FROM THE ARCHIVES: A Short History of Evolutionary Theory

FROM THE ARCHIVES note: This post is from an older blog of mine that has since been taken down from the internet. It is presented here with minimal editing because I still find it interesting enough to share. The original post was published on 2 February 2014.

Before I begin, a note/disclaimer: This post is going to discuss the concept of Evolution. If that offends you, don't read it. In fact, don't read any of my blog. Just don't talk to me. I have no patience for creationist pseudoscience bullshit, I really don't. My entire career is based on the overwhelming evidence that evolution exists and if you can't handle that, you are weak and need to step out of my life. Door's over there.


Still with me? Good. Then let's begin.

Hey guys, remember when I met Charles Darwin?

Fellow anthropologists, I can feel your jealousy.

I majorly geeked out when I met that Darwin re-enactor, and got to talk evolutionary theory with both him and a fellow guest of the event, who happened to have a passion for the stuff. Evolution, when taught by someone who knows their stuff and has a passion for it, can be extremely fun to learn about, and it is my own personal belief that we all should be learning about it, fun or not!

But where did the theory come from? Okay, obviously it's science, it came from Darwin and others observing what they saw around them and coming to logical conclusions based on the biological evidence and the fossil record. Still, is it possible that maybe it wasn't that obvious? Why did it take us until the Victorian era to come to a conclusion that seems so overwhelmingly obvious now?

Friends, I am going to tell you how the idea of Evolution came about.

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Cosmopolitan Constantinople

FROM THE ARCHIVES note: This post is from an older blog of mine that has since been taken down from the internet. It is presented here with minimal editing because I still find it interesting enough to share. The original post was published on 8 Feb, 2014.

Those who have been following me awhile, both here and on my tumblr blog, are well aware that I love the city of San Francisco, infamous for being very liberal and very very multicultural. (Also super smelly in many areas, but we'll ignore that for now.)

Oh I wanna be hoooo-oooome in my city...

San Francisco has a special reputation, but a lot of it is shared by other big cities. Los Angeles and New York City here in the States come to mind, and of course you have London, Paris, etc.! Modern cities have this... this thing about them that I just love! I like being able to walk from Chinatown to Little Italy to get a cannoli to wash down my dim sum. I like being able to walk through a street with vendors selling colourful fabrics from India and Mexico. I like being able to say "Hey... you know what I haven't eaten in a while? Ethiopian food." and getting on a bus to go get some.

Big cities, at least in the west, seem to have become, over the years, increasingly multicultural. (Possibly elsewhere as well but having never been to Tokyo, Hong Kong, New Dehli, etc., I really could not say.) But how far does this phenomenon go back? To the 60s? To the Victorian era?

Try a thousand years.

I mentioned recently on twitter that the idea of multiculturalism being common in metropolitan areas is not at all a new one, name dropping Alexandria and Constantinople. Rome, too, was pretty mixed in its heyday. Here, have a map of Ancient Alexandria:

With a Jewish quarter, temples to Greek, Egyptian, AND Roman gods, and even Christian catacombs and churches, Alexandria was pretty well mixed.

Alexandria, however, is not a city I have studied in great detail. You know which one I have studied a lot? Constantinople. (Though my focus is in Northern European archaeology, I am particularly interested in the presence of the Norse in Byzantine-era Constantinople, so... I have read so much about Constantinople, you guys.) So we're gonna talk about that one.

How to Time Travel to the 18th Century Right Here in NYC!

I know I post a lot about my occasional forays into the 18th Century, and I'm sure you're all quite jealous ;) Well guess what, all? If you're going to be in New York City next month, you will all have the opportunity to join me and my lovely friends - including the extremely wonderful Lindsey of Lindsey Loves History, and the talented Eliza of Silk and Sass  - at an 18th Century Themed event for for princesses and presidents alike!

Tickets for the first annual George Washington Inaugural Ball are now available on the event's website, and it promises to be an absolutely wonderful evening. Held at the historic 19th Century Federal Hall building (which itself was built on the site of the building where Washington was sworn in as our first president - did you know NYC used to be this nation's capitol?), the event will feature period food and drink, musical performance, and both historic-style and modern-style dancing. The dress code is either black tie attire OR your 18th Century best.

Lindsey sure as heck knows how to plan a fun event, and if you can join us there, I highly encourage it. (Those who are reading this blog from California or elsewhere in the world I am sorry - but you will be able to live vicariously through me as I do plan to blog about the event if possible!)

On Sunday, on the steps of Federal Hall, a group of us (Lindsey and Eliza included, as well as the Hearts of Oak - a historical reenactment group that Eliza and her fiancee are part of) held an 18th century flash mob on the steps of Federal Hall to raise awareness for the event. I certainly hope our flash mob was successful in raising awareness - I know I told more than a few curious onlookers why we were all dressed up in our finery and frills!

(Regretfully, I do not actually own any 18th Century period clothing. Luckily, in my college years, I was heavily involved in lolita fashion, and I figured this was the next best thing to at least look a little Georgian!)

Photo by the talented James Prochnik; dress by Japanese lolita brand Innocent World

Read on for a summary (and lots of photos) of last Sundays event, and then get your butt over to the ball's website and get your tickets before they all run out!