Monday, October 14, 2024

A Taste of the American Southwest

 States of the Southwest

            Much of the Southwest is desert. Some of it feels a bit magical.The people of one important Southwestern state have called their state The Land of Enchantment. That state's New Mexico. About half of the territory of each of the states of California, Colorado, and Tevas has been called part of the Southwest. Like New Mexico,Arizona is all in the South West; all of Nevada is probably there too.

Neighbors in Mexico

             Much of the Southwest of the U.S. boarders on the Republic of Mexico. Nearly all of it was lightly settled by the Spanish speaking people of Spain long before the United States became a country, and much of it had been claimed by the countries of Spain and Mexico.

            The Mexico village of Boquillas is across the river from Big Bend National Park in Texas. "The river".is called the Rio Bravo in Mexico and the Rio Grand in the US, I have crossed it often and have seldom need to swim, In the heat of summer it feels nicely cooling and seems neither grand nor bravo, but one can find beauty there, It is important in this land of little surface water. It is also important in marking the political border between Mexico and the United States.

            I seem to remember there being a little unofficial, unguarded wooden walking bridge from the US to Boquillas. There was no immigration officer. The people of Boquillas seem to no longer cross the river to pick up their mail in Texas nor do many
Texans walk walk over to buy food items. Is my memory wrong? It seems that they had made shift to cross without getting wet. The people of the Boquillas area Spoke Spanish, some English a few spoke a couple of indigenous languages. It was much the same with the Texans. Still seems much the same, but it is now harder to hear Indian tongues.

            When I was last across the river from Boquillas it was still possible to call across the river to si if any of the nicely finished walking sticks were available and visitors to the Park did so. They made a deal for the price and when all went well the useful sticks were promptly delivered across the river.  Seems I also remember bathing on the US side in a hot springs coming up from under river water, but that all is now history. I remember some pleasant late evenings there.

            That brings back some other memories not far from a different part of the Southwest along the border. No river marking this part. I remember another hot water spring coming up just below water. This was in Baja California, Mexico not far below the frontier. This kind of natural hot spring is rare.

Native Americans

            There were many different indian tribes in the southwest. There many there still. There may be a donen just in Southern California. Only a few are easy to find. Tribes you may have heard of include Shoshone, uni, Hopi, Navaho, Apache. Hopi and uni were early comers, Navajo were much more recent arrivals. I am not sure of the order of arrival of Shoshone. Please tell us if you know.

            We have called the Hopi and uni Pueblo people. They lived in substantial permanent villages and practiced considerable agriculture. They also kept turkeys. Do you know of any people who have been on the land longer? They are considered a peaceful people, but not so long ago they rose up to drive out Spanish and Mexican settlers from nearly all the Rio Grand river valley. Many of those settlers' retreated to as far as Mexico city and Spain!

            Apache and Navajo arrived to the Southwest in a poorer condition than the pueblo people, but discovered that their bow and arrows were better than those of the Pueblo population. The Pueblo people had a better memory of using the atlatl, but that helped them little against Apache armed with bows. The Navajo and Apache, I believe, spoke Athabaskan languages which were very different from the languages already in the land.

            The Apache that I knew loved their pretty highlands and new pickups. They once joined Spanish and Mexican settlers to defend themselves from Pueblo peoples, but that did not last long. Now they are fond of new technology and enjoy the venison they hunt on their own lands.

            The Navajo early became herders of sheep and weavers of wool. They now have airport, and radio, and TV stations on their own lands. They are a monder people, but on their very extensive lands some choose to live much as their early ancestors did. Their principle land is bigger than many US states and stretches into four large western states.

Spanish speakers

            There are many in the Southwest who speak some Spanish. Some johnny-come-latelies, much like me; some whose ancestors were here from Spain long before the Pilgrims touched Plymouth Rock; many like Indian tribes which dealt with early Spanish explorers and settlers, many like the flow of immigrants from Mexico and a few from many lands from the south. Still Spanish is somewhat eotic to many English speakers.

