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True | isitmizzit | null | Just discovered this subreddit, I think this is a wonderful idea. MA in modern American cultural history. Specifically the rise of advertising and consumer culture beginning in the patent medicine era and continuing into the twentieth century. I currently teach Western Civilization and American history at a Junior college. | null | 0 | 1315245710 | False | 0 | c2hnqz0 | t3_jxh0x | null | t1_c2hnqz0 | t3_jxh0x | null | 1427561636 | 4 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | fun_young_man | null | I assume you mean non contingious colonies rather then territorial expansion which both the Poles and the Ottomans did. The closet thing I can think of would be the Ottoman colonization of [Lundy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lundy). Which was captured in 1627 and held for 5 years. | null | 0 | 1315248876 | False | 0 | c2ho42k | t3_k5he9 | null | t1_c2ho42k | t3_k5he9 | null | 1427561806 | 3 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | DocFreeman | null | I recall Sweden attempting to establish colonies in the New World but I can't recall where or when.
Colonialism as a phenomena has occurred for centuries in all different parts of the world. It's just that the major European powers expanded so aggressively and made their empires so overwhelmingly influential on the society's that they colonized.
More on point for your question though, the Japanese in particular attempted to colonize large parts of South-East Asia during the early 20th century, with Taiwan and Korea being notable possessions.
Outside of the time period of "Colonialism" though the Chinese ruled over Vietnam for much of the Han Dynasty and culturally impacted that society. | null | 0 | 1315251999 | False | 0 | c2hogcy | t3_k5he9 | null | t1_c2hogcy | t3_k5he9 | null | 1427561967 | 5 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | tehnomad | null | The Danish colonized the Virgin Islands until 1917 when it was sold to the US. They also colonized Greenland.
Sweden also had a number of colonies, including in the Mid-Atlantic region of North America.
The Netherlands and Portugal were smaller countries but were major colonial powers.
Courland briefly established a colony on Tobago. I believe it is the smallest European nation to have a colony. | null | 0 | 1315252210 | False | 0 | c2hoh5m | t3_k5he9 | null | t1_c2hoh5m | t3_k5he9 | null | 1427561977 | 7 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | Killfile | null | The Scottish had an ill-fated attempt to colonize Panama. They figured they could move stuff over-land and more or less corner the European-Asian trade market.
Unfortunately, they didn't count on the different soil conditions, malaria, and various other misfortune. The colony was wiped out in extremely short order and the monetary losses were so severe that Scotland needed England's help to bail them out of the financial hole they found themselves in.
And thus Scotland found its way in the United Kingdom.
Read More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_colonization_of_the_Americas | null | 0 | 1315257830 | False | 0 | c2hp2qo | t3_k5he9 | null | t1_c2hp2qo | t3_k5he9 | null | 1427562265 | 3 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | tehnomad | null | I suspect that it would have happened anyways. There were figures such as [Huldrych Zwingli](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulrich_Zwingli) and [John Calvin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Calvin) who both developed competing Protestant theologies around the same time as Luther. | null | 0 | 1315259878 | False | 0 | c2hpan0 | t3_k5ool | null | t1_c2hpan0 | t3_k5ool | null | 1427562371 | 4 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | Artrw | null | I don't feel any need for that. The tag just represents someone who has an above-average understanding.
What is your focus on your BA? | null | 0 | 1315264760 | False | 0 | c2hpt23 | t3_jxh0x | null | t1_c2hpt23 | t1_c2hg9mw | null | 1427562604 | 1 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | wintermutt | null | Belgium colonized the Congo, first as a personal possession of King Leopold II, then as a belgian colony. It was one the worst administrations in the history of european colonization, humanitarian-wise.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgian_Congo | null | 0 | 1315265054 | False | 0 | c2hpu5i | t3_k5he9 | null | t1_c2hpu5i | t3_k5he9 | null | 1427562617 | 10 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | erstazi | null | For instance, you mean places similar to [Göbekli Tepe](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6bekli_Tepe) and the possibility that there are more existing structures that were deliberately buried or destroyed by a natural disaster. This has always interested me. Every time a new discovery comes about, I get excited to learn more about it. We know very little about the past. | null | 0 | 1315275082 | False | 0 | c2hqygq | t3_k3r2q | null | t1_c2hqygq | t3_k3r2q | null | 1427563149 | 3 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | DocFreeman | null | This is a very good question. I wish I could answer it. Please someone, come answer this question. | null | 0 | 1315283586 | False | 0 | c2hrz53 | t3_k5ool | null | t1_c2hrz53 | t3_k5ool | null | 1428195423 | 1 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | DocFreeman | null | I once took a few weeks of a class on ancient Greece (pre-Athens and Sparta and only barely Mycenaean civilization) and my professor for that course showed us a few instances of very early Greek civilizations that left only slight traces of their civilization (religious customs, societal hierarchies, etc.) and had only recently been discovered.
So in essence, if I were to extrapolate from that experience, I would say theoretically, yes. But at the same time you're not going to find civilizations on par with the one's we do know about. They're going to be little more than highly evolved tribes.
In fact, can we just get an anthropologist or someone who specialized in prehistory in here? I'm curious too. | null | 0 | 1315283899 | False | 0 | c2hs0d6 | t3_k3r2q | null | t1_c2hs0d6 | t3_k3r2q | null | 1427563646 | 2 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | Speculum | null | Splits from the Church happened all the time since the 12th century (Catharians, Waldenses, Hussites). But the reformation was something else. Catholicism, especially the popular belief, at that time was deep into superstition since 1350 and was already weakened by the various schisms. The "devotio moderna" put the focus on the faith of the individual believer which also benefitted the reformation.
The time was ripe for reform, many Catholic "intellectuals" agreed on that. From 1512-1517 a council which sought this reform was held but political reasons hindered its success. Many popes during that timeframe had an excessive lifestyle and many princes wanted to increase their power.
Of course it is impossible to give probabilities but I would say that a figure like Martin Luther was predictable at that time. But it might very well have been that this person wouldn't cause a split from the church but a reform from the inside. In fact there are several figures in Southern Europe during that time - I think f.ex. of Charles Borromeo or Ignatius of Loyola - who prevented the reformation spreading to there by instigating a reform inside the Catholic church. | null | 0 | 1315300189 | False | 0 | c2ht9fq | t3_k5ool | null | t1_c2ht9fq | t3_k5ool | null | 1427564433 | 7 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | Speculum | null | Sweden colonised in Delaware ([New Sweden](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Sweden)) and shortly on the Coast of Guinea (West Africa) and the Cape Coast. It also owned Saint Barthélemy in the Carribean for ~100 years.
The duchy of Brandenburg tried to colonize in the Caribbean and on the West Coast of Africa as well, see [German colonization of the Americas](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_colonization_of_the_Americas)
Russia colonized in Alaska and California. (19th century)
Austria tried to colonize the Nicobar islands. (18th century)
| null | 0 | 1315301516 | False | 0 | c2htbp3 | t3_k5he9 | null | t1_c2htbp3 | t3_k5he9 | null | 1427564461 | 3 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | [deleted] | null | Also according to one of my Scottish history lecturers, on the second and final boat to Darien, they took lots and lots of hats, but barely enough food to last the voyage. | null | 0 | 1315314644 | False | 0 | c2htzwj | t3_k5he9 | null | t1_c2htzwj | t1_c2hp2qo | null | 1427564777 | 1 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | Speculum | null | >Maybe they would not care at all, since all kinds of rotten, malformed or lost teeth were extremely common at the time?
