I'm glad to share that an article I wrote a while back was recently published! It's about the important Nahua (aka Aztec) scholar Domingo de Chimalpahin from central Mexico, and how he perceived the world in the early 17th century. In an alternative view to the still more common perspective on how Europeans understood other parts of the world, the focus is on this major indigenous historian's work.

You can access it online over here!

The article is part of an edited volume on Indigenous Knowledge between the Americas and Europe that I can really recommend, it's online in full as well.

Here's a joke from the Soviet nuclear program:

"They didn’t get shot"

The head of the nuclear project, Lavrenty Beria, arrived in the Urals, at a new facility under construction. It was a cold autumn; there was nothing at the new site but mud, and driving there required going off-road. There was no housing, other than barracks. Prisoners were still hard at work laying the foundations.

The engineers waited, fearful of the famously harsh NKVD chief. Beria, in his trademark black leather coat, emerged from the car and grabbed his lower back in pain, having been bounced around by the rough ground. The engineers went cold as the thought raced through their minds: “He’ll send us to the Gulag!

The distinguished guest was assigned to the best barrack for his overnight stay. As soon as Beria lay down, the bed he was on collapsed underneath him! The engineers were petrified: “Someone’s getting shot!”

In the morning, it was discovered that a prisoner had stolen Beria’s black leather coat. The engineers were horrified: “He’ll shoot everyone!”

But in the end, Beria did not shoot anyone. After returning to Moscow, he issued orders to provide the workers of the facility with better food and sent them new furniture. The end.

Ha, ha, haaaa....what? More of this, and analysis of what they tell us about the odd legacy of the Soviet nuclear program in modern Russia, at a blog post I just put up: Surely You're Joking, Comrade Beria!

I'm just here to remind everyone again that we have an instagram! This past week, we've been looking at historic objects from cultures around the world - a Seneca drum, a Dayak statue, a Seljuk or Ilkhanid jar, a Ndebele apron, and a Byzantine or Egyptian tapestry fragment.

If I had a time machine and went back to 12th century England, what would peoples impression of me be if I show up without trying to blend in? Like for instance, I arrive wearing a pair of good hiking boots, some jeans, maybe a nice black polyester button-up shirt suitable for working in. It's chilly out so perhaps I'm wearing my favorite wool beanie and a light weather-resistant jacket. All my clothes are nice and clean and I have a fresh shave, but I'm walking because a horse or a motorcycle couldn't fit in my time machine.

When I meet people (maybe peasants, maybe local government officials, maybe the local gentry, just whoever happens to be around where I go), assume I speak old English (or whatever), but with a modern accent that they probably don't know, and with modern mannerisms and social customs/behavior. I also have a good modern military pack with assorted odds and ends I thought I might need, like a gun and ammunition, matches, spare socks, a sleeping bag, etc.

What would people make of me?

Hey history buffs! Are you someone who lurks on subreddits but never posts? Are you on Reddit every day busily writing, upvoting, or giving awards? Or somewhere in the middle? No matter how you participate, we want to hear about how YOU experience the community here.

I'm from a team of researchers from CU Boulder and we're studying how users experience community here and how we can make your experience better. Take our survey (~10-15 minutes) and receive a chance to win one of fifty $10 Amazon eGift Cards! Here’s the survey link: https://cuboulder.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6fYZMFhXEgQjjUi.

This survey was posted last week as well, so if you already took it, please do not take it again. But if this is your first time seeing this post, we’d love to hear from you!

What's your favorite episode of the BBC Radio 4 program In Our Time? I think mine would be The Book of Common Prayer or really anything with Diarmaid MacCulloch.

I'm not all that interested in the history of religion or Tudor England personally, but MacCulloch has such a commanding grasp of those topics that it's always a pleasure to listen.

Your Weekly /r/askhistorians Recap

Friday, November 12 - Thursday, November 18

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If you would like this roundup sent to your reddit inbox every week send me a message with the subject 'askhistorians'. Or if you want a daily roundup, use the subject 'askhistorians daily'. Or send me a chat with either askhistorians or askhistorians daily.

####Please let me know if you have suggestions to make this roundup better for /r/askhistorians or if there are other subreddits that you think I should post in. I can search for posts based off keywords in the title, URL and flair. And I can also find the top comments overall or in specific threads.

Why was King Tuts tomb not ready for him?

I have heard many times that Tut’s tomb was rushed and part of his death mask was first Intended for a woman.

But if he actively participated in battles (as depicted in drawings) then wouldn’t a reasonable person expect that he could die suddenly as a result from a battle injury?

If he was just sitting in his palace all day, then yes, maybe his death would have been unexpected. But they didn’t depict him as such, but rather as a warrior…

It's such a shame that some of the most interesting questions posted regularly go unanswered. Some of the the time that's because they're unanswerable but often it's just that Reddit itself is kind of limiting in its demographic profile and so lacks the kinds of people who might know the answers. Nothing really to be done but I just wanted to lament publicly; it is the ffa.

I will say I think the podcast is actually really good in it's relatively diverse sets of topics and interesting guests and there are lots of cool interesting answers to cool questions.