. And the Irish people benefitted because of it. So beneath all the lucky charms, beer, and parades, we’re really celebrating a man who gave a great example of true forgiveness.
Have you ever watched the reality tv show Black-ish? One character, Mr. Stevens, who is cringingly un-PC, groans that everything is related to slavery. But in my history class last week, I felt like Dre, the main character, who claims that yes, most things are related to slavery.
Coffee culture is quite popular now to put it lightly. Whether it’s Starbucks, Dunkies’, your local coffee shop, or a pot of coffee at home, for many people the beverage is a part of their daily routine. Imagining society without coffee is hard to picture now.
However, for a long time coffee, or kavah as it was then called, was a drink exclusive to the middle east. In contrast, Europe’s libation of choice was alcohol. Coffee’s bitter beans didn’t make their way west until the early 17th century.
1652 AD marked the establishment of the first coffee house in London. Its success was immediate. Coffee houses became social hotspots, where men could gather and exchange ideas. Newspapers were available there, and the novel drink was touted as the sober, healthy alternative to intoxicating ales, beers, etc.
COFFEE arrives, that Grave and wholesome Liquor, that heals the Stomack, makes the Genius quicker, Relieves the Memory, Revives the Sad, And cheers the Spirits, without making Mad;
A Brief Description of the Excellent Vertues of That Sober and Wholesome Drink, Called Coffee (1674)
By providing ideal locations for the spread of political and philosophical discussions, coffeehouses proved the perfect breeding grounds for Enlightenment ideas. The Enlightenment ushered in a new age of ideology revolutions and major political changes. All this was spurred on by coffee, but slavery was the foundation it was laid on.
We typically think of the Americas when we think of slavery, but they were not the only ones benefitting from slavery. European nations headed up the Triangular Trade, which shipped manufactured goods to Africa, African slaves to the New World, and raw materials from the New World back to Europe.
The huge profits from this trade systems created an influx of wealth in Europe. Suddenly, way more people had a little extra money, and a middle class emerged. A consumer culture exploded. With their surplus funds, denizens found themselves able to afford some luxuries such as decorations, entertainment – and coffee.
European colonization then provided a system to satiate Europeans’ new craving for coffee. Beans were imported from the Middle East, then planted in the New World. South American and Caribbean growing conditions were ideal for the crop, and plantation owners ramped up production. Slaves furnished the extra labor required. Not only did slaves carry the burden of agricultural coffee production, but their sale supplied the money necessary for others to buy the coffee.
So when you sip your morning java (a dutch trading colony), take a moment to remember the people who paid everything to bring coffee success.
All these crisp photos were downloaded from https://unsplash.com. Their cool website provides high quality images that are copyright free.
Sources:
Lynn Hunt, Thomas Martin, Barbara Rosenwein, Bonnie Smith (eds.). The Making of the West: Peoples & Cultures, Vol. II, 6th ed.
Katharine Lualdi (ed.), Sources of the Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures, Vol II, 6th ed.