I suppose so. | null | 0 | 1315329951 | False | 0 | c2hvps9 | t3_k6l1j | null | t1_c2hvps9 | t3_k6l1j | null | 1427565599 | 3 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | Killfile | null | That's a really complicated question.
Politically, Hitler needed scapegoats. His rise to power was really built upon the notion that Germany was denied some long-deserved glory and that by eliminating the aforementioned scape-goat, Germany would make itself powerful and rich and respected.
Jews were the primary group so targeted.
Now, there's a LOT of speculation as to WHY Hitler's hate machine focused on Jews. To be clear, it also focused on lots of other folks -- Gypsies, handicapped, black people, social democrats, etc -- but the Jews were really the major target of the regime.
So, why Jews?
Well -- Jews offered a number of advantages as a scapegoat. They were fairly well integrated into society (which made them plausible as sabatours of German greatness), better educated than most and (largely as a result) economically fairly well off. Jews also tended to be more urban, which contributed to their wealth.
The idea of the wealthy Jew was important because Germany was extremely poor at this time. Hitler could point to wealthy Jewish bankers, Jewish government workers, and Jewish academics and tell people that these people were stealing Germany's prosperity and lining their pockets by betraying the German people.
Of course, it was all bunk. There was no Jewish conspiracy to destroy the money supply, and Jewish diplomats didn't engineer a "false defeat" for Germany at the end of WWI.
Zionism, the "new world order," the "protocols of the elders of zion:" these were excuses that Hitler dragged out to support his elaborate conspiracy theory.
Now fold in race and social Darwinism. The Jews were viewed entirely separate (biologically speaking) from other Germans. That made them less human and easier to target with violence and the further dehumanizing experience of the camps. From the ideological separation of the Jews as genetically different and inferior came the very physical separation of them into ghettos, work camps, and death chambers.
So, "why the Jews?" Because Hitler needed a scape-goat. Because Hitler was a little unhinged. Because Hitler blamed them for Germany's problems. Because lots of other people blamed them for Germany's problems too. Because... well... because some of them were wealthy when Germany was poor and because having someone else to blame for your problems somehow makes them more manageable.
NB: Much of the theory relating to difference and the "otherness" of the Jews comes from works published by Weisband and Thomas on the nature of Political Evil. | null | 0 | 1315336259 | False | 0 | c2hwl1e | t3_k4cof | null | t1_c2hwl1e | t3_k4cof | null | 1427565997 | 9 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | [deleted] | null | My MA specialisms were both European History, more specificaly Early Modern University history and Medieval Monasticism | null | 0 | 1315343012 | False | 0 | c2hxcax | t3_jxh0x | null | t1_c2hxcax | t3_jxh0x | null | 1427566353 | 1 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | [deleted] | null | Not all historical teeth were rotten or malformed, no more than now, people just had really terrible breath and enamel became really thick due to the starches and gritty foods in some cultures. I highly doubt the reaction would be as intense as, say, considering you a witch or a god--most people were pretty sensible, even if they had some superstitions (we certainly have plenty of our own in the modern day)--so mostly you'd probably just be thought of as a little odd. Remember that there are and were no monocultures--what was true for 1766 Bavarian baronies was not true for villages 30 miles away, much less 1200 Egypt or 1433 Spain.
Mostly, it doesn't really matter. Depending on the cultural climate of an area, how vehement certain clergy were, and how needful of a scapegoat the populace was, maybe, maybe not. Really, superstitions didn't "often" cause anything--there are several documented hysterias across history, but most people throughout were simply glad a child made it to age 10 in the first place, pointy teeth or not. | null | 0 | 1315343402 | False | 0 | c2hxe4r | t3_k6l1j | null | t1_c2hxe4r | t1_c2hvps9 | null | 1427566382 | 3 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | [deleted] | null | It depends on what aspect of Victorian morality.
The idea of "separate spheres" that relegated women to the private, domestic world while monopolizing civic life for men was thoroughly dismantled (though, not completely) in the twentieth century. On the other hand, the Victorian belief that women were inherently more moral then men still holds a lot of popular currency today (despite being ridiculous.)
The ideals of respectability, self-restraint, and hardwork fueled a popular idea that if you work hard enough, your work will be rewarded- the myth of the "self-made man." This, I would argue, had the greatest impact on American idealized morality. It resurfaces in American society frequently, despite its impracticality in an industrialized world.
These are just a few ideas that come to mind. If you can be more specific, I might be able to provide a better answer. | null | 0 | 1315360820 | False | 0 | c2hzid7 | t3_k72fq | null | t1_c2hzid7 | t3_k72fq | null | 1427567382 | 5 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | [deleted] | null | I'm having trouble remembering what aspects of our society are relics of Victorian morals. I think the American media's obsession with censoring nudity might be an example.
As for the 'hard work' idea, wasn't the Victorian era highly stratified between classes? Working classes were in horrible conditions, those laborers were the ones that inspired Marx and Engels. Could you clarify how the 'self-made man' came from this period? | null | 0 | 1315361174 | False | 0 | c2hzjxm | t3_k72fq | null | t1_c2hzjxm | t1_c2hzid7 | null | 1427567402 | 1 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | Browncoat23 | null | To build on bad_robot's comment, the definition of "white" has also changed over time. Mexicans used to be considered white, and there were cases brought to the Supreme Court by Mexican-Americans fighting to be classified as white so they could get into colleges. [Wiki article on "whiteness"](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Definitions_of_whiteness_in_the_United_States#Hispanic_Americans) | null | 0 | 1315413184 | False | 0 | c2i45py | t3_jy8eh | null | t1_c2i45py | t3_jy8eh | null | 1427569638 | 3 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | Cosmic_Charlie | null | That's a pretty wide open question. I could rattle off a dozen books that I think are especially illuminating, but the next poster could rattle off a dozen completely different titles and that list would be just as valid.
I do think that there are foundational works in many areas of history, and that reading them would be beneficial to the average person. The problem is that there are so many areas of history that it would be somewhere between irresponsible and impossible to construct an authoritative list.
If you have a particular interest, let me know, and I'll try to steer you to a couple of important books on the subject. | null | 0 | 1315418834 | False | 0 | c2i4ztx | t3_k7kck | null | t1_c2i4ztx | t3_k7kck | null | 1427570036 | 7 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | runarmar | null | My favorite is The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II by Fernand Braudel. Amazing work. | null | 0 | 1315418929 | False | 0 | c2i50bw | t3_k7kck | null | t1_c2i50bw | t3_k7kck | null | 1427570043 | 4 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | wallychamp | null | Like Charlie said, it's a wide open question, an illuminating book about WW2 is entirely different than an illuminating book about Ancient Egypt, then there are also books that border on anthropology or sociology which describe possible "whys" but aren't strictly history.
