I visited Arizona last spring, and something that struck me when reading about the native cultures was how isolated the Zuni were compared to their neighbors (specifically the Hopi and Navajo).

For instance, the Hopi seem to have cross-pollinated much more with the Navajo than with the Zuni, despite their culture and lifestyle more closely resembling the latter. Then there's the Zuni language, which, other than loanwords, isn't related to Navajo or Hopi or anything else (especially weird considering religious similarities with the Hopi).

Why was this? Was such isolation a conscious decision, a result being off the beaten path, or something else?

This has been bothering me for like, 20 damn years. As a child we heard about a story of miners in Virginia City during the gold rush finding tons and tons of silver ore but not realizing it was silver. They ended up using a bunch to pave roads/sidewalks and when someone figured out what it was people came out of the woodwork to tear up the silver roads. It's a story that's somewhat believable, and I've heard it a huge number of times from a lot of people, but for the life of me I cannot actually confirm it if was true. I was sure this would be an easy search considering the frequency I hear the story but maybe I'm just really, really dumb and I missed some easy and obvious info. So if someone could help me out that'd just be peaches. Thanks.

The partitioning of Poland-Lithuania always confused me. Why didn’t the Commonwealth fight back against Austria, Prussia, and Russia? Surely they didn’t just sit there and let themselves be divided, right? I know there was an uprising in the PLC, but my quick research makes it seem like a formal rebellion and not a war. Why didn’t the official government do anything?

You see it all the time in movies, the main characters taking down tons of enemies during a battle. It always bothers me, because I feel like with just the sheer number of soldiers and how in reality it’d just be a giant mob of people shoved against each other, you’d be very likely to just get stabbed by someone from the side or have no room to really “fight” someone properly in hand-to-hand combat

I am UK based historian, archaeologist and broadcaster. My books include (most recent first) Julius Caesar: Rome's Greatest Warlord, Roman Legionaries, Ragstone to Riches, Septimius Severus in Scotland, Empire State: How the Roman Military Built an Empire, and Sea Eagles of Empire; the Classis Britannica and the Battles for Britain. All available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Waterstones etc!

E.g. suppose you are a non-scientist who just reads a lot of popular science (assuming popular science was a thing in the Forties). Would you have known, in early 1945, that it was theoretically possible to weaponize the atom?

The source for this claim is The True Law of Kingship by J.H Burns, and I've also seen this change referenced in a few other places.

Does anyone have any further information about Imperial influence in medieval Scotland?

Related question: were there similar situations in other medieval European kingdoms outside of the traditional boundaries of the HRE proper?

Hey everyone,

Does anyone know of any history blogs/websites that accept essays/articles from amateur historians? History has always been of great interest to me, I never pursued it as a career, but would love to take my hobby to the next level by sharing my knowledge in the form of writing. I don't think I have the time to create/moderate my own blog, but I think I could do a good job contributing to a website, magazine or blog. Any advice/information would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance :)

I have been searching and cannot find such a claim anywhere else, was this a common practice between the Inca rulers? Was the practice even real at all?

Hey all.
I Need to analyse a Comic (IS THIS TOMORROW - AMERICA UNDER COMMUNISM). This should be about 20 Pages but i dont really know where to start nor possible research questions. I only used written sources up until this point. Thanks in advance

Especially in physics, there seems to have been a very clear dislike/distrust of results from people like Einstein on a political level, so if I am working under Heisenberg in 43 for example, can I get access to papers recently published by Jewish scientists in the US? Was there still a sense of an international scientific community? Could I go to the UK or Sweden to meet other researchers?

I'd love to know how much the war actually affected the daily lives of scientists and their ability to do their work.

Also was teaching impacted much? I know that Heisenberg was criticised for his work being too close to Einstein's and not working in the framework of "Deutsche Physik", but if I am a student with ambitions to join the "Uranprojekt" can I find a class on quantum theory at my local university, or do I have to seek out people like Heisenberg?

Usually when talk is about Habsburg army its always how rank and file soldiers were so multi-national and multi-lingual, but what about officers and especially high ranking generals?

I know German speaking aristocrats were preferred but i also read about General Svetozar Boroevic from WW1 (commander of A-H army on Italian front) who was of Croat/Serb descent and risen from nothing. Also know about Field Marshal Radetzky from that Strauss march who was Czech i believe.

So it seems it was possible for some individuals of other ethnicities to rise to high military positions, my question is how common was that?

This is research for a historical romance between an Illustrado from the Philippines and a Young Spanish Noblewoman sometime before and during the Philippines Revolution, so I have some questions to make sure that everything is somewhat accurate.

1. At what age do Illustrados leave the country to study in Europe?
2. What's the life of a Young Woman during that time period like?
   1. Are they allowed to study as well?
   2. Are they allowed to travel overseas and at what age are they allowed to do so? (provided they have the money)
   3. At a certain age do they get forced into an arranged marriage?
3. In Europe, are Illustrados able to get close with the Local government at times?
4. Do Noblemen and Noblewomen allow to become Governors-General in Spanish Colonies?

Everyone thinks of Omaha beach as the bloodiest beach to land on during D-Day, every film and game based off D-Day uses Omaha and not much else, so were there instances of very successful landings with minimal allied casualties?

I began reading Edward Gibbons the History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, and am fascinated by the material, Rome’s Decline reads like a George RR Martin novel mixed with time piece commentary. Anyhow I know that this is a secondary source, and it was written before the internet, before another two hundred years of archaeological discovery, and there have been criticisms about Gibbon’s portrayal of Christianity and the Byzantines. So I ask specifically for Rome history buffs, which parts of this book should be read as infactual given today’s historical knowledge? What are some areas lacking modern detail, or themes that should be gathered with a grain of salt?

How was the term kulak itself used by peasants? Was the division of society between peasants and kulaks accurate?

I’ve found myself in the possession of a box of old letters from the late 1920’s and early 1930’s. One of the correspondents was stationed in the US Consulate in Germany at the time. I haven’t read them myself, but given the context it occurs to me there might be some historical significance here.

Where would I even begin? Is there a process for this sort of thing?

What aspects of life were 'communal' and how much would doctors, teachers, lawyers etc earn compared to peasants? How would the life of a Russian medical doctor living in a small city have been affected by communism during the twentieth century, for example?

Did the ideological divide cement itself in that short period of time even though western democracy and communism were new and foreign to most Koreans at the time?

As a side note, I grew up in Korea in the 70's. The Korean war and Japanese colonial rule were well covered in detail in school, but the period from 1945 to 1950 was sketchy at best. I know a bit of what went on on the south side of the border (US occupation, elections in 48, etc), but I am sure most of the world is still in the dark about what went on in the North. The DMZ at first was a nominal border at best, but as months went by, it became increasingly fortified which led my mother's side of the family to escape as they saw the writing on the wall.