I know Cahokia was a hub during its heyday, but haven't read anything more detailed about the routes than "there was a sophisticated network of trade routes connecting to X and Y places". Do we know enough to make decently-reliable maps like those we have for the Silk Road? What other hubs existed? Do we know anything about seasonal differences in route use? What sort of infrastructure did various cultures build along them?
Edit: I should specify that I mean north of Mesoamerica, since that's been addressed elsewhere on this forum.
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I have a question about the Holocaust:
Would war crimes committed by the German military during WW2 not related to the persecutions of Jews and other "undesirables" still be considered part of the Holocaust? For example would incidents such as massacring the Italian POWs of the Acqui Division or the several cases of mass murder of Italian, French, Balkan, or Eastern European villages for allegedly collaborating with local resistance/partisan groups be labelled under the Holocaust?
If not, what are the victims of Nazi Germany that not killed under the Holocaust be classified as?
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I read that the only real opposition to the League's adoption of Esperanto came from France. Was France's disapproval of Esperanto the reason why it wasn't adopted? And if so, how did the structure of the League of Nations give France the power to do this?
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I hope you get what I'm talking about, its generally sung as "you can't catch me! na na na-na na!". I discovered recently that not only this little motif is highly cross-generational (I sang it, my fathers sang it, the children nowadays sing it), but it appears to be cross-cultural aswell (I thought it was something from my country, Brazil, but it appears that children in the US sing it too).
So, when and where did it originate, how universal it is, and how did it became so universal?
Some examples:
I can't seem to find an example in portuguese, but it does happen here!
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Today:
You know the drill: this is the thread for all your history-related outpourings that are not necessarily questions. Minor questions that you feel don't need or merit their own threads are welcome too. Discovered a great new book, documentary, article or blog? Has your Ph.D. application been successful? Have you made an archaeological discovery in your back yard? Did you find an anecdote about the Doge of Venice telling a joke to Michel Foucault? Tell us all about it.
As usual, moderation in this thread will be relatively non-existent -- jokes, anecdotes and light-hearted banter are welcome.
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The beaches of normandie where defended by German but mostly Russian troops.
These Russian troops where the first line of defense. They where anti Stalin and anti communist. The existence of these troops where well know by wehrmacht soldiers stationed near and around the Atlantic wall.
A wehrmacht soldier who served in the 726th infantry Regiment who was captured on the 6th of June 1944 (D-Day) mentioned that these Russian troops, after capture where handed over to USSR officers and that they where shipped to the USSR and not to POW camps in the United States or the United Kingdom. After arrival in the USSR they where presumably executed.
All of this is against the Geneve Convention.
I would like to know if the account of this wehrmacht soldier is accurate.
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Its fascinating on many levels.
Here is the paper, you may or may not be able to access it: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF01668876?LI=true
It is published in a German journal (Zeitschrift für Physik) that was quite famous. It is about the spectroscopy of the C-D molecule (a carbon bonded to one deuterium atom, a radical), made from graphite and heavy water (D2O). They wouldn't need much of it but still, they had access to it at a time when heavy water was of huge importance.
It was written by a L. Gerö, from Budapest, presumably he was Hungarian. He has quite a few papers from before and after the war on electronic spectroscopy.. Coincidently, he has the same surname as Ernő Gerő, a Jewish communist from Hungary...
It is interesting that at this time, in this place such research was still occurring and being published, although I presume it wasn't widely availble. Any more information about the author and his research would be really interesting.
edit: I can't read German well, but I'm using the numbers in the paper..
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I recently learned they are unlikely linked to The Huns, so where did they come from?
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How do you explain that everyone I know(I'm from Bosnia, rep. of Srpska) is looking so much Meditteranian? Even tho we're Slavic. I'm 6'4'', and everyone in my family is above 6'0'', from my experience other people, for example Russians, Polish, they're much shorter, and lighter-haired, fair skin... We're pretty dark, curly hair mostly(it is true that I was born blond with fairly light coloured eyes, but my hair got dark brown over the years and my eyes are almost black). When I meet Greeks, I feel as if they're my family(even tho they tend to be quite shorter and more fat). Tendency in my family in general is that we're very skinny and men get and stay muscular after 30's. Maybe the question is ridiculous, but these things always got me thinking.
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The traditional explanation is that there were 13 people during the Last Supper which - spoilers - didn't end well, but I am not sure as in Italy, 13 is a lucky number.
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Many times has the question been asked: "why didn't advanced states form in North America". Short-sightedly, one usually defines advanced as similar to European technology and social organization.
It seems to me, from my own limited research (this subject has been beaten to death in this sub), that North American societies were well-adapted to their own environment and often displayed progressive social structures and cultural institutions. The fact that they didn't develop similar technology with the Europeans is explained by the fact that they strayed away from centralised, agricultural states - which also explains the almost complete lack of empires (looking at you, Cahokia).
So I wouldn't ask: why didn't North American societies develop similarly to European ones. I would rather take a step back and wonder: What prevented the agricultural, centralised-state society from spreading in the region of North America? Similarly, I wonder: Why did some people in Eurasia move away from the hunter-gatherer society and start forming centralised agricultural states?. I hope I have adequately combined these two questions in the title.
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I have read The fall of Carthage by Adrian Goldsworthy and am interested in some additional reading (could be on any Punic war). Thanks.
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Would age matter for a local lord or would he draft every male that is able to carry a weapon ?
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Not sure if this is the right sub for this question, but I was curious about one of histories oldest ranged weapons, the boomerang.
I have seen it can be thrown impressive lengths (160 meters), but have no real idea of the damage it is capable of. The only video I could find of a boomerang actually hitting something was by someone who clearly knows nothing about proper form, and threw from maybe ten feet or so away.
Can anyone tell me just how deadly the boomerang was when used by a skilled individual? What kind of damage it could inflict when used properly?
Thank you.
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I remember seeing a BBC series where it mentioned that most rural people made some form of pottage with whatever was in season throughout the year.
Was choice of food such a luxury then?
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I'm aware that their were other vernacular translations in the meantime, such as those of Wycliffe and Hus, but these were explicitly forbidden by the Church. As far as I know, it wasn't until well into modern times that their were any vernacular Catholic Bibles produced at all. This is especially odd considering that Jerome's Latin translation is called the "Vulgate" as it was intended to be readable by the common people, yet over time it became readable only by the educated clergy as the Church refused to translate it again. What was the reason for this?
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Why is the south of japan often called the west (and the north called the east) in sengoku era japan?
for example:
the armies of Mitsunari and Ieyasu being called western and eastern.
Tachibana Munetora being called " the great warrior of the west" despite being located in Kyushu.
Takeda Shingens procession to the Kyoto being described as westward.
many references to Hokkaido and Kyushu as being western or eastern.
1 Answers 2018-06-29