Personally, I'm a big fan of the latter category and (although they are both standard "college knowledge" books) am really fond of [The Origins of the Second World War](http://www.amazon.com/Origins-Second-World-War/dp/0684829479) and [Guns, Germs and Steel](http://www.amazon.com/Guns-Germs-Steel-Fates-Societies/dp/0393317552). Both titles have some controversy surrounding them, but I think that the questions posed in both are extremely valid. Just don't read either and think "Oh, so this is exactly how it went," read them and keep that perspective in mind when reading other accounts. | null | 0 | 1315421735 | False | 0 | c2i5f6r | t3_k7kck | null | t1_c2i5f6r | t3_k7kck | null | 1427570237 | 5 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | Petrarch1603 | null | I've wondered this too. I've heard that DNA evidence proved his theory wrong but I haven't seen anywhere with a good explanation of why he was wrong. | null | 0 | 1315434535 | False | 0 | c2i7ad2 | t3_k7vty | null | t1_c2i7ad2 | t3_k7vty | null | 1427571113 | 2 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | jason-samfield | null | Cool stuff. Yes, I'm interested in finding more of the truly "ancient" civilizations of humanity. Anything within the last 10,000 years is recent. I'm more interested in prior to 8,000 BCE. | null | 0 | 1315436571 | False | 0 | c2i7jva | t3_k3r2q | null | t1_c2i7jva | t1_c2hqygq | null | 1427571239 | 1 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | jason-samfield | null | Yes, but what evidence, if any, has been found for such civilizations whether they were as advanced as the myth of Atlantis goes or not? | null | 0 | 1315436615 | False | 0 | c2i7k1p | t3_k3r2q | null | t1_c2i7k1p | t1_c2hecuz | null | 1427571242 | 1 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | jason-samfield | null | There's been a lot of large events near civilization bearing areas like Pompei that could have happened during earlier progressions of society. I think that it's highly likely that we'll find more ancient human societies in the future, we just need to know where to look.
On the contrary, they might not be very advanced at all because if they had been so, there'd most likely be some sort of evidence literally and figuratively chiseled in stone. Without such enduring evidence, we might never know the true scope of humankind's beginnings.
If we were able to travel through spacetime to reach great distances from Earth at a near present moment and then also possess the ability to look back to Earth with great detail extrapolating the few and far between photons of light from our tiny planet far, far away, then we could start the process of analyzing our history by actually seeing it unfold in front of us. The likelihood of this happening, especially anytime soon, is slim to none, but it's a nice thought anyway. | null | 0 | 1315438453 | False | 0 | c2i7sb6 | t3_k3r2q | null | t1_c2i7sb6 | t1_c2hs0d6 | null | 1427571350 | 1 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | THP88 | null | I am currently working on my MA in American History with a secondary emphasis on theory. My BA is in History and Political Science. My primary research interests focus on the political/intellectual history of 19th century United States. For my current research, I am looking at anarchism, abolitionism, and slave rebellion in the late Antebellum period. | null | 0 | 1315441152 | False | 0 | c2i84pt | t3_jxh0x | null | t1_c2i84pt | t3_jxh0x | null | 1427571572 | 3 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | gowahoo | null | Therein lies my problem. I don't have a particular area of interest but when the question of history comes up, I am woefully unprepared. Is there a tl;dr book of history that I could use to pick an area to study? How do I deal with bias of the authors? | null | 0 | 1315444466 | False | 0 | c2i8jfn | t3_k7kck | null | t1_c2i8jfn | t1_c2i4ztx | null | 1427571773 | 1 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | Cosmic_Charlie | null | There isn't a tl;dr book that's worth your time. The closest thing I can think of would be the *Major Problems in . . .* series. The books contain essays on various aspects of a larger historical problem, and cover a very wide range of issues. The chapters are written by strong scholars.
You may also enjoy reading the fantastic (and fairly short) essays in Eric Foner, ed. *The New American History.* One of the most useful books I read for my PhD prelim exams.
Re: bias. There is no such thing as unbiased. Period. Embrace a bias. Understand what the bias is and why the author chose that particular slant. Read works from many different points of view. Ask yourself if the author's point of view skews the evidence to the point that the conclusions suffer? Maybe, but not usually. Compare the multiple conclusions and emphases and develop your own thoughts.
For example, use the Progressive Era in the US (broadly, anyway.) Using more or less the same facts, it can be seen as a bureaucratic reshuffling of society (Robert Weibe,) an attempt by Victorians to maintain a moral order (Hofstadter, sorta,) a triumph of the right (Kolko,) a reshaping of the electorate (Stromquist,) a period of massive democratic growth (Johnston,) or a lost moment in the labor movement (many.) All of these works reflect the bias of the author. That bias is shaped by the author's life, by the times in which the book was written, by the overarching historiographical trends, and/or by an attempt to, frankly, piss people off. None of them are wrong. None of them are right.
History is argument without end. Facts don't change much. Interpretations of those facts change with the times, and therein lies the eternal argument. | null | 0 | 1315446007 | False | 0 | c2i8qn7 | t3_k7kck | null | t1_c2i8qn7 | t1_c2i8jfn | null | 1427571861 | 9 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | gowahoo | null | The whys are important to me. That's the part of history it seems I missed in my early education since it was all about just presenting the facts, sometimes in the driest possible way.
Thanks for your suggestions. I already have Gyns, Germs and Steel in my to read pile and I will add the other one as well. | null | 0 | 1315447076 | False | 0 | c2i8vqa | t3_k7kck | null | t1_c2i8vqa | t1_c2i5f6r | null | 1427571926 | 2 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | gowahoo | null | Duly noted and added to the list. Thank you for your reply! | null | 0 | 1315447349 | False | 0 | c2i8x3w | t3_k7kck | null | t1_c2i8x3w | t1_c2i50bw | null | 1427571943 | 1 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | gowahoo | null | The bias has I think been my biggest issue, what has been keeping me away from reading history. In order to read a history book, first one would have to research the author's life as well as find the opposing views just to get some semblance of balanced view. And then take into account the enormity of the subject and I'm back to frozen in front of the library catalog not quite knowing where to start.
Thank you for your suggestions, I will add them to my list and perhaps come asking for more information later on. | null | 0 | 1315447607 | False | 0 | c2i8yb7 | t3_k7kck | null | t1_c2i8yb7 | t1_c2i8qn7 | null | 1427571959 | 1 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | Cosmic_Charlie | null | Just saw your edit for the original post.
For US Labor, it's almost impossible to come up with one suggestion (typical grad student response, eh?)
A few that pop in the ol' mind: Herbert Gutman, *Work, Culture, and Society in Industrializing America,* James Barrett, *Work and Community in the Jungle,* Andrew Cohen, *The Racketeer's Progress,* and Leon Fink, *Workingman's Democracy.* There are thousands of others, including many, many other very important works. These are some of my favorites, and those that I think spawned or redefined the field.
For business history, you have to start with Alfred Chandler, *The Visible Hand.* Even those that disagree with Chandler agree that he pretty much defined the field. Then read Phil Scranton's masterpiece, *Endless Novelty* and wrestle with the major differences. Good stuff.
| null | 0 | 1315448238 | False | 0 | c2i91eq | t3_k7kck | null | t1_c2i91eq | t1_c2i8yb7 | null | 1427572000 | 1 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | koselig | null | Just found this subreddit, love the idea! I'm working towards an honours degree in Mediaeval History--I haven't chosen a topic to specialize in/write a dissertation over but am leaning towards the British/Irish/Vikings during the Dark Ages. However I've read LOTS about the Mediaeval period over the last 10ish years and have taken survey courses for the last two years over all periods and regions of the European Middle Ages (except for Eastern Europe).