            Many tribal peoples of the SW speak Spanish, some of anantique sort, some integrated into their language. some near the border speak a fairly modern Spanish, Some speak their own language as well as English and spanish. that's more than most other Americans.

Baja California

            Baja California is definitely a Mexican state, but for some Americas it feels a bit like the US Southwest. Not so very long ago Baja California was a frontier territory a bit removed from the rest of Mexico. Now it has become an important Mexican state. Now it is an important tourist destination for Mexico, the US, and beyond. It now has some agricultural production for Mexico and the US, fishing is still important beyond sport fishing.

            Many from California an beyond find Baja peninsula a romantic, eotic,  and beautiful destination that seems a bit more accessible than do most. Near all know the bustling border city of Tijuana (aunt Jane). A very few wonder if the Sea Gypsies learned much from the Seri Indians. The large Southern California city of San Diego is close to Tijuana, So, Tijuana is close to San Diego, right?

Mojave Desert

            The Mojave desert is an important part of Southwestern USA. But the much smaller Colorado desert of the Salton Sink is important too. It is densely populated in part including Palm Springs. It has some important agriculture near Salton Sea. It also has an intricate and extensive highway and road system and has relatively easy access to the large city of Los Angeles and to the Pacific Ocean. It is also connected to Mojave desert in a couple of ways and both share portions of the Colorado River. The Colorado River has long been an important feature of the American Southwest. I believe that both the Mojave and the Colorado touch on the Sonora desert. The Sonora is a connection between Mexico and the US Southwest. 

Wildlife

            The Southwest has plenty of wild life even in the deserts. Since the 1950s and the control of DDT there is more wildlife than ever. There are certainly more mountain lions and probably coyotes than antes. I have even seen Mexican red wolves for the first time. There are more Mountain  sheep with their great horns. Maybe there are not more of them, but rather we see more of them because we are living closer together. No one has seen a camel in a long time. Some birds have increased in number; I not roadrunners and ravens among them. More quail seem to be being shot.

                 There is a lot of pressure on the wild habitat of the Southwest. Bears are seen, but rarely hunted. They are sometimes removed with little ceremony from some areas. They have been seen in desert foothills which has not been natural for them. Mountain lions have been seen on the desert recently which is not usual. Their feline second cousins, the bobcat, is not completely accustom to the the desert, but seem to get along well there and in many places. The bobcat may be trapped more than any animal except the rat these days, Trappers have found excellent foreign markets. Should you be looking for a different kind of wildlife and still stay in the SW, you can cross over to Nevada and soon be in Las Vegas.

            The little silver grey foe  is more common on the desert, but is seldom seen, It has become more nocturnal than ever, Desert tortists are still around, but sometimes like to travel and are too slow to get across the highways safely.

There are Towns in This SW

            I have mentioned cities, but have not mentioned towns. There are plenty of them in the Southwest of the United States, including on the desert. Nevada is still the least populated state in the American Southwest. It has plenty of towns, big ones, little ones, and ghost towns, mining towns and even more than one cow town. At the end of WWII, Las Vegas could still be called a town. Need I mention that Las Vegas has a large urban area and is certainly one of the world's largest gambling cities. There is another gambling city in Nevada is closer to being a town. It started with the mining boom, mostly silver. It is a charming and interesting city, RENO may be too far north to be considered Southwest.

            Not so very long ago one could take a burro ride from the village of Palm Springs to the agricultural trading of Indio and only pass a couple of houses as you traveled the desert along the base of mountains. Now you would traverse highway traffic through densely packed cities in your car. One could have found the open desert of old beautiful but, those new cities have an attraction of their own. 

