Writer's Island 2/19/08 Time Travel

Lithic

by Constance

Pot sherds scattered through

the site, spiral petroglyphs

etched on basalt. Burned

rock refuse among the midden.

Too early for post molds, late

for Clovis, the leaf-shaped,

fluted points place us in Folsom.

The debitage yields a mass of flint

flakes, a few blades. Survey

discovers a rock cairn, leading

to an abrupt cliff several miles

away. ............................Buffalo jump.

In the pit— dart, spear, arrow tips,

knives, and bones, layers and levels

of bison bone, exposed, twenty

feet deep. When my spirit leaps

from my body, let my material

remains rest among the relics

of the past, and become an integral

part of the plains stratigraphy.

Writer's Island 1/29/08

Attempted Resuscitation of Things Passed

by Constance

A heart beats

in the hollow

of a palm.

Between clenched

fingers, blood

rolls away,

down the back

of a hand, with

few regrets,

squeezed

by the fist

of give and take.

Released,

unaccompanied,

to plummet.

A feeble pulse.

Much too distant

for revival.

Newsflash - Ancient Swordsmiths Knew What They Were Doing

As long as we're on a roll with the genius of our ancestors... a story today in the Christian Science Monitor on how scientists are just figuring out how ancient swordsmiths made such strong steel swords. They talk about the Damascus swords, and how scientists today were unsure of how the swordsmiths got such "strength, flexibility, and ability to keep a keen edge".

Scientists looked at the swords under an electron microscope and found to their surprise that nanoparticles were the reason. I do have one quibble from the article, this thought, "Ancient craftsmen profited from stores of trial-and-error knowledge. They were not practicing materials science as we know it. "

To me, ancient craftspeople were as much scientists as what we have today. Experimenting with proportions of minerals to find a better formula for making steel is scientific investigation. Reducing their accomplishments to "stores of trial-and-error knowledge" is a backhand slap at themselves, because isn't that how we still conduct scientific investigation today? Also reducing these swordmakers to 'craftsmen' is a subtle slam, considering the place craftspeople are regulated to in today's society. Is it because we are so competitive that we can't stand the thought that our ancestors did something we can't figure out? Or are we so arrogant that we think anything not invented in the last 50 years is worthless?

Yes, I have an ax to grind. So to speak.

For us ancient history type people, if you want to read more about the Damascus sword making and steel properties, there are some articles with good explanations - The Key Role of Impurities in Ancient Damascus Steel Blades and Damascene Technique in Metal Working

Further Proof...

That Our Ancestors Weren't Stupid

Just because the Greeks didn't have cell phones and iPods, doesn't mean ancient civilization was barely one step above pond scum. A neat picture on the Astronomy Picture of the Day website shows the Antikythera mechanism in all its encrusted and corroded glory. So what is the Antikythera mechanism? an ancient mechanical analog computer. Take that, Bill Gates.

You can read all about it on Wikipedia HERE and on the Antikythera Mechanism Research Project Home page HERE .

I'd say the Antikythera mechanism is a great example of math in practical application. So why aren't school kids studying this instead of how to calculate ratios of M & M's? Oh yeah, I forgot, M & M's are more relevant. Pretty. Yummy. I sure would have been more interested in science if it hadn't been presented to me as A) only for the mathematical geniuses among us, B) interesting, C) tied to our history, and D) Not taught by those with no interest in anything outside their narrow field. Once they started uncoupling the disiplines from one another, everything went to hell. No disipline is an island. Heck, maybe I need to revisit Venn diagrams too.

Rant for the day is over, you may return to your regularly scheduled indifference now.