I presented some of the results of my thesis at this year's annual meeting for the Society for American Archaeology. As a result, I might be invited to contribute a chapter to an edited volume on architectural energetics. So that's cool

Why is it that Gaelic lords or sometimes called "The", as in Hugh O'Neill being "The O'Neill"? They also do it in the show Outlander, where the Laird is referred to as "The Mackenzie"

What are everyone's views of David Anthony's The Horse, The Wheel, and Language? I read the introduction last night and enjoyed his brief history of the politics of historical linguistics, and his account of how historical linguists and archaeologists don't speak to one another. It's certainly believable that two methodologically distinct subfields like that wouldn't collaborate much, but it's equally believable that his account is simplified to the point that it has major problems.

I quickly whipped this up after seeing the moderators keeping this sub high quality

Can anyone link me to threads about the War of the Pacific (Chile, Peru, Bolivia)? All I get is WW2 when I search.

Also, Wikipedia says this:

After Angamos and despite the lost of their two capital ships, Peruvians, with simple and ingenious tricks succeeded in sinking two important Chilean ships, the Loa (July 1880) and the Covadonga (August 1880). But its remaining units were locked in its main port during the long blockade of Callao.

What were the "simple and ingenious tricks"?

I heard an unconfirmed "bar fact", that more US tanks were lost at sea during shipping than in battle. Any truth to that?

Seems farfetched

In my family there is a bit of a mystery. When my father's parents were a farming family and had several children. The last two they had, were my Aunt L and my father.

Both of their parents (my grandparents) died when my father was a young teenager. My grandmother wore a locket with a picture of my father, and my Aunt L in it. Discovered behind one of the photos is the picture of a man in some type of uniform. It does not really look like a military uniform, nor does it look like a police or fire uniform.

The family belief is that both my father and Aunt L are fathered from a man other than the man we historically think as my grandfather. The thought is that the man in the locket is likely my biological grandfather.

I was wondering if there is a good place to take (or post online) the photo from the locket to help try to identify:

• the uniform the man is wearing (military, police, other?)
• the regiment/unit/location
• the man in the photo

Thanks for any and all tips and pointers in helping get to the bottom of this scandalous family mystery! :-)

I was reading through Peter Heather's "The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians" and he states: "There was a simple reason for this. Monogamous marriage tends to produce a male heir for no more than three generations at a time. In natural circumstances, about 20 per cent of monogamous relationships will produce no children at all, and another 20 per cent all girls."

This isn't sourced/cited in the notes. Where is this figure coming from?

Does anybody have a recommendation for a good intro-level book for the non-historian regarding WWII? Something that would be enjoyable to read for a non academic. Thanks!

I wonder- as historians, can anyone recommend a good, authentic historical fiction novel? Or maybe a fantasy novel that made you think the author really understood how pre-modern people thought and lived?

Any wargames that you, dear historians (and non-historians) enjoy?

Also i feel like AFTER i finish energetics uni, i'll go straight into history uni. Kinda hated that my parents didn't liked my first decision (which was history uni but ergh).

E: If the CSS mod is reading this, please make the sub night mode compatible.

I heard a story about British naval officer Horatio Nelson, who single handedly saved England from a Spanish invasion. He did this by loading a small boat with explosives and telling a fellow sailor to crash the boat into the Spanish ships. The sailor did so and wiped out the entire fleet because the Spanish ships themselves were filled with gunpowder. Is there any truth to this story or is it a legend? I can't find it anywhere online, my older cousin told me it.

To what extent does the historical record support the possibility of establishing a unified Arab state in the Levant - i.e if the British and French Mandates were combined, as opposed to what we have today in the form of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, etc. - and how would that have affected/potentially affected Saudi Arabia?

Something I was thinking about, probably too trivial to make a whole thread about. When and how did showering become the main way people clean themselves?

Just wanted to say thanks to the mods of /r/askhistorians

This place is top notch and you guys do good work.

The shutter on my research camera decided to simply fall off its mounting three hours into Friday's work session. Fall. Off. Miraculously, I found a Canon authorized dealer in Pretoria who had the part and not only got it done and working to spec within 24 hours, but even charged less than a similar repair in the US. As I mentioned to friends and familiy: I may now add "broke a professional grade DSLR simply taking a lot of photographs of documents" to my CV. It cost me four hours of work time, but I'm grateful beyond belief that's all it was.

Fortunately, I do have an inferior backup camera, so I wouldn't have been totally dead in the water if it had taken longer--and it turns out that I could actually get tolerable images from my phone for the last three shots in the document. For grad students who are relying on digital photography for their work, I support the idea of having a backup camera in the field (even if not with you in the archives), or at least making sure you have the means to go obtain one within a day if the worst should happen.

After the Vietnam war, the US embassy in Saigon was famously evacuated by helicopter. I understand why Vietnamese refugees would need to be evacuated in that way. However, regarding the embassy staff, was there a concern that the North Vietnamese would not honor diplomatic immunity? What would have happen to the American employees had they stayed at the embassy compound during the fall of Saigon?