What is the absolute earliest example of a "fiat currency" system that was accepted by a large group of people? To clarify, it doesn't have to be a national currency per se but I'd prefer something used in at least a notable city state that traded with other peoples. And by "fiat currency" I don't only mean a paper money system with a central bank, but in general the trading of items/coins that had low or nil intrinsic value based on the understanding that the issuing government would ensure the value of those coins going forward.

Where they thought of as good, bad or neither?

Did they do something special for these occasions?

I feel like all too often Houston is a city with no memory. Things happen here and people forget them immediately. Once a building is more than 20 years old, we bulldoze it and put up something new. I am interested specifically in 20th century Houston history. Thanks so much in advance.

The title says it all, I wonder if people in general and especially Japans knew about its power, and perhaps long term effects.

How did spoken language esp. abstract thoughts and feelings come into play? From what I know there were pictures to describe physical objects and activities, but how did that transition to vocal spoken word?

How and when did translation come about? We can translate any word into any language today, but how did the first group figure out that my word for "boat" means the same as your word for "boat"?

My basic understanding of Japanese smithing is that the Japanese used very advanced crafting techniques, but the iron ore native to Japan was generally poor quality compared to European ores. After establishing trade with European countries, did Japanese blacksmiths incorporate European metals into their techniques?

I'm specifically interested in the early 20th century in America. When did it become commonplace to need to carry a photo ID? How did you prove your identity without one?

I had school dances, homecoming, or prom every year from middle school through high school. How and when did the tradition of school dances start?

This is something that has been in my mind for some time. I'm asking about armies such as the British, French, or United States in a time range from the American and French Revolutions up to the American Civil War.

How would these regiments actually march in a battle? I've heard of the French Column, or the two ranks of the British line. But one thing that has bothered me is that most of these regiments are organized into companies, with chains of command.

How would these play a part in battle? Would men form up in companies and march in several blocks, or would it be just a single large block (or column) of men, and companies existing mainly for accountability purposes?

The question is wether or not the german Kaiser Wilhelm II actually had the power to be alone held responsible for not preventing germany being part of the first world war. I realise that there can be different opinions in this matter and am interested in those different from my school textbooks opinion.

Chapter breaks are reasonably intuitive, but some verses are a whole paragraph while the shortest is famously two words long ("Jesus wept", John 11:35).

A folk musician friend of mine mentioned that Scottish folk music was once outlawed but I can't find any evidence that it might be true. Has the performance of music ever been outlawed or banned, specifically in the British Isles or Europe?

I've lived in Australia for years and one question that's always bugged me is why didn't the Polynesians ever colonise Australia, or at the very least why didn't some polynesians reach Australia (and thereby affect the behaviour of the indigenous peoples of the south-eastern/eastern coast at the least)? I can understand that there may have been a preference for traditional ways of doing things perhaps, but the technology of the polynesians should have given them an advantage, and their maritime skills should have enabled them to reach Australia I would have thought.

Been curious since I gazed up at it tonight.

My very first thought was "holy shit, what would the ancients have thought this was?"

Related: Once the two kingdoms were united, did their history as separate kingdoms lead to much conflict later on?

This might be more the realm of /r/AskAnthropology, but I thought you fine folks might have some interesting answers to offer.

About 20 years ago, I read various books that claimed that the Aryan peoples originally lived in the same region as the Avestan-speaking peoples.

The books were not very scholarly; they alleged that Zarathustra's people were relatively civilized and the Aryans were relatively uncivilized.

However, when I try to find supporting evidence for these claims, it seems that no one really knows much about Zarathustra or the origin of the Aryans.

One can try to do historical linguistics; one can reconstruct a supposed "proto-Indo-European" language. That might be linguistically sound, but it doesn't tell us much about the specific migrations.

Is there any evidence beyond linguistic speculation to suggest that the Aryans and the Avestans were originally one people?