Broad: European History
Timeframe: Dark Ages
Expertise: British Isles c. 500-1100 | null | 0 | 1315500680 | True | 0 | c2idt8h | t3_jxh0x | null | t1_c2idt8h | t3_jxh0x | null | 1427574253 | 2 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | brigantus | null | It's unadulterated pseudoarchaeology. He's a textbook example of hyperdiffusionism, an obsession that archaeologists at the turn of the century had with attributing the spread of technology, cultural practices and "civilisation" in general to physical movements of people; ultimately tracing everything back to the Near East. There's simply no reason for that to be the null hypothesis (independent inventions and cultural "borrowing" being just as likely) and in this there's absolutely no evidence of any contact between the Old and New Worlds between the initial peopling of the New World c. 12,000 BP and [sporadic expeditions by the Norse in the Middle Ages](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norse_colonization_of_the_Americas).
I can't think of any proper references on Heyerdahl's ideas specifically though. I only remember that Martin Rundqvist has written about him on [his blog](http://scienceblogs.com/aardvarchaeology/2010/11/thor_heyerdahl_and_hyperdiffus.php) a few times. | null | 0 | 1315510478 | False | 0 | c2ifaf9 | t3_k7vty | null | t1_c2ifaf9 | t3_k7vty | null | 1427574951 | 6 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | wallychamp | null | Ha, the first google result for "hyperdiffusionism" was a piece discrediting Heyerdahl. That's really what I expected, but there's always that small part of a person that still wants to believe in Santa Claus. | null | 0 | 1315512135 | False | 0 | c2ifjqe | t3_k7vty | null | t1_c2ifjqe | t1_c2ifaf9 | null | 1427575082 | 1 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | Rayyn | null | Once you read a few books on a topic by different authors the key facts start to poke out rather noticeably. That's when you start to form your own interpretation. | null | 0 | 1315543002 | False | 0 | c2ijlyp | t3_k7kck | null | t1_c2ijlyp | t1_c2i8yb7 | null | 1427577053 | 4 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | [deleted] | null | History is very broad. Pre-history, early Human History, all the way up to what happened yesterday.
That said, the ideas that influence the times are to be studied as much as the events. Plato influenced the Middle Ages, and therefore is important in understanding why and how things happened during that era. Aristotle influenced the Middle East during the Islamic Golden Ages, which in turn influenced Europe leading up to the Renaissance. "History of Western Philosophy" is one of the best books written on it, by Bertrand Russell. | null | 0 | 1315547167 | True | 0 | c2ik1cz | t3_k7kck | null | t1_c2ik1cz | t3_k7kck | null | 1427577257 | 2 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | [deleted] | null | I have a BA in Mathematics/History, and I'm very well read in and have studied the the History of Mathematics/Philosophy/Science. Specifically, the Middle East. Specifically, the Islamic Golden Ages. However, I can pretty much tell you the history of mathematics in any given period. | null | 0 | 1315548353 | True | 0 | c2ik515 | t3_jxh0x | null | t1_c2ik515 | t3_jxh0x | null | 1428194912 | 3 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | erstazi | null | Someday, I plan on visiting [Göbekli Tepe](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6bekli_Tepe), [Nevalı Çori](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevali_Cori), and [Çayönü](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cay%C3%B6n%C3%BC). All of these sights were settled/established prior to 8,000 BCE and, if visited in succession, it would total a 4 hour drive by car or a 48 hour walk. | null | 0 | 1315569363 | False | 0 | c2il9us | t3_k3r2q | null | t1_c2il9us | t1_c2i7jva | null | 1427577836 | 2 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | [deleted] | null | Mary O' Brien, *Reproducing the World*
| null | 0 | 1315577751 | False | 0 | c2ilz62 | t3_k7kck | null | t1_c2ilz62 | t3_k7kck | null | 1427578176 | 2 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | CogitoNM | null | Another book done on this subject is [America BC](http://www.amazon.com/America-B-C-Ancient-Settlers-Revised/dp/0671679740). I know many people find it hard to accept that there was no contact before Columbus, though now most (but not all) people accept an earlier date with the Norse landing in Vinland. Yet he does provide a good argument with European Ogham and it's use in the Americas for thousands of years.
There are many pieces of evidence that haven't been brought together into a cohesive theory as of yet because of the stigma against such ideas. I do know of two instances that do seem to thwart such commonly held beliefs.
1. In Santa Fe, NM. A friend of mine is an archaeologist and when digging on LA#2 she found double tracks (indicative of 2 or 4 wheeled carts / wagons) dating to around 1100ad. Of course her site manager told her to dig through that because 'they don't care about such things'. (The Mayan/Aztecs had wheels on their childrens toys, but they as a civilization didn't know about the wheel? I call bullshit)
2. Another friend of mine found, about 15years ago, a gold lions head about the size of a small fist. It had rubies for eyes and a diamond in the mouth. Solid gold. He emailed pictures of this to another archaeologist friend of his. Now I realize this is heresay evidence, but this guy said he had no qualms about saying this was a Templar item. Lion of Judah with the knowledge of the Blood of Christ. I forget exactly what the diamond signified and I do understand such things are really hard to date but it was an item found in Eastern NM near some amazing rock monuments of unknown age (A whole mesa that looks like a sitting lion when viewed from a certain age.
// Also, what about the idea that the proto-japanese came to S.America in boats around 11,000bc? I thought the DNA evidence for that was pretty solid. | null | 0 | 1315588328 | False | 0 | c2inei9 | t3_k7vty | null | t1_c2inei9 | t3_k7vty | null | 1427578992 | 3 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | [deleted] | null | BA in US History. Antebellum/Civil War. | null | 0 | 1315590181 | False | 0 | c2ino68 | t3_jxh0x | null | t1_c2ino68 | t3_jxh0x | null | 1427579112 | 3 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | jason-samfield | null | That sounds like a cool trip! | null | 0 | 1315595226 | False | 0 | c2iof3g | t3_k3r2q | null | t1_c2iof3g | t1_c2il9us | null | 1427579461 | 1 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | sychosomat | null | I have a B.A. in History from the University of Virginia (2011) and during my undergraduate years, took graduate level classes on the Roman Empire.
My broad area would be European History
Timeframe would be Ancient/Classical period and Medieval period.
In addition to what I have already stated, I have studied the Roman Republic, have translated Latin works (probably would do poorly now since I am out of practice) and have a strong working knowledge of European History from 476 C.E. to the beginnings of the Renaissance (did a lot of work on Catharism in the Languedoc region)
My work on Rome focused on the creation of the imperial system and its rule until the 3rd century crisis, as well as the transition from Roman rule to the fractured independent kingdoms that followed after 476.
Let me know if I should be more specific. | null | 0 | 1315595652 | True | 0 | c2iohe6 | t3_jxh0x | null | t1_c2iohe6 | t3_jxh0x | null | 1428194828 | 3 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | [deleted] | null | Well, there are a number of "relics." The spread of contraception in the US is largely a product of the health guides of this era. The development of "childhood" as a stage of life and children as non-adults also emerged from this era. Censorship was only a feature of the late Victorian era and wouldn't really take off until the Progressive Era, so I wouldn't attribute that to the Victorians.
