Gold Rush era finds in Sacramento

Last time I did the Gold Rush tour I was a boy on a family trip. So it was a bit of surprise to read that Sutter's Fort, where it all began, is only two miles from Sacramento's state capitol building:

What remains of the fort is now a state historical site that encompasses just one square city block. It is perched one block from a freeway and is surrounded on all sides by modern city life, including a hospital, restaurants and homes.

With such sprawl, then, it's not such a surprise to read about this:

Underneath an intersection next to the fort, however, archaeologists said Thursday that they found another piece of the city's, and California's, history: human remains they believe date to the Gold Rush era.

A skeleton, with shreds of "Western-style clothing" still identifiable, was found inside a deteriorating wooden coffin by construction workers who are plowing underground to build a new medical facility.

Read about this and other finds at Discovery News.

African-American genealogy online

To commemorate Black History Month, genealogists have just released the world’s largest collection of African-American family history records. The online, searchable collection, which consists of more than 55 million documents, have helped some trace their ancestors and, in at least one case, their ancestors' owners.

The records include U.S. Colored Troops service records, marriage records, World War I draft cards, slave narratives from 3,500 former slaves, photographs, Freedman’s Bank records documenting accounts held by slaves freed after the Civil War, Southern Claims Commission records and Freedmen’s Bureau records chronicling relief administered by the U.S. Department of War during the reconstruction period in 1865.

Full story at Discovery News. Note, however, that free access to the records is available this month only, and for only three days (after that you pay, though speaking personally, it's well worth the price). Click here for full details.

Giant ant scam!

A Chinese company chairman has been sentenced to death for running a scam involving giant ants.

Wang Zhendong promised investors returns of up to 60% if they put money into the fictitious ant-breeding project, the court heard.

From the BBC.

Uncovering Roman Nîmes

Charles Downey at Ionarts has posted a translation, with added links, of a recent article in Le Figaro on some rather noteworthy excavations in central Nîmes. An excerpt:

It is the largest window ever opened on the ancient past of Nîmes, or Nemausus as it was known in Roman times: the entire Cours Jean-Jaurès, the walking park that majestically crosses the town from the Jardins de la Fontaine up to the ancient fortifications, today has been disemboweled over a space 400 meters long and 17 meter wide, unveiling a spectacle comparable, all things being equal, to that at Pompeii. Streets, covered in paving stones, crossed with alleys, houses with floors covered in mosaics and with painted walls, statue monuments. And the show has only just begun. Archeologists of the Institut national de recherches archéologiques préventives (Inrap), directed by Jean-Yves Breuil, have until the end of July to uncover this entire neighborhood of the ancient citadel, miraculously preserved by being turned into a promenade in the 18th century. Then they must give the land back to the city, who will turn it into a parking lot.

14th-century English quadrant astrolabe to auction

A 14th Century scientific instrument uncovered during building work has been given an auction guide price of between £60,000 and £100,000.

The astrolabe quadrant - described as the "pocket calculator" of its age - was found in Canterbury, Kent, in 2005.

Made in England and dated back to 1388, the device was used for telling the time, mapping the stars and making height and depth measurements.

It is due to be sold at Bonhams in London on 21 March.

The auction house said it was one of only eight known examples in the world today.

From the BBC. More on the quadrant astrolabe (or astrolabe quadrant) here and here. There is another example in the British Museum. The Bonhams press release is here. An article on a yet earlier European quadrant astrolabe in a private collection appeared in 1995 in the Annals of Science (abstract here).

Indian manuscripts online

The [Indian] government has created an online database of 1.8 million ancient texts to promote them as treasures of the country and to preserve millions of neglected manuscripts. . .

On the occasion of its fourth anniversary, the [National Mission for Manuscripts] has planned a host of events, including the launch of the database for which a software was developed. The National Electronic Catalogue of Manuscripts, Kritisampada provides information of individual manuscripts, manuscript collections and printed catalogues.

