Cross-cultural “Stuff”
Jumping to Conclusions About Swords
I have just typed the umpteenth variation of this statement: “when this rich undisturbed tomb was first excavated in 1976, the opulent goods and great cache of weapons led the archaeologists to assume the occupant was a male ruler.” * The next sentence always begins “but….” Rather than make rude Freudian jokes about the equation…
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Who Was the First Female Historian?
Over the course of my Christmas blog break, I read two separate claims that someone was the first known female historian. Two separate women in very different times and places. I was so excited when I read about the first one that I almost interrupted my scheduled silence to share it with you. When I…
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From the Archives: From Confucius to Air Traffic Control
In 130 BCE, the Chinese emperor Han Wudi came up with a new idea for how to choose government bureaucrats. He established a civil service of Confucian scholars, known in English as mandarins, who earned their positions by passing a standardized examination. The system still favored those from privileged families who could afford to give…
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