The early Victorian society (ie the first generation or two after the revolution) was not nearly as stratified as it would be by the end of the nineteenth century. The revolution opened up the market, landownership, consumption and other financial opportunities to a great number of people. The idea of being a "self-made" man emerged from this era where it appeared as if hardworking men would get ahead in the world.
Ideals of an era do not need to reflect the economic reality of it. This is the case with the values surrounding the self-made man. The working-class would only begin to emerge towards the end of the Victorian era. Remember, America industrialized rather late in comparison to western Europe. | null | 0 | 1315610488 | False | 0 | c2iqhf7 | t3_k72fq | null | t1_c2iqhf7 | t1_c2hzjxm | null | 1427580442 | 1 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | shostyscholar | null | B.Arts in Russian Culture and Literature, Linguistics; B.Mus in performance and music history. Soon to be graduate student in musicology.
Areas of particular knowledge include: music history (western classical music), Russian and Soviet intellectual history, history of anti-semitism in Russia. | null | 0 | 1315625330 | False | 0 | c2is335 | t3_jxh0x | null | t1_c2is335 | t3_jxh0x | null | 1427581183 | 2 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | brigantus | null | "Pompei-like situation" is an interesting choice of words, considering Pompeii is perhaps the best preserved archaeological site there has ever been or ever will be.
I think the short answer to your question(s) is: there are a lot of archaeologists and we've been looking really hard for quite a long time. I'm not saying there aren't still surprises under the ground, but the general outline of "deep" history and prehistory is very, very well established. 6 million years ago our lineage diverged from chimps. 2 million years ago the first hominids left Africa and populated the world. 200,000 years ago modern Homo sapiens appeared and swiftly replaced all earlier hominids. 10,000 years ago agriculture was first invented and this enabled complex, settled societies to exist. Before that point all people were hunter-gatherers and their technology made living in large groups, complex politics, building cities, and so on, impossible. 5,000 years ago the first civilisations--with cities and governments and writing and all that--appeared in the Middle East.
For each one of those stages we have abundant physical evidence. Things never just disappear, and archaeologists are experts at pulling every possible scrap of information from scanty or unimpressive remains (reconstructing the behaviour of a species from its fingerbones, mapping long-gone settlements from scatters of clay and pottery, and so on). Dark Ages are called dark because *written* sources dry up, but people never stop burying their dead or throwing shit away. We've also pretty much covered everywhere in the world geographically speaking too, in case you were imagining a literal "lost civilisation" scenario.
You do hear about dates being pushed back a lot, it's true. But that's because a) they can't go forward, obviously and b) for some reason find "the oldest x" is the just about the only way you can get archaeology in a newspaper. Such discoveries aren't really as dramatic as they're portrayed, and generally amount to minor shifts in our understanding of when/where x originated, not something that really changes the broad strokes picture. Today the "revolutionary" findings in archaeology come from applying new techniques, especially ones from natural science, to old problems and getting much more detail about the past then we ever could hope for before.
/archaeologist stumbling on this thread | null | 0 | 1315666715 | False | 0 | c2iuszv | t3_k3r2q | null | t1_c2iuszv | t1_c2hg8si | null | 1427582477 | 3 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | brigantus | null | Prior to 12,000-8,000 BCE it's all hunter-gatherers. Who are very interesting, don't get me wrong, but not "civilisations" in any sense of the word. Places like Gobleki Tepe in the 12,000-8,000 transition period weren't technically civilisations either. Just hunter-gatherers who built much sturdier buildings than had been previously thought. | null | 0 | 1315666875 | False | 0 | c2iutjo | t3_k3r2q | null | t1_c2iutjo | t1_c2i7jva | null | 1427582479 | 2 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | brigantus | null | Not really, but there is a massive amount being uncovered by maritime archaeology right now. For instance, our understanding of the initial peopling of the Americas has recently changed radically. It used to be thought that people moved steadily downwards by land, hunting big game, from Alaska through the North American plains and ultimately all the way down the the southern tip of south America. But now the picture is that, a couple of thousand years earlier than previously thought, a fishing people rapidly made their way down the entire western coast---from the Bering strait to a place called [Monte Verde](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_Verde) in Chile in no time---then colonised inwards. Why wasn't this picked up before? Because since then sea levels have risen and the vast majority of the sites that would have told us were submerged. | null | 0 | 1315667270 | False | 0 | c2iuutu | t3_k3r2q | null | t1_c2iuutu | t1_c2hcnih | null | 1427582495 | 1 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | brigantus | null | "Geological" and "archaeological" time scales are orders of magnitude different. The time it would take for archaeological remains to be irretrievably lost beneath sedimentation is longer than the time our species has existed.
Also, regarding Dark Ages (and yes, there's [more than one](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_Dark_Age))... they refer to periods when central authority collapsed, when the political structures that usually allow us to get a clear picture of history (because there's the opportunity for people to write it down and preserve it) don't exist. They're not periods when everything disappears. For people living through them they might not have actually perceived much of a change (it happened too slowly) and, crucially, there's still plenty of physical archaeology laid down. | null | 0 | 1315667526 | False | 0 | c2iuvoa | t3_k3r2q | null | t1_c2iuvoa | t1_c2hd37m | null | 1427582504 | 2 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | brigantus | null | I have a BA in Anthropology and Archaeology and am going on to do an MA/PhD next year. Not exactly an "expert", or history, I know, but I've noticed that people do post questions related to prehistory here so maybe I can be of help. Area would be Prehistory / European prehistory. | null | 0 | 1315667880 | False | 0 | c2iuwwa | t3_jxh0x | null | t1_c2iuwwa | t3_jxh0x | null | 1427582590 | 3 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | agentdcf | null | I don't remember for sure, but I believe Jared Diamond claims they're undomesticable, along with other animals like the zebra. *Guns, Germs, and Steel* has issues as a work of history, but it does make some good points; you might check it for citations to something a little more rigorous. | null | 0 | 1315691667 | False | 0 | c2ixiec | t3_kbgfs | null | t1_c2ixiec | t3_kbgfs | null | 1427583813 | 6 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | [deleted] | null | Thanks.
I've been thinking about getting that book. I guess I might have to now. | null | 0 | 1315743492 | False | 0 | c2j1kt4 | t3_kbgfs | null | t1_c2j1kt4 | t1_c2ixiec | null | 1427585731 | 4 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | brigantus | null | 1. How did your friend know these were wagon tracks and a completely natural or routine linear feature? If she "dug right through them", where does the date come from? Why have tracks or the remains of wheeled vehicles or the animals that pulled them or drawings of them never turned up at other sites like they do everywhere else in the world where wheeled vehicles were used? Or is her site supervisor not just negligent but part of a vast conspiracy to cover up the evidence? (And why would such a conspiracy exist?) And if there *were* wagons... how exactly does that imply transatlantic contact? Santa Fe is about as far from the coast as it gets.
2. As you say, hearsay, no good date, no pictures or publications. If there are so many pieces of evidence, why are the only ones your hear about so bloody terrible?? :S
No idea what you're talking about with the Japan thing. The genetic picture is that the first Paleoindians migrated from Berengia/Northwest Siberia in a few waves, populated the entirety of North and South America, and remained isolated until European colonisation.