It will be available to the public, in both Hindi and English, and they could search on the basis of title, author, script, language, subject and material.

The database may be found here. Previous post on the manuscript mission here.

Why do you think they call it "DOPA"?

Here's the newest from Sen. Ted Stevens, the man who described the Internet as a series of tubes: It's time for the federal government to ban access to Wikipedia, MySpace, and social networking sites from schools and libraries. . .

The bill is, in part, a rehash of a similar bill introduced last year, the Deleting Online Predators Act, also called DOPA. That bill passed the house, but got bogged down in the Senate.

Many people are calling this year's bill "Son of DOPA" because of its similarity to last year's bill. . .

It's easy to characterize Stevens as little more than a buffoon. He's certainly a buffoon, but he's a dangerous one. A law like his passed the House of Representatives last year. We're coming up to a presidential election, which always unleashes a kind of madness among candidates, especially when it concerns anything to do with children. So don't count this law out.

Read the full post here.

New dollar coins tomorrow

I've never understood why the US hasn't been able to profit by other countries' experience in its numerous half-hearted attempts at winning public acceptance of a one-dollar coin:

Eisenhower dollar: too large.
Susan B. Anthony dollar: confusingly similar to the quarter.
Sacagawea dollar: same size as the Susan B., but gold-colored and with a smooth edge -- still not distinctive enough.

And now, starting tomorrow, we'll have the Presidential dollars, which will again follow in the same rut. Why couldn't we have had something like the British "round pound", which from the beginning was made substantially thicker than any other British coin in circulation, yet small enough in diameter not to be too large overall? And when are we going to get around to getting rid of the one-dollar bill?

The New York Times has more on the new dollar coins here, including this:

The American dollar is now one of the smallest-value banknotes remaining in circulation in the world. Thirteen European nations use one- and two-euro coins, worth $1.32 and $2.64 respectively, and smallest bill there is five euros, or $6.60. Japan circulates a 500-yen coin, worth $4.14, with a smallest bill worth 1,000 yen, or $8.28. Most other Western nations have similar value levels for their largest coins and smallest bills. The most widely used coin in the United States, of course, is just 25 cents.

Paradoxically, Sacagawea coins circulate widely in countries like Ecuador that use the American currency.

Very interesting, that. I wonder if one-cent coins also circulate there?

The Times article really drops the ball with the following paragraphs, though:

Dollar coins cost about 20 cents each to make, but last for up to 30 years; bills only cost about 4 cents each, but need to be replaced every 18 to 22 months.

The cost of money is more than just production, however. Storage and handling must be factored in, as well as the different kinds of seignorage, or profit to the government from putting currency into circulation. When a dollar coin is issued, the Mint “earns” the difference between its production cost and face value — now about 80 cents. If a collector saves the coin, another must be issued to replace it. A banknote, since it is redeemable, counts as a government liability, and the Federal Reserve has to back it by buying securities, which earn interest. According to the Fed, there are now about 8 billion dollar bills in circulation, so that interest income is considerable. Coins do not yield such income.

Where to begin with such a mess? A government does profit when a coin is taken permanently out of circulation, but it profits in the same manner from the withdrawal of banknotes (fewer of them may be retained by collectors, but many more are accidentally destroyed). At the same time, a government also profits from its money that remains in circulation, coins and banknotes alike, constitutes in effect an interest-free loan from the currency holders to the currency issuer. The statement, "Coins do not yield such income", is flatly wrong. For more, see the Wikipedia entry under "Seigniorage".

ADDENDUM: For those still attached to the one-dollar bill, note that we did just fine back in 1970 when our smallest banknote (that same dollar bill) was worth a bit over $5 in 2006 dollars (per the Consumer Price Index). In fact, it's been a very long time since we had any bills in circulation smaller than one dollar (the last fractional currency was issued in 1876). Some more CPI-based past valuations of a dollar bill in 2006 dollars: 1900, $24.77; 1920, $10.06; 1950, $8.37; 1960, $6.81.

