Did the average barbarian warrior have a missile weapon alongside his sword and shield?

Before potatoes, which were their sources of vitamin c?

I'm writing a simulation game and I need to (crudely) model this. What do we know about how late hominids thought, compared to humans? I'm particularly interested in Homo erectus, Neanderthals, and the Denisovans, but more obscure ones are welcome as well, especially the Australopithecines. I understand that there's very little evidence that attests to this, but surely we can make conjectures based on found tools and possibly cranial volume/shape.

I've heard that some time in the past, it was routine for thousands of people to arrive at places like Ellis Island in New York, and then they were allowed to immigrate right then and there.

Nowadays, you usually need to apply for a Green Card, and it's done by lottery, and there is a very limited number compared to the number of people who want to move to the US. And now, to even visit, you need a passport (and probably a return ticket, and proof you're not going to illegally immigrate).

When and how did the shift happen to tightly-controlled immigration policies?

Just thinking about it now and I made the connection that it occurred when the Church was still officially unified, so it seems strange that emperors and priests would spend all their time arguing for iconoclasm in one realm whilst ignoring the rest of Christendom.

Thanks for the replies!

Is the family of Muhammad still around? Are there people with questionable claims to family ties with the prophet, or others with very clearly documented ties? Do any of Muhammad's decedents play an important role in Shi'ite religion today?

I've been dipping my toe into the waters of writing historic fiction. One of the biggest challenges has been recreating a given time in both technology and attitudes. Even for years I lived through (one story would be set in 1985,) it's hard to remember what did or didn't exist and how people thought and behaved.

It's relatively easy to research the major world events for a year, but how would you go about looking for the details of everyday life? There are a few good books on specific time periods, but what sources do actual historians use?

Since it's so expansive I don't want to just get an overview but there are so many books out there (obviously).

When did it become comman practice for militaries and armies to wear uniforms or unified attires? Do we have any idea what inspired this to happen?

Is there any evidence to support the notion that Christianity came into existence, or at least gained popularity, out of anti-semitism? I suppose I'm interested in the causality here. Is anti-semitism a function of Christianity, or vice-versa?

Bangladesh is practically surrounded by India, so it seems strange to me that they didn't become part of India when independance was won from the British.

The Finnish National epoch Kalevala was written in mid 19th century. It was composed of many different oral poems collected by Elias Lönnrot between the years of 1828 and 1849. Before the New Kalevala (aka Kalevala) was published in 1849 a number of smaller collections were published. Lönnrot modified the poems he collected, by combining them, moving certain things around and concerting the wording. He even worded some completely new poems in order to create a unified plot.

Lönnrot was not the first to collect poems from the old villages in Finland and Karelia. During the 18th century prof. Henrik Gabriel Porthan and his student Christfried Ganander from the Academy of Turku collected some poems for Mythologia Fennica.

The actual story of the epoch aside. My interest is mainly concerning the people living in the world of Kalevala.

• What kind of people inhabited the world?
• What were their motivations, needs, desires and aspirations?
• How did the remotenes and large distances between the different settlements of the story affect the decisions and actions the people in general?
• How happy/content were the people in general?

My mum is German and very old and frail now and resident in the UK (where she's lived since the 1950s). She was born in Bavaria in 1932, and lived as a small girl in Germany in the lead-up to World War II. Her father was the meteorologist at Nuremberg at this time.

The family story goes that in the early 1930s, probably around the time or shortly after he gained power, Hitler often travelled by private plane and that one night he was about to leave Nuremberg to fly to another town but was persuaded against doing so. My grand-father was not a Nazi and disapproved of Hitler. However, he took his job very seriously. He warned Hitler against flying, predicting a severe electrical storm as being imminent. Hitler heeded the advice and drove instead. But he sent the pilot on ahead in the plane; and the plane crashed and the pilot died.

I've always marvelled at the story, but also have always wondered if it's really true. Is it a family tale that has been embellished in its many tellings down the years, gradually unhooking itself from historical fact? Maybe something took place, but not the full extent as has been told.

Do any historians out there who know the period well think that there might be any truth to my mother's family's story?

I'd love to know.

Thanks

EDIT

Hello again. This is amazing stuff coming back from all you people. I'm impressed and grateful.

There's so much to think about here. I need to go through it carefully and then put some questions to my mum, to see if she's able to help. The thing is, she doesn't have any hard facts herself; her memory is pretty patchy; and she loves a good anecdote, with one anecdote leading to another, and so on; making it difficult to keep things linear and focussed. Also, lastly, she's not very well.

I wish I knew more about this period of history so I could pin a few things down myself before proceeding. As I said originally, all I know is that the story goes that this happened around the time - or just before, or just after - Hitler achieved power. My mum said that she once she was with her mother at the airport when Hitler was passing through, and she was in her pram, a tiny little thing, and supposedly Hitler reached in and patted her on the head. Although this wasn't necessarily the same occasion, it gives a sense of the timing, early 1930s...

I've always had my doubts about the veracity of the family story; which may perhaps explain why I never dug deeper before - as we don't always wanted our myths and tales to be 'untruthed'. That said, I'm glad I asked here and it's useful to know that unfortunately the great family story is maybe more story than truth.

Shame.

Thanks

Were there any religious or cultural assumptions about it being the edge of the world? Was there any speculation about there being other continents and civilizations? Mostly thinking of North America but if Central and South Americans had any ideas then I'd be interested to hear those too.