            In a past not so ancient, Hollywood, California was a very small Southwestern town. Now, though it is much larger, it is small enough to seem lost in Los Angeles county. Hollywood movie stars would make the trip to the quiet of Palm Springs in shiney cars very different from the cars of today. There in that desert they could already, find quiet rest and recreation. There were Already many lovely swimming pools to cool of in before World War Two, there were pleasant horseback trips, Enough cocktails lounges, good food, and the Racket Club. In the same desert many cowboy films were made.

            In this same Southwest there is sun and snow, mountain and beach, river and wood, and more and more. This little is very far from comprehensive, but I trust that you have encountered a tasty bit or two.

            Thank you for reading.        



                                                                                    RCS 







Wednesday, August 14, 2024

The Stonehenge Bluestone Debate - What do we really know in 2024?

.we can benefit from learning more of the nature of evidence and the relevant strength of a certain piece of evidence compared to another. Also there is also much to be said for persistence and enthusiasm. Still I say that a more positive move toward reality comes the relative quality of evidence.A chance for moving toward a chance for improving our chance for getting closer to reality is improving our understanding the best evidence available.  ou ability for Progress in this quest may very well be imagination, persistence, and ethusiasm;our best concepts of reality, facts, honesty, an a growing understanding of the quality of evidence.

Wednesday, August 7, 2024

The Word is "culture"

Culture 


        Not all of us share the same understanding of the word "culture.'' I tend to see it as pointing to the doings and meanings particular to a group of humans. For example the people who share a language may partake of similar cultures. The people of Poland and and the people of China seem to have evident cultural differences. Groups and nations are often defined by differences in their culture.

        A significant amount of cultural factors may subconscious. I tend to recognize or define a group by its culture. I tend to see a culture as being made up of a variety of doings, happenings, and attitudes which often include: values, tastes, customs and language.  Knowledge and practices may define a culture. Our culture may include all that we learn in common consciously or subconsciously. Others may use what they know of our culture to define us or to differ them from us.

        A study of culture can both extensive and useful. One's own culture includes, beliefs,, religion, kinds of social organization, shared interpretations, and practices. So, I a given culture it is much more than  an appreciation of opera. Indeed great cultures may have or never had either conscious or unconscious knowledge of it.


        Each and every culture is shared in a limited way. You, as a cultured person, share all of your culture with others. There is no culture which is not shared within a group of others. There must be a grouping of some sort for a culture to exist. There are family cultures. religious cultures; often when we speak of culture we speak of a tribal culture or national culture.

        Culture has been defined as a reference to the behavior within a society and the common meanings given to that behavior among the members of that society. Culture is a learning of humans. The way we understand is due much to our culture.

        Also our culture also includes our tools, agriculture, technologies, and history, as well as our way of seeing things.

        Our culture may cause us some problems, but it can also help us to survive and thrive. We all create, support, maintain and pass on some of our culture. We can and do teach our children some of our culture. How much of the culture around us do we learn? How much knowledge of the culture around us would benefit our children to learn consciously?

             (In "Comments" below, you may make suggestions on ways this exposition on the nature of culture may be made better, complete, and useful. Also your corrections of my errors is very helpful. Please keep your corrections and suggestions simple. I have gotten old and my lights are dimming.)

        Thank you for reading!



                                                                                rcs



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Thursday, March 7, 2024

32 or 24, In India We Learn More

Decoding Indian Gods = Discovering Ancient Technology

    
            Ancient Indian technology, culture, art, craft, and Praveen. Learning to discover ancient history. It is time to learn more. I believe this video is from 2017 AD and the producers work is getting better each year.

Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Speculation: a Worthy Occupation

The quality of historical speculation is valuable

        Reality is an important goal and orientation. It can happen that the farther off the the way toward reality we stray the closer to madness we get. We need good evidence. We can learn to better judge the quality of evidence. The better we understand the evidence the greater the value of our speculation. 1811 to 1812 a great comet witnessed in the southeast US. In 1662 a great comet was witnessed from Cartagena, Colombia and around much of the world.