Note that this also bears upon the fate of the penny, which is now worth a fraction of the lowest-denomination coin historically in circulation. The US hasn't struck half-cents since 1857, and the last US half-cent postage stamp was issued in the mid-1950s. That half-cent back then, though, had the purchasing power of a bit under four cents today.

French museums strike

The stress of guarding the Mona Lisa has proved too great for staff at the Louvre. Attendants are on strike at the Paris museum this week in pursuit of better pay and working conditions.

“Some 8.3 million people are expected to visit the Louvre this year and about 7 million want to see the Mona Lisa,” said Annie-Marie Andrzejczak, a union official, who is part of the strike by a third of the 180 gardiens at the museum. . .

Attendants have stopped work at the palace of Versailles, the Musée d’Orsay and other establishments, but the misery is most intense for those assigned to watch Leonardo’s masterpiece, Michelangelo’s works and the Venus de Milo, a spokesman for Solidaires Unitaires Démocratiques, the militant union that is running the partial strike, said.

The staff who stand by the Mona Lisa are suffering from orders to keep the crowd moving quickly and to prevent photographs, Ms Andrzejczak said. “We have to play the policeman all the time. It is exhausting and frustrating. The visitors are sometimes aggressive because they cannot have their photo and spend time enjoying the painting.”

I've never understood the need for tourists to take snapshots of famous paintings when their results are sure to end up underexposed, blurry, and marred by reflections -- and far inferior to your basic museum postcard, or even the digital images usually available for free online. But it's also a terrible state of affairs when those who want to spend some time actually looking must instead be limited to a quick glance as they are herded past. All in all, the guards have an unenviable job. From the Times of London.

Big and bright and dangerous

Enormous deep-sea squid emit blinding flashes of light as they attack their prey, research shows. Taningia danae's spectacular light show was revealed in video footage taken in deep waters off Chichijima Island in the North Pacific.

Japanese scientists believe the creatures use the bright flashes to disorientate potential victims. . .

T. danae is thought to be abundant in the tropical and subtropical oceans of the world. The largest reported measured 2.3m (7.5ft) in length and weighed nearly 61.4kg (134.5lbs).

From the BBC; video clip here.

Darwin's preface

Was Darwin really this absent-minded?

The original edition of [The Origin of Species] was published in 1859, without any introductory material. Still a public flash point today, "Origin" drew initial outcries, in part for the missing preface in which an author of the time typically would have credited and thanked his intellectual predecessors. One scientist accused Darwin of plagiarism for failing to acknowledge the giants whose work allowed him to see farther.

A year later, a new edition of the classic was published with a preface describing and crediting the intellectual work upon which natural selection rest.

A new study shows that Darwin was composing the introductory chapter to his book as early as 1856, even though that preface remained unpublished for six years until Origin's second edition. The findings suggest Darwin also wrote the chapter on his own accord and not in reaction to people who had read the book. . .

Full story here.

A Bible in a bootie, behind the walls

Around 106 years ago, someone slipped a copy of the world’s smallest complete Bible in a child’s boot and stuffed it into a cottage chimney cavity to ward off evil. Now British archaeologists have identified the book, which a renovator discovered while working on the cottage in central England's Ewerby.

In addition to the rarity of the book, the find represents one of the most recent instances of anti-witchcraft using a shoe amulet, according to British Archaeology editor Mike Pitts, who reports on the discovery in his latest issue.

The miniature Bible was published in 1901.

Daubney, who works for The Portable Antiquities Scheme, a volunteer program set up to record archaeological objects found in England, explained the child’s boot may have been used as a kind of spirit trap.

"The earliest reference to the use of shoes as some kind of spirit trap comes from the 14th century," he told Discovery News. "It regards one of England’s unofficial saints, John Schorn from Buckinghamshire, who was rector of North Marston 1290-1314. He is reputed to have performed the remarkable feat of casting the devil into a boot."

