From My Fantasy Writing Desk
I’m near the midpoint of this draft of book 3 in my Tesha series. In the pre-covid19 world I had centered on a theme/story arc idea for this book that’s proving to be especially intriguing to consider from my isolated world.
I’ve been exploring how some characters need to feel in control of the actions of others, the sources of power, etc. I’m watching these characters when they are forced to make room for the views of others and for collaboration, even though that means tolerating all the unexpected results, the ideas they don’t agree with but learn to tolerate, and the loss of control. These characters are learning that not having it all their way and being terrified in the process is sometimes better, that combining together is, despite it all, stronger than going it alone.
We are all finding ways to combine from a distance now. That’s an interesting conundrum. Or perhaps combining with our close one or two that we are holed up with. Anyway, don’t forget to make room for others and their quirky ideas. Even if you have to hear them via the internet.
Archaeology I Enjoyed
This Little Piggy
An archaeologist’s view (or rather a zooarchaeologist’s view) of why pigs became taboo in the major cultural traditions of the Levant and not in other regions like the Aegean. This understanding tracks back to the first Neolithic domestication of boars in eastern Anatolia, the spread of pigs as a popular meat source, the role of the first urbanizations in the spread of pigs, and why pigs dropped from popularity within the Levant and eventually became an abomination. Fascinating and I have certainly never read this before. People and food and religion—always an intriguing nexus. Click here for Ancient Near East Today “The Genesis of the Near Eastern Pig”
Counting Rings
When did the volcanic eruption of Thera happen? It’s a huge event that transformed surrounding cultures on Crete and across the Aegean, Greece and the Near East. But getting the date nailed down has been an ongoing debate forever.
One of the ways of establishing ancient dates is via tree ring dating. A new technique added onto the previous research in tree ring dating has given substantial support for a Thera explosion date right around 1560 BCE. This is all quite exciting.
On a personal note, I got some special joy from this discovery (always good these days). One of my professors from my grad days at Cornell, Peter Kuniholm, (actually my office mate since he shared the front part of his with all of us grad students, among whom he was recognized as a particularly nice human being), has been for years the leading person on all things tree ring, especially eastern Med and Turkey. This latest discovery involves his massive collection and research. And I discovered to my surprise, he’s now, in his emeritus status from Cornell, at U of Arizona (I’m in Phoenix, not so far away), where all things tree ring have been growing since the 1930’s I gather. Perhaps we’ll cross paths once all this shelter at home stuff is history. Click here for Archaeology News Network ““Tree Rings Could Pin Down Thera Volcano Eruption Date”