                                                                        RCS

Wednesday, February 21, 2024

"Iranians" From 900 BC to the 4th Century AD

Iron Age Doings 


The Great Movement of Humanity

            This is my first attempt to write a bit about a very great movement of Iron Age people. Much of that movement seems to have been done on horseback and to have continued over a considerable period of time. It is likely to have included much of the of the development and usage of what we know as the Silk Road network of trade. And it probably had much to do with the Bronze Age collapse in the Near East.

            This great movement of humanity mostly from northeast to southwest affected China, India, Russia, Ukraine, the Near East, and Europe, that is much of our world.

            The people who did much of that movement have been called Alani, Alan Scythian, Indo European, Celt, Sarmatian, Massaget, Alan-na, Saka, Irani, variations of these and more.

            These people did a lot of learning and cultural development during their migrations. They brought with them their art, their, knowledge of the use of the horse, and lore of the extraction of iron and its working. We are far from learning all there is to know about them. I do not know what prompted their amazing migration. They did it in part because they could and the did it in very great numbers. I am coming to greater realization of how much they changed our world and us. In fact we seem to be very much a result of  them. Though our numbers were few compared to theirs, they also learned from us. Still our language and most of our very DNA comes from them. Perhaps the most representative among us are  the Iranians! Some of them came to know more of us than we knew of ourselves. They had traveled among, worked among, and lived with a greater variety of us than had anyone. They learned and their iron added to our alchemy

Our First Knowledge

       Our first knowledge of them began soon after their arrival in the steppes just to the north of the Caspian and Black Seas. Do not believe that they came all at once. They came and they continued to come. From the earliest days they were known as travelers on horseback with fine horses and sharp strong metals. They were known as warriors who fought on horseback with effective weapons. They were mostly a good looking people who worked their hard iron beautifully, they lacked the knowledge of the best of us, but they were very many. The people of northern India may have known them before we did.


            Later we learned of their having stopped the southwest movement of the Huns. Their doing so probably save the much of the West from the depredations of these nomadic horsemen. They appeared on our world stage near what is now Kazakhstan and are still a bit mysterious to us. They were warlike horsemen and seem much like cousins of the Scythians or  Alani who stopped them from overwhelming Europe.

Alani        

             In late antiquity the people we may call Alani arrived in what may now be called Spanish Cantabria. Near this time may have begun to be called Iranians. We came to call them Celts. This was a time of a more far reaching Iron Age in the West. Near this time many of them may have been populating northern India. Some historians seem to have reason to call them Sarmato-Alani. These Alani seemed culturally related to the Scythian of about 100 AD.

            By about 200 Ad there were Alans between the Vilga and the don rivers. Persians and Chinese historians spoke of the Alani of this time. These Alani may have been called Celts or Indo Europeans by us. It has been said that they looked like Sarmatians and Scythians.

            Early Romans spoke of Alan and Alani as an ancient nomadic people who occupied the steppe region of the Black Sea. They said that they were warlike and specialized in horse breeding. To others they were much like Celts and Indo-Europeans. They were known as being from the North Caucasus and considered Sarmatians.

Scythian            


            Scythian were of Iranian stock. They migrated westward from central Asia to southern Russia and Ukraine. They became a power in what is now Crimea. They were active in the 8th and 9th century BC until the 4th C, AD. They played and important part on the early Silk Road network and were a connecting influence among Greek, Persian, Indian, and Chinese.

            The Alans sometimes seem to be as mysterious as the Huns. In my early history lessons I seem to have heard more about Huns than I did about Alans. T am told that in earlier times the Alans were called Massaget. Who called them that? By the 3rd century Ad the chinese were calling them, or someone, Alan-na.

            Humans have a lot to learn about humanity. We are now finding that some of us of 10,000 years ago seemed to have been more more advanced than many of us of 7,000 years ago. We also now have some hints of the nature of mankind of 20,000 and 30,000 years ago and are pretty sure that there were people on Earth 200,000 years ago. What were those guys doing? Do the Ukrainians and Iranians know that they came on horseback from central Asia and were soon using horse drawn wheeled vehicles? Do we know that "they is us?"