Daubney said it appears this folk tradition survived in more rural counties. He and his colleagues have found other shoes hidden in older homes. He likened it to the tradition of saying "bless you" after someone sneezes.

From Discovery News. Previous posts on ritual deposits of this sort here, here, here, and here.

Great Wall survey

Researchers are to carry out the first detailed survey of the Great Wall of China to establish just how long the ancient barricade is, Xinhua reports.

Along with checking its dimensions the four-year study, which starts in May, will map the wall's exact route.

And it will check the condition of the fortification, built to protect the northern border of the Chinese Empire.

The wall, the world's largest man-made structure, is estimated at over 5,000 kilometres (3,100 miles) in length.

From the BBC. And no, you can't see the Wall from the Moon.

Fake stone tools

In many parts of the United States, flint arrowheads and other artifacts have long been found in fields under the plow. Unless you are finding them fresh yourself, however, proceed with care: the market is awash in fakes. This article discusses fakery at the high end -- in terms of both quality and price -- but the low end is probably worse.

Open season for looters in unguarded ancient city

This time it's Turkey:

More than 20 unlicensed excavations have taken place in the last week alone in Pedasa, home to remains from a civilization that settled in the area 3,500 years ago. The smugglers who carried out the amateur archeology "dig" reportedly dismantled and removed a 3,000-year-old fountain, the Doğan News Agency reported yesterday.

Located on the Gökçeler Mountain near the Konacık region of Bodrum, Pedasa was founded in 1500 B.C. as the capital of the Leleg kingdom. The ancient city, once the commercial heart of Leleg and one of the most developed of the eight cities of Caria in antiquity, is currently left to its fate in the absence of guards to protect it.

Take that, Elmo

Providence and environs is home to more than its share of notable authors and illustrators of children's books, as well as musicians, puppeteers, and storytellers:

The morning after winning his first Grammy award, children’s entertainer Bill Harley, of Seekonk, celebrated in true rock-star style: Doing a show for second-graders in Utah.

“This is the glamour,” Harley said. “I said I want the [brown] M&Ms out or I’m not performing. And the kids aren’t allowed to have any candy while I’m eating it.”

Harley won the award last night for best Spoken Word Album for Children, for "Blah Blah Blah: Stories About Clams, Swamp Monsters, Pirates and Dogs”. . .

This was Harley's third Grammy nomination. He lost to Elmo the first time around.

Full story here; other links: All Things Considered interview, Bill Harley's website.

"Life" is cheap in Germany

Life sentences that aren't would seem to have a significant effect on continuing support for the death penalty. But many countries just can't bring themselves to lock 'em away for good, no matter what they've done and no matter how remorseless they remain:

A German court ruled that Brigitte Mohnhaupt, 57, qualifies for early release after serving a minimum proportion of her five life sentences. . .

Mohnhaupt was convicted of involvement in nine murders. Victims included a judge, a banker and the employers' federation president. . .

Separately, another prominent Red Army prisoner, Christian Klar, is seeking early release. . .

One of the group's most prominent targets was the German industrialist Hans Martin Schleyer - who was kidnapped in September 1977 and shot six weeks later.

Speaking before the court ruling, Mr Schleyer's son Joerg said members of the group had expressed no remorse for the killing.

"I can't understand that we would take [let] them out because within the last 30 years there's nothing they said - 'OK we're sorry we murdered your father, sorry for that, we murdered policemen, sorry for that.' Absolutely no word."

The court in Stuttgart said Mohnhaupt would be released on five years probation on 27 March.

From the BBC. Some recent thoughts and figures on European opinion and the death penalty here.

Codex humor

Just had this link passed along via one of my wife's RISD colleagues. I won't waste your time with comments -- just watch it.

ADDENDUM: In a more serious vein, why the book? Or, put another way, why the move from roll to codex? More on ancient book forms here.