Category: Archaeology
Follies of the Mad Men #76
[From The Saturday Evening Post for October 10 1953. Two scans, top and bottom.]
Nothing like aligning your product with a civilization that practiced human sacrifice. The Incas weren't the Aztecs, but as Wikipedia reminds us: "There is [sic] archaeological discoveries supporting the presence of sacrifice within Inca society according to Reinhard and Ceruti: 'Archaeological evidence found on distant mountain summits has established that the burial of offerings was a common practice among the Incas and that human sacrifice took place at several of the sites.The excellent preservation of the bodies and other material in the cold and dry environment of the high Andes provides revealing details about the rituals that were performed at these ceremonial complexes.'"
And did they actually make the best ink ever? I can't find any reference to such an accomplishment.
Chocolate Just Got Better!
FYI: Chocolate was, as everyone knows, invented/discovered by the Aztecs. But what is less well known is that they did so at least 3000 years ago, and were probably trying to make beer. Anthropologists John Henderson, of Cornell University, and Rosemary Joyce, of University of California, discovered cacao residues on pottery vessels dating back to 1000 BCE that are believed to be from a drink formed by fermenting the pulp and seeds (PNAS).
(Image by Wikipedia.)
Posted By: Dumbfounded | Date: Fri Jul 17, 2009 | Permalink |
Comments (26)
Category: Food, Candy, Nutrition, History, Archaeology, Products
Category: Food, Candy, Nutrition, History, Archaeology, Products
It Just Ain’t Unnatural!

But if we learnt war early on the path to humanity, we may have learnt laughter even earlier. Researchers from the University of Portsmouth analysed the sounds 22 young apes made when being tickled, and concluded that it is laughter. Dr Davila-Ross and her team looked for similar acoustic characteristics to human laughter in the young of several ape species, and found greater similarity in the sounds made by chimpanzees and bonobos (the species closest to humans genetically) than in that of more distantly related apes such as orangutans. The team concluded that laughter must have evolved some time before the major ape groups split apart, 18 million years ago (BBC News).
Finally, this last piece was going to be about gay penguin adoption, but that's already up, so instead I'd like to draw your attention to a
(Image from SPEC Productions, who collect and reprint some damn fine comics!)
Posted By: Dumbfounded | Date: Mon Jun 08, 2009 | Permalink |
Comments (3)
Category: Animals, Ethnic Groupings, Sexuality, War, Anthropology, Archaeology
Category: Animals, Ethnic Groupings, Sexuality, War, Anthropology, Archaeology
World’s Oldest Joke Discovered!
Archaeologists have just discovered the world's oldest joke, as ably pointed out in today's Weird News picks by Minister Chuck.But I can't resist adding that I hope they never dig up this one.
Posted By: Paul | Date: Sat Aug 02, 2008 | Permalink |
Comments (6)
Category: Death, History, Archaeology, Humor, Comedians, Jokes, Television
Category: Death, History, Archaeology, Humor, Comedians, Jokes, Television
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Category: Business, Advertising, Products, History, Archaeology, 1950's, South America