                                                                                        rcs

Saturday, February 17, 2024

Breoghan: The Legendary Celtic King of Irish and Galician Mythology

A Real Person of Real Places and Real Times. 

This may be an interest place to begin ones Iron Age study of Ireland, Britain, and western Europe.



                                   rcs

Friday, February 2, 2024

Underground Cities Which are Very Large and Very Very Old.

Underground Cities of  Turkey and Beyond

Derinkuy is one of cities. There are several of them in the Cappadocia region of Turkey. We are finding them and learning much of their history. However, we do not know who first built them or when the were first built. We do know that they are very very old. They may have been used during the Ice Age. They means that they may be over 10,000 years old. It is a true story, better than most fiction and we still have chapters to learn. Find out much more on this video.



                                                    Richard S

Thursday, January 11, 2024

Top viewing Countries

 About 50 Countries Have Regular Viewers


        The highest numbers of viewers for this history site come from the following four counties listed most viewers first,


First: USA. Not a surprise, its my native land.

Second: Finland. A bit of a surprise sometimes Finland has not even been on one of these lists. However, I have been essaying a bit on Baltic lands recently.

Third: Germany. I am not sure that I deserve that views from Germany are often among my top viewers.

Fourth: Canada. I am very pleased to see Canadian viewers here. Welcome neighbors.


            Thank you for visiting. 

     




                                                                                                Richard

Monday, January 8, 2024

Do We Know About the Finns?

 We Know That All Finns Are Not On Fish


First on the Baltic           


            But then, all Finns are not a beef. These words are not intended to be about diet. They are to say a few introductory words about an important people on the northeast of the Baltic Sea. They have been there for a long time. They may have been there longer than anyone else.

        There is a lot to learn about the Finns and I am just beginning to do so. So, don't expect me to be "a know it all." Good people, let us begin.

        It is not easy to get much information about the Finns before the time of the first settlement of Helsinki. I believe that that Helsinki was settled by Swedes and named by them. Swedes and Finns each speak their own language as did their ancestors. There is a lot to learn here, just about the content of this short paragraph.

        I bet that the ancestors of the Finns were in place on the Baltic long before the ancestors of the Swedes. I have begun to believe that ancestral Finns were in what is now Finland by 14,000 BP. That's over 13,000 years longer than Americans have been in North America! Finns were there at a time when the Ice Age ice had scarcely begun to begin to melt. That is, the Finns could have been in place during the most recent Ice Age. It seems possible that ancestors of the Finns could have lived much of the Ice Age on Ice!

        Anyway, I think that Baltic people have been taught, from time to time, that the Finns were there first.

Early Swedes


        I'll repeat some things a few times to help you remember.  Helsinki, the capital city of Finland, is a name of Swedish origin and Helsinki was setup to support Swedish trade.  

        Finns were and still are a strong presence in the Baltic area. However, like most humans, Finns have admixtures of cultures and genetics. In historic times and recent prehistoric times, Finns have been influenced by Swedes, Russians, and others genetically and culturally, but not before Swede and Russian experienced admixtures of their own.   

        I'll try to move on a bit faster. We have now come to see that most of our own prehistory had some increase in human population and some increase in human activity after the end of post Ice Age floods. Now archaeologists are finding more evidence of human industry and and culture of Finland dates to a similar time. That is to about 7000 years ago or a bit before 500o BC. Abundance and quality of evidence seems to be coming from near Vantaa, Pitajanmaki, and Karela.      

Talking Archaeology        


            You have probably noted that we are talking about the archaeology here. The strongest evidence of permanent settlements has been found to date shortly after the advent of Christ and was found to have been of Iron Age in nature. The culture of that time in Finland has been called Tavastian.   