*Mesoamerican civilizations not inventing/knowing how to use the wheel is a myth. The reason they didn't make wheeled vehicles is because they didn't have any traction animals to pull them. Also, they lived in small states in heavily forest and/or mountainous regions, so they wouldn't have been that useful anyway. | null | 0 | 1315763415 | False | 0 | c2j3832 | t3_k7vty | null | t1_c2j3832 | t1_c2inei9 | null | 1427586572 | 2 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | jason-samfield | null | Thank you for the clarity and insight. I wasn't exactly sure of the terminology. I figured that geological processes are much slower, but I wasn't exactly how slow or how long it would take to cover up sites.
I knew that dark ages represent times when society or civilization collapsed as in central authorities or large governments that had been decently established prior to the collapse. And with every definition comes a slew of fuzziness that can cloud the human discourse amongst ourselves, however, I didn't think that everything disappeared.
I'm talking in terms of central authority and societal collapses whereby what existed crumbled. For instance, if a society lost its central government, then they might have moved on to other places in a migration or nomadic style to avoid the fall out of the power vacuum that would exist afterwards. | null | 0 | 1315771469 | False | 0 | c2j4578 | t3_k3r2q | null | t1_c2j4578 | t1_c2iuvoa | null | 1427587006 | 1 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | jason-samfield | null | Have we exhausted our searches throughout the world in a systematic methodology to find any and all possible existences of such prior advancing civilizations that might have fallen by the wayside prior to the final rise of civilization.
For example, is it possible that some society began metallurgy with bronze and then collapsed because of tribal wars and subsequently lost their technology falling into a dark age.
If so, how many times, how far advanced, and how widespread would these attempts at advancing been met with difficulty before actually snowballing into the current form and course of human events that have since thus followed?
I just don't see how it could be so easy to pick up metallurgy and then never lose that skill again with such tribal factions fighting for power in and with such a fluid, unstable society. Maybe I am wrong and hunter-gather society was extremely stable, tribes didn't go to war with each other over land, resources, or dominance. Maybe once the skill was learned and passed on, it spread like wildfire leading humankind to an inevitable destiny to rise above the animal kingdom into humanity, but I feel like that is an oversimplification of the processes that must have occurred. Am I wrong to think that way? | null | 0 | 1315771891 | False | 0 | c2j46y4 | t3_k3r2q | null | t1_c2j46y4 | t1_c2iutjo | null | 1427587029 | 1 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | jason-samfield | null | That's a very good answer, both thorough and explanatory. I really appreciate your time and effort writing a response.
I guess I'd like to see how systematic we've been at exploring the past settlements. How deep have we dug? What percentage of the artifacts have been excavated? How sure are we that the events transpired as we state that they do?
I derive a certain level of skepticism from the unexplained techniques of building the pyramids, the lines of Nazca, Easter Island's monoliths, the massive stones erected at Stonehenge, and so on.
With the likelihood of certain natural disasters and the proof that they have wiped out civilizations in the blink of an eye (Pompei), it seems unlikely to me that there wouldn't be at least one "civilization" or better put settlement that might have existed somewhere in the world that we have not discovered, uncovered, excavated, fully understood the people's advanced nature or the complexity of their society and technologies.
My biggest qualm with accepting everything just as is at present is that we are continually expanding our understanding of our origins. It seems that we have continually underestimated our hominid brothers in language, social capabilities, technology, tool-making, and so on.
We are not as superior as we think we are as homo sapien sapiens. All kinds of animals use tools. Dolphins and whales have more complex languages than we use. Why would it be far-fetched that a single settlement existed maybe 20,000 years ago that was isolated, not necessarily very advanced, but of the level of Sumer or Ur and that was lost to a natural disaster or general breakdown of the socioeconomic or political stability within the settlement?
Tracing the steps back to such a place and finding any evidence would be very difficult as the world is a very large place (although getting "smaller" by the day). If the civilization only lasted 100 or 200 years or so after developing bronze era tools and maybe even a bit of writing abilities, could they have disappeared from the map in almost all faculties without a trace mentioned by anyone else after the last ice age ended? | null | 0 | 1315772697 | False | 0 | c2j4a7o | t3_k3r2q | null | t1_c2j4a7o | t1_c2iuszv | null | 1427587071 | 1 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | natego | null | The Swedish actually played a heavy role in the colonization of Delaware. | null | 0 | 1315781329 | False | 0 | c2j5ahv | t3_k5he9 | null | t1_c2j5ahv | t1_c2hogcy | null | 1427587547 | 3 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | [deleted] | null | I really liked the book "The Great Upheaval". It gave a really good picture of Europe around the American and French revolutions with Russia thrown in. It really helped in my AP European History class. | null | 0 | 1315784378 | False | 0 | c2j5mz6 | t3_k7kck | null | t1_c2j5mz6 | t3_k7kck | null | 1427587712 | 2 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | [deleted] | null | If there's one thing us Scots suck at it's surviving tropical conditions without a steady supply of alcohol. | null | 0 | 1315795838 | False | 0 | c2j723b | t3_k5he9 | null | t1_c2j723b | t1_c2hp2qo | null | 1427588379 | 2 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | [deleted] | null | I'm not a historian but reading up on it is a hobby of mine and this is the first time I've ever heard of Courland.
Thank you. | null | 0 | 1315795948 | False | 0 | c2j72lj | t3_k5he9 | null | t1_c2j72lj | t1_c2hoh5m | null | 1427588385 | 1 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | Themiskan | null | Last semester, earning my BA in History. I don't have a specific focus, but I've studied Myth and Religion more than anything else. | null | 0 | 1315796524 | False | 0 | c2j75e2 | t3_jxh0x | null | t1_c2j75e2 | t3_jxh0x | null | 1427588421 | 2 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | agentdcf | null | Don't pay full price; I'm sure you could find it on half.com for about a nickel. Once you read it, come on back and let's have a talk about it on here. I'd love to hear other historians' opinions of it. | null | 0 | 1315801335 | False | 0 | c2j7rv6 | t3_kbgfs | null | t1_c2j7rv6 | t1_c2j1kt4 | null | 1427588718 | 2 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | wedgeomatic | null | I have an MA in medieval history and am currently starting the 3rd year of my PhD. I study the history of thought from Late Antiquity to roughly the 13th century, particularly thought about nature. I study in a religious studies department, so also have quite a bit of training in the history of religions. | null | 0 | 1315806556 | False | 0 | c2j8d0z | t3_jxh0x | null | t1_c2j8d0z | t3_jxh0x | null | 1427588993 | 2 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | wedgeomatic | null | Basically all popular understanding of the "Dark Ages". | null | 0 | 1315806679 | False | 0 | c2j8dgf | t3_jzbbq | null | t1_c2j8dgf | t3_jzbbq | null | 1427589008 | 5 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | TheEllimist | null | On this matter, Wikipedia says:
>Despite being the closest relatives of domestic cattle native to North America, bison were never domesticated by native Americans. Later attempts of domestication by Europeans prior to the 20th century met with limited success. Bison were described as having "wild and ungovernable temper";[18] they can jump 6 feet vertically,[19] and run in excess of 30 mph when agitated. In combination with their weight, that makes bison herds difficult to confine, because they can jump over or crash through almost any fence.
| null | 0 | 1315815811 | False | 0 | c2j91ks | t3_kbgfs | null | t1_c2j91ks | t3_kbgfs | null | 1427589319 | 5 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | AND_ | null | You actually might want to try asking political scientists this one! They would say, in short, that the political system established by the constitution (first-past-the-post/winner-take-all) would lead to a two-party system. If there were more of a focus on getting a majority of the vote rather than a plurality, multiple parties might have arisen.
