A new year, and some new awardees to kick it of as we recognize some of your favorite answers of January!

The 'Flairs' Choice' awardfor the month went to /u/cazador5 answer for their answer to "How did a royal treasury work during the times of an itinerant court?".

Meanwhile the 'Users' Choice' award fell upon the shoulders of /u/cthulhushrugged, who tackled "The Mongols while invading Song Dynasty China, destroyed what some consider to be the first signs of industrialisation. What was the state of industrialisation in the late Song Dynasty China? How much did they utilise steam power and mining? How was the quality of life in their factories?".

The 'Dark Horse' Award was a two-for-one deal this month, with the votes for the highest upvoted non-flaired answer highlighting both /u/Islacoatl and /u/quedfoot, who doubled up to answer "Battles in Mesoamerica often used religious artifacts and in some cases "Owl Men" who would cast magic onto the battle field. The Owl Men were even sent against Cortes. What exactly would these mystics do to cast their spells and how did it tie into the religion?".

For this month's 'Greatest Question', voted upon by the mods, saw some interqing queries, but the final toally pointed to "The Iroquois established a representative, federal democracy that may have influenced America's constitution. Where can I learn more about Native American political philosophy?", asked by /u/johannesalthusius. No answer yet, but still time!

The Excellence in Flairdom Award for January goes to the Honorable /u/When_Ducks_Attack! Some of the most important work on AskHistorians is rarely visible. So it’s even more important to recognize a user like Ducks when they play a starring role with little expectation of audience. Thanks for your example and leadership, When_Ducks_Attack!

As always, congrats to our very worthy winners, and thank you to everyone else who has contributed here, whether with thought-provoking questions or fascinating answers. And if this month you want to flag some stand-out posts that you read here for potential nomination, don't forget to post them in our Sunday Digest!

For a list of past winners, check them out here!