        So far prehistoric evidence in Finland has been light, but research and publication has increased. Some strength of evidence indicates a bit more abundant activity beginning about 1000 AD. There is some documented evidence from this time onward. History in the form of written records becomes relatively abundant by the 1300s.


Vikings       


 Vikings seem to have begun more raiding then trading perhaps a bit before 900 AD. By 1100 AD Swedes were colonizing much of the Finnish coast. Swedish colonization of the coast was well established by 1300 AD. This happened after a successful Second Crusade by Sweden led to the defeat of the Tavastian. Weren't the Finn of the time referred to as Tavastian? It seems the Swedes said that they would just take over Finnic coastal trade until they became good Christians.

Finland        


            We can move forward in time and farther inland from the coast as we move on in our look into Finns and Finland. There are written chronicles of 1417 which mention Koskela village near the rapids of the Vantaa River Near which Helsinki would be founded.

        Helsinki was established as a trading town by King Gustav I of Sweden in 1550 as the town of Helsingfors which he intended to be a rival to the Hasiatic city of Reval on the southern shores of the Gulf of Finland now known as Tallinn. Most agree that Reval won that rivalry

Estonia        


            The Hasiatic city of Reval soon became Tallinn. It became the northernmost member of the Hasiatic League. Tallinn is the capital city of Estonia. Estonia is a close neighbor of Finland. Tallinn is known in most of the world by variants of its other historical name, Reval. It was a significant trade hub from the 1300s to the 1500s. Vanillin, a UNESCO World Heritage Site is part of the present day Tallinn.
Reval is one of the best preserved medieval cities in Europe. 

        In this little essay I am attempting to begin with the earliest times and gradually move toward introductions to more recent times. So, here I mention that the Comb ceramic pottery found on the site of Tallinn dates to before 3000 BC. The Corded Ware there dates to about 2500 BC. Some pottery like Comb ware and Corded ware have been found in Finland.

        I see that I have begun to write more about Estonia than about Finland. Perhaps when I do have Estonia as the topic I will include information about its good neighbor, Finland. I will conclude my excursion into Estonia by saying: Around 1050 AD a fortress was built on Tallinn or on a limestone hill there. It was called Toompea. This is in the central part of the capital of Estonia, which is Tallinn.


Prehistory        


            Back o the early history and prehistory of Finland. Kalevi, sometimes called Kaleva, and his sons are important heroic figures in Estonian, Finnish and Karelia history. In the Finnish epic, the Kalevala, he is an ancient Finnish ruler. In Estonian mythology and in Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald's epic poem, Kalevipoeg, king Kalev was the father of king Laevipoeg and husband of Linda. Linda is important in Estonian mythology.

        Memories of Kaleva may have been written as early as 500 AD. In 1551 Michael Agricola published a list of deities mentioning Kaleva. In 1641 it is mentioned by Hwirch Stahl in Leyen Spiegal(?)


        Finnish people called the star, Sirius Kalevan thti. Kaleva's star. Orion's Belt was called Kaleva's sword by them.

        Russians called Tallinn, Kolyva. Sounds a lot like Kaleva here and may indicate a Finnish influence.

        
More Archaeology


Not long ago some archaeologists began to note human-like activity as early as 10,000 years ago in this part of the Baltic area. Mythological information suggests an earlier time for human activity in the Land of the Finns as well as does more recent archaeological findings.

Historians


        The word history as used by historians refers to documented history. For them history is written history and begins with the advent of writing. That includes much of that which has been called mythology. Personally I can remember no one who believes every thing that has been written just as it is written. Historians are familiar with the word discretion and most use its meaning in their professional thoughts. Historians have have sometimes found useful hints and orientations in their reading of selected mythology.