While Washington thought there should be no parties at all, the quickest response is that there's no other way to marshal resources across an entire nation besides political parties. Parties are always going to be part of democratic politics. | null | 0 | 1315820754 | False | 0 | c2j99yx | t3_jxlaw | null | t1_c2j99yx | t3_jxlaw | null | 1427589430 | 2 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | skilleddog | null | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Oppenheimer#Eden_in_the_East
tl;dr: There was a massive continent with a Neolithic civilization where South China Sea is now that got drowned by rising sea levels during the dawn of the ice age around 10,000 BC. Author proves it by linguistic, genetic, folklore, geographic, archaeological evidence. | null | 0 | 1315833569 | False | 0 | c2ja0t0 | t3_k3r2q | null | t1_c2ja0t0 | t1_c2j4a7o | null | 1427589781 | 0 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | [deleted] | null | Specifically, which parts of the popular understanding do you loathe the most? | null | 0 | 1315837789 | False | 0 | c2jaflc | t3_jzbbq | null | t1_c2jaflc | t1_c2j8dgf | null | 1427590046 | 0 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | wedgeomatic | null | The idea that it was a Dark Age is probably the most notable, although it encompasses many of the other irritating ones. The idea that Christianity caused the fall of the Roman Empire or the Dark Ages in general is pretty silly, but the people that hold it tend to be quite intransigent. | null | 0 | 1315838209 | False | 0 | c2jah69 | t3_jzbbq | null | t1_c2jah69 | t1_c2jaflc | null | 1427590067 | 1 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | [deleted] | null | Exactly my thoughts. I'm a history grad student trying to focus on this period and people always blurt out "The dark ages? Nothing happened right?" | null | 0 | 1315838386 | False | 0 | c2jahvr | t3_jzbbq | null | t1_c2jahvr | t1_c2jah69 | null | 1427590076 | 2 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | archaeogeek | null | Not sure if you need one, but I am an historical archaeologist. My specialty would be contact period through Rev War US history but I have a strong understanding of material culture from the pre-contact Archaic period through the early 20th century, as well as vernacular architecture. I have an MA, and have worked in the field for five years. | null | 0 | 1315844013 | False | 0 | c2jb66g | t3_jxh0x | null | t1_c2jb66g | t3_jxh0x | null | 1427590394 | 2 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | agentdcf | null | Any study of that subject would be complicated by the repeal of Prohibition at the same time. It would be difficult to separate the effects of the two phenomena. | null | 0 | 1315853840 | False | 0 | c2jcjka | t3_kd6o9 | null | t1_c2jcjka | t3_kd6o9 | null | 1427591042 | 6 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | Themiskan | null | To speak on the Romans specifically, yes their military was rigidly organized. Obviously, this is a generalizing statement, there were likely examples of instances where this is not true, but for the most part, you do not become the biggest and strongest military in the world without being pretty organized. Also, the Romans had military "Formations" which they used in battle against the enemies, which served not only specific combat purposes, but really scared the crap out of their opponents.
Of the top of my head, the most impressive and scary formation they used was the Phalanx, or tortoise formation (likely taken from the Greeks, and even seen on artwork in Mesopotamia WAY before the Greeks). In this formation they all stacked their shields together, some held them forward, some upwards, and some to either sides, completely covering everything but their feet. They then carried their spears and swords on the outsides and stabbed at the enemy.
I think its important to note, if you've ever seen an American military movie, specifically about the Civil War, there are constantly people running away from battle once the fighting starts. I see no reason to believe that even the mighty Roman and Greek armies would not have experienced similar instances. In fact, it was likely an issue because Romans punished deserters with death (though there are many examples of deserters being excused).
TL, DR: For the most part, the winning army was likely the most organized army, so the greatest and most victorious armies, were likely as organized as modern film and TV would show | null | 0 | 1315863552 | False | 0 | c2jdyci | t3_k38l0 | null | t1_c2jdyci | t3_k38l0 | null | 1427591706 | 2 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | ChrisAshtear | null | that seems to happen with Roman Emperors... I remember reading recently that Nero didnt play his fiddle while Rome burned but made reforms to construction and helped out with rescue operations. Besides which, Rome burning all by itself was kind of common. | null | 0 | 1315872635 | False | 0 | c2jf6gj | t3_jzbbq | null | t1_c2jf6gj | t1_c2gh3ai | null | 1427592283 | 1 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | Cespur | null | *Not sure if trolling or...* It's all three. It had huge economical, social **and** political consequences. [Niall Ferguson](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niall_Ferguson) has written [a great book](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niall_Ferguson#Civilization), which later was made into a TV series as well, about how the West became superior over the rest. He describes that this was because of six "killer apps", being competition, science, democracy, medicine, consumerism and the work ethic. In the chapter/episode work ethic he explains that the west got an work ethic that had great influence on our economy, and or social and political events, and that we got this work ethic because of protestantism. It's definitely a must-watch if you're interested in having this question answered. | null | 0 | 1315911103 | False | 0 | c2jit4t | t3_kdymm | null | t1_c2jit4t | t3_kdymm | null | 1427594060 | 3 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | piney | null | Hmmm this sounds suspiciously like a homework question... | null | 0 | 1315913063 | False | 0 | c2jiw8w | t3_kdymm | null | t1_c2jiw8w | t3_kdymm | null | 1427594092 | 7 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | AND_ | null | This is quick and easy to digest:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/flash/0,,720353,00.html
But if you're doing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in brief, you're not doing it right. | null | 0 | 1315915462 | False | 0 | c2jj0ug | t3_kdrvv | null | t1_c2jj0ug | t3_kdrvv | null | 1427594152 | 5 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | AND_ | null | I forgot about this video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGYxLWUKwWo
It's from the Israeli government, so it has an agenda, but it is not "wrong," per se. It's a great and non-hostile means of starting conversation. I wish there was a Palestinian equivalent, though, because when Ayalon says "So, who's land was it?", the clear answer is "WHOEVER LIVES THERE, DAMNIT." | null | 0 | 1315915726 | False | 0 | c2jj1eo | t3_kdrvv | null | t1_c2jj1eo | t1_c2jj0ug | null | 1427594160 | 3 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | [deleted] | null | I'm not a historian. I'm just here to soak up all the knowledge from you guys who are historians. | null | 0 | 1315916510 | False | 0 | c2jj3bj | t3_kbgfs | null | t1_c2jj3bj | t1_c2j7rv6 | null | 1427594184 | 1 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | ttmlkr | null | Sounds like somebody is taking AP Euro to me! | null | 0 | 1315925808 | False | 0 | c2jk0tc | t3_kdymm | null | t1_c2jk0tc | t3_kdymm | null | 1427594637 | 1 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | Cosmic_Charlie | null | Yes it was.
But seriously, the important thing here is to periodize. During the era of the Reformation, politics, society, religion, and the economy were largely inseparable. As you write your essay, describe the interconnectedness of the various lines of inquiry (politics, society, etc.) and then toss Luther, et al. into the cauldron and see what changed. You will likely see that all aspects of society changed (eventually) to a more-or-less equal degree.
