Tea at Trianon: Ancient Civilizations Timeline

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Saturday, April 25, 2020

Ancient Civilizations Timeline

From History Cooperative:

Turkey is home to the world’s most well known Stone-Age city. Its name coming from a blend of the Turkish words meaning “fork” and “mound,” the builders of Çatalhöyük honored the bond between a wandering people and a big river. They chose a waterway on the Konya Plain and settled in, draping their city over two hills. Where ‘Ain Ghazal showcased the huge human shift of the gatherer-farmer transition, Çatalhöyük is the best example known to demonstrate an early urban civilization immersed in agriculture.

Their homes were unusual as they were tightly-packed together and had no windows or doors — to get inside, people climbed through a hatch in the roof. The civilization also lacked grand monuments and elite buildings or areas, a surprising clue that the community might’ve been more equal than most.

The abandonment of Çatalhöyük is a missing page from a mostly successful story. Archaeologists have discovered that the class system likely became more divided and this eventually broke the culture down. However, social unrest is an early and unproven suspect, as only four percent of the entirety of Çatalhöyük has been dug through and examined. The rest, buried and brimming with information, might yet reveal the city’s end in a way that cannot be disputed. (Read more.)

Civilizations that disappeared. From Little Things:

Easter Island is famous for it’s massive head statues, called Moai. They were made by the Rapa Nui people, who experts think traveled to the island in the middle of the South Pacific using wooden outrigger canoes around 800 C.E. It’s estimated the island’s population was around 12,000 at its peak. The first time European explorers landed on the island was on Easter Sunday in 1722, when the Dutch crew estimated that there were 2,000 to 3,000 inhabitants on the island. Explorers reported fewer and fewer inhabitants as the years went on, until eventually, the population dwindled to less than 100. No one can agree on a definitive reason as to what caused the decline of the islands inhabitants or it’s society. It is likely that the island couldn’t sustain enough resources for such a large population, which led to tribal warfare. Inhabitants could have also starved, as evidenced by the remains of cooked rat bones found on the island (Read more.)

And from ListVerse:

The Indus Valley Civilization was located in an area that spans parts of modern-day Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India, on the plains near the Indus River. Archaeologists have discovered evidence of farming communities as well as entire cities. Two prominent cities that have been excavated are Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa. They found that many of the houses had their own wells and bathrooms, along with a sophisticated underground drainage system. Documents found in Sumeria recorded commercial, religious, and artistic events happening in these areas and described their “exotic wares.”

The Indus Valley people had a writing system, but to date, attempts to decipher examples of their writing, found on pottery and copper tablets, have failed. It is not yet clear whether the Indus Valley was a civilization in itself or whether it formed part of a larger kingdom. It would be likely that if it was part of a larger kingdom, artifacts would have been found showing this—statues of known kings, for example, or depictions of wars, but to date, no such articles have been found.^[2]

It is entirely possible that the Indus River people were an isolated civilization with their own language and lifestyle, which is only now being uncovered. One of the many structures uncovered is the Great Bath at Mohenjo Daro, measuring 83 square meters (897 ft²), which is believed to have been used for ritual bathing. The reason for the decline of the civilization is unclear. Historians have developed a number of possible theories, including the drying up of the river or, alternatively, flooding, trade difficulties with Mesopotamia, or invasion by an unknown enemy. (Read more.)

Finding wonderful things. From History Today:

In July this year the torso of a large marble statue, approximately 1.5m in height, was excavated in the Forum of Trajan in Rome during a dig conducted by the Sovrintendenza Capitolina and supported by a €1 million donation from the Republic of Azerbaijan. Even though its head, hands and legs are missing, the figure’s cloak, the assumed positioning of its lost hands clasped in front of the waist and the find-spot make the statue identifiable as a captive Dacian warrior – an enemy of Rome from the second century. This find came shortly after the uncovering in May of another statue – an oversized marble head – from the same excavation. The wavy locks of its hair initially led to speculation that the statue was a female deity, before closer inspection revealed the hairstyle to be that of the god Dionysus. Accompanied by videos of dirt being brushed from the folds of the Dacian’s clothing and the features of the god’s face, both finds were widely reported in the international press and then circulated across social media; the discovery of the Dionysus even drew comment from Rome’s mayor, who expressed surprise that such a statue had been found in Rome. Many of these reports took the angle of a discovery of ‘wonderful things’, with little accompanying commentary either about what the importance of the statues might be, or the background and significance of excavations in this area of Rome. Both are subjects worth considering further. (Read more.)