      Historians and archaeologists can be aided by those who work in geological time. Let's look at some very recent geologic time. The Allerod oscillation, from about 13,900 BP to about 12,900 BP was a warm and moist period near the end of the most recent Glacial Period. It raised the temperatures of the northern region to almost present levels. It is in this period we first detect evidence of human activity in the Baltic north. We have learned a lot and have a lot to learn. By "we" I mean to imply you, me, and humanity in general. "We" as used in "...we first detect evidence of human activity" is also my word but I got it by interpreting the writing of another. I took it to mean "scientific authorities," but I am not positive of that. When we get really serious, we could look for names, address, and professional histories of the "we," "they," and "them" so often spoken of.

        I take the following to be the very best guesses of  top authorities in the field and very useful information. I am seldom completely wrong, but I'm not perfect.
Here we are back in the realm of archaeology which can be very helpful when looking into prehistoric times. To date, that which has been called the Bromme culture, may be the first culture to be detected in the northern Baltic area. The Bromme culture has  been dated to from about 13,800 BP to about 12,000 BP. The landscape then was taiga and tundra, Reindeer seem to have been central to their economy. It was hunted, as were moose, elk, wolverine, and beaver. Sounds pretty much like the far north of Finland. This culture is known from archaeological sites in Denmark and one near Malmo in Sweden. South and west of Finland (Finland where more archaeological work may need to be done.) But that is getting pretty close to the land of the Finns. This Bromme culture seems much the same as the Ahrensburg culture, but seems to predate it. They could be called late Paleolithic reindeer hunters and perhaps a pre-flood people. Maybe they spoke a bit like the Finns.

        There is more to say about the cultures around the Baltic Sea. There is much more to learn about the people touched by that sea.

        Not long ago, 4000 BC seem very long ago and it is more than 6000 years ago. Still now we are learning more and more about times before 8000 BC.

        Now many envision an enormous past, which may have included us, longer than 200,000 years ago, but life goes on to long before that and may included our relatives. Many have long understood that accounts in the biblical Old Testament pointed us toward realities. We have learned that we have a history which begins long before the extinction event(s) which followed the ending of the most recent Ice Age. Many of us first learned of those events in the Biblical account of "Noah's flood."

        Archaeologists and others are rapidly filling in our understanding of happenings and doings between the time of grandparents to "that" flood and on to windows of human history from long before that flood.

        Thank you for reading. To correct my mistakes or increase my knowledge write to me at  magobill@gmail.com








                                                                Richard 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
   

Thursday, December 28, 2023

The Sauk & Sac of Sauk Prairie

Sauk, Sac, Fo and others are still around after about 400 years of oppression.

            This video deals mostly with the ending of French oppression to fairly recent times. It deals with migrations and some tasty bits of other history. It also enters into some English and American explorations and colonialism.

                The Sac were one of the more advanced agricultural cultures. Top crops included mellon, squash, and of course corn. The women carried the greater part of agricultural doing and knowing.

                The men were accomplished warriors and early obtained horse from Spanish and were early to use horse in hunting bison.

                You may find this video to be and interesting if light introduction to to early American cultures.



                                                                            Richard

Sunday, December 10, 2023

RFK Jr.

RFK Jr.: Experienced, intelligent, patriot, and well educated; he has a deep love for our country, has a deep understanding of republicanism and democracy, and who understands the difficulty of mixing imperialism with republicanism and democracy.


                                                                                                    RCS

Saturday, November 11, 2023

There Is A Lot We Can Learn

Our History contains valuable information about us


We profit by careful updating of our knowledge. We can benefit by being open to learning about our early doings and the early happenings around us. We are very capable of improving our judgements. There is that to be learned from our pre-history which can contribute to our survival and wellbeing

Thursday, November 9, 2023

Who is Visiting History With RCS These Days?

 Stats

    
            People from a variety of countries visit this site of prehistory and more.
However, just four countries account for 70% of those visits.

34% From The USA

14% from Colombia

12% from Germany     and

10% from Sweden


                Thank you for viewing and reading. Keep coming back and give your friends the address.
                There are new essays, posts, and videos every month. Should you feel the need for a change check out some of our associated blogsites like Mago Bill or Governance With RCS.