If you are for some sadistic reason forced to choose one of these lines of inquiry, remember that none are wrong. You can't have Reformation society without politics. You can't have politics without an economy. You can't have an economy without society. Change any one and you change them all. Your choice of which one is the most important will (whether you like it or not) say a bit about how you see the world. | null | 0 | 1315928404 | False | 0 | c2jkdlo | t3_kdymm | null | t1_c2jkdlo | t3_kdymm | null | 1427594791 | 4 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | littlespy | null | second this response. It's important to look at all the movements - Zwingli, Anabaptists and the wider Humanist movement and then contextualise these with the nature of the Holy Roman Empire and the movement for princely autonomy within the states.
Obviously Luther and his criticisms of the Catholic church need to be taken to account - especially his pamphlets appealing to different sectors of German society in different ways - princes, commons, academia.
It's all too complicatedly interwoven to come down as one thing being more important than the other. If I was reading a paper from one of my students on this topic, I'd expect a healthy balance of all three with a good focus on the long term precursors as well as the specific issues in all three areas on the eve of the Reformation. | null | 0 | 1315931817 | False | 0 | c2jkvgx | t3_kdymm | null | t1_c2jkvgx | t1_c2jkdlo | null | 1427595026 | 2 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | littlespy | null | Ferguson is interesting from the point of view of capitalism and the development of modern empires but I'm always wary of him because of his personal politics - he's very Thatcherite - pro free markets, seeing imperialism and capitalism as the pinnacle of history & fairly right wing. He's a sound historian but worth reading/watching with this caveat.
Maybe take a look at Scribner as well on the Reformation and possibly Bonney on European States and their politics and society as well just for balance. | null | 0 | 1315932152 | False | 0 | c2jkxa4 | t3_kdymm | null | t1_c2jkxa4 | t1_c2jit4t | null | 1427595048 | 1 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | haywire | null | Political, also economic. And there also social factors to consider. | null | 0 | 1315932248 | False | 0 | c2jkxsx | t3_kdymm | null | t1_c2jkxsx | t3_kdymm | null | 1427595057 | 1 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | littlespy | null | BA History with a focus on Medieval Europe and 19th/20th Century America. Experienced secondary level history teacher and Holocaust educator. Not sure if that makes me a bit too minor league or not? | null | 0 | 1315932422 | False | 0 | c2jkys4 | t3_jxh0x | null | t1_c2jkys4 | t3_jxh0x | null | 1427595070 | 2 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | Cespur | null | I have the same feelings as well. I was half way through the series when I decided to look some more into him, and found out those very same things, starting with that he was married to Ayaan Hirsi Aiu, a very controversial and extreme right-wing ex-Dutch politician who was basically kicked out of the country because she lied on her asylum.
His political and personal views are such a bummer, nevertheless the book and the TV spin-off are excellent. | null | 0 | 1315937695 | False | 0 | c2jlrl5 | t3_kdymm | null | t1_c2jlrl5 | t1_c2jkxa4 | null | 1427595445 | 2 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | Cespur | null | Niall Ferguson - The West and the Rest. It's about how the West got superior over the rest. I already mentioned this in another question here, but I really commend it. He also made a TV show out of it, if you'd like to start out with that. | null | 0 | 1315937931 | False | 0 | c2jlswz | t3_k7kck | null | t1_c2jlswz | t3_k7kck | null | 1427595462 | 2 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | Cespur | null | The Dutch were pretty hardcore as well, even though they're quite a small country. Also, Poland is comparable in size to the others you mentioned (Britain, France, Spain, Germany). | null | 0 | 1315938144 | False | 0 | c2jltz9 | t3_k5he9 | null | t1_c2jltz9 | t3_k5he9 | null | 1427595476 | 2 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | Bruniverse | null | First time here, I don't know if it was asked here before. What was the timeline of the effect the repeal of prohibition had on crime rates | null | 0 | 1315938300 | False | 0 | c2jlusb | t3_kd6o9 | null | t1_c2jlusb | t1_c2jcjka | null | 1427595492 | 1 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | Huzzah107654 | null | Damn. Valid point, though.
EDIT: Maybe if we compared the Tennessee Valley to an area with less intensive effects of the New Deal, but similar levels of drinking? | null | 0 | 1315947561 | False | 0 | c2jn8xt | t3_kd6o9 | null | t1_c2jn8xt | t1_c2jcjka | null | 1427596154 | 1 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | agentdcf | null | LOL, that's not quite what I had in mind. I was more considering the effects of prohibition in organized crime, not so much in how much people were actually drinking.
You know, they really are good questions, both your original one and our now slightly-modified question of separating the effects of Prohibition and the New Deal. I don't know of anything really answering this, but it's not my specific field. Perhaps one of our American-historian colleagues could suggest a good social history of the interwar period? That would be a good place to start, and if nothing else one could mine the footnotes for specific histories of crime.
EDIT: You might actually consider taking this question to sociologists, because this seems really right up their alley. There must be old sociological studies of this kind of thing. Is there an r/sociology? | null | 0 | 1315949117 | False | 0 | c2jngqb | t3_kd6o9 | null | t1_c2jngqb | t1_c2jn8xt | null | 1427596244 | 2 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | [deleted] | null | In India, most brides would have threesomes with their friends before the wedding. Well, the Kama Sutra suggested it.
In Ancient Greece, marriage was more of a social thing between the couple and everyone than a private thing between two people.
In some cultures (I can't remember which), romantic love was considered tragic and was avoided.
Three off the top of my head. I'll give a good response here in a few minutes (currently chowing down). | null | 0 | 1315950220 | False | 0 | c2jnlzo | t3_ken6t | null | t1_c2jnlzo | t3_ken6t | null | 1428194214 | 3 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | agentdcf | null | Sweet topic. It's later than your time period, but have you read Benedict Anderson's Under Three Flags? | null | 0 | 1315951745 | False | 0 | c2jnt8n | t3_jxh0x | null | t1_c2jnt8n | t1_c2i84pt | null | 1427596409 | 3 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | memarianomusic | null | Not a historian, but just an observation: I see many people, particularly young people, blinded by the whole "true love" aspect of marriage and forget about the financial responsibilities of marriage. While yes, love is a big factor in marriage for people, but it is also essentially the joining of two financial estates. My general perception is that marriage used to be seen more so as a financial deal and then at some point became more about love and less about money. It would interesting to see historical context for this as well. | null | 0 | 1315952854 | False | 0 | c2jny7q | t3_ken6t | null | t1_c2jny7q | t3_ken6t | null | 1427596481 | 6 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | misplaced_my_pants | null | That's my understanding as well (love being a new variable in the marriage equation). | null | 0 | 1315952952 | False | 0 | c2jnypl | t3_ken6t | null | t1_c2jnypl | t1_c2jny7q | null | 1427596480 | 1 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
True | THP88 | null | I've been meaning to read it for a while; I really enjoyed *Imagined Communities*. | null | 0 | 1315954668 | False | 0 | c2jo6ou | t3_jxh0x | null | t1_c2jo6ou | t1_c2jnt8n | null | 1427596586 | 2 | t5_2ssp3 | null | null | null |
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