                                                                                    Richard

Silk Road Saga Continued: Afghanistan

Afghanistan deserves more attention than this. Consider this a tip of the hat to the topic. 


            Hello, you may have noticed that here, and on my associated sites, my purpose is to offer that which you may find interesting and which you may expect to be of lasting value. This particular offering is part of a set of essays related to what has been called the Silk Road. The following few paragraphs is to give you a brief inside peek into the Silk Road country of Afghanistan.

            As I begin to prepare this post for publication I note that it may be too short for many of my readers. I will try to make future posts a little longer and more enjoyable.

Afghanistan:
            The Silk Road passes through Afghanistan. I further explorations we may note that the Silk Road trunk has many branches. We may note too that it was ancient even before the silk trade began to move on it. Much of Afghanistan's ancient history was nearly as turbulent as it's more recent history. This country is at the crossroads of central Asia and south Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and China. All places with interesting people and histories say I. I predict that we will hear of each of them more than once before we die.

            Did you notice the suffix -stan above? The countries which have the suffix in their name have something else in common. They are all in central Asia. In all of them the suffix translates to something like land of. All such countries have a significant relation to what we once called Persia and now call Iran. They are sort of Iranian cousins, perhaps second cousins.
            
            South East Asia includes the Indian subcontinent and the exotic and beautiful island nation of Sri Lanka. I mention Sri Lanka because I have strong memories of that land and people. I mention Indian because a large branch of the Silk Road heading east from Afghanistan goes there.

            Afghanistan has plenty of mountains and also has plains in the north and the Southwest. The Hindu kush mountain range accounts for mountains.

People and Afghanistan

            In addition to roads and land, Afghanistan has a variety of people. The most numerous people of the country are Pashtun, Hazaras, Tajik, and Uzbeck. There are many others as well, they include Turkman, Baloch, Aimaq, and Sadat. Afghanistan has long had commerce with China, India, the Near East, and more. When I say long I mean millenia. The great set of trade routes we are calling the Silk Road has connected many people as has contributed to the ethnic mix that is Afghanistan.


Turbulence in Afghanistan:

                First, check to see if anyone you know has an afghan in their home.
                The Graveyard of Empires is a name Afghanistan has been called. Americans are far from the only ones to have trampled on the people of this nation and to find that such trampling is not easy. Others include Russian, English, Mongols, Muslim Arabs, people of the Maurya Empire, and the army of Alexander the Great. Others helping to keep things turbulent include Mughals, Greco-Bactrians, and Iranians.


Religion in Afghanistan:

            It is also a land of various religions: Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and, more recently, Islam and some Christianity.


Birth of Afghanistan:

            Afghanistan may be said to have become a nation with the Hitak dynasty. This dynasty was founded by Ghilji Pashtuns, who may be seen as early cousins of the Persians. The Hotak ruled into the early 1700s BC. They took over from the older and longer lasting Persian Safaid empire. The Safaid were horsemen on the Silk Road,
        

            This is far from the end of this story, but I am about to end this essay. May I recommend that you make time to reread this piece and note with some care the questions that may arise. You may find some answers on your own. Please feel free to tell us about them. Also you could ask me a couple of questions.

            When I was younger we called Iranians, Persians and Iran, Persia. I was going to say they are the same people, but people change and the keep dying and getting born. Than again a people who share a history share a great deal.

            Among the names I may check out their relationship to the Silk Road I include: Tajikistan, Tajiks, Pashtuns, Hazaras, Sadat, Hindu Kush, Greco-Bactrians, Persian Safai, and more. There is much of interest and of value to be found. When you find something, please tell us a bit about it. I may include your finding in a post if that is OK with you. I will include your name if you want.

            Thank you for reading. Share this address with another.




                                                                    Richard Sheehan


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