And Now for Something Totally Different: Inside the Denisova Cave

In 2010 DNA sequencing of a young girl's tiny finger bone from this Siberian cave proved to be from an individual who was neither a Neandertal nor a modern human. Since then more discoveries* have been made and this extinct line of ancient humans has been named Denisovan in reference to the location where their traces were found.

Several days ago a new discovery was announced: A woolly mammoth tusk “tiara” that could have been worn by a Denisovan man. The Siberian Times has an extensive article about the find and they also provided a video of a visit to the cave which made me realize I had no idea of what the region looks like.

[Warning: this video's sound is very loud, be prepared to turn down your speakers.]

Oh, and that "tiara"? Here's The Siberian Times' graphic:

[Source: The Siberian Times]

Hat tip to The History Blog.


*Including a female (nicknamed Denny) whose DNA is a mixture from her Neandertal mother and Denisovan father.

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

And Now for Something Totally Different: London Medieval Murder Map

This fascinating map was created by The Violence Research Centre (VRC), based at the Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge to answer the question "How violent was medieval London?'. Here's their introduction:

Each pin represents the approximate location of one of 142 homicides cases in late medieval London. Click on a pin to open a window that displays the story behind the event, based on the original record produced by the Coroner. For more information on how to use the map, visit this page. If you are referencing our map, please read the note at the bottom of the page. You can listen to the launch lecture here.

[Eisner, Manuel (2018) Interactive London Medieval Murder Map. University of Cambridge: Institute of Criminology, retrieved from (https://www.vrc.crim.cam.ac.uk/vrcresearch/london-medieval-murder-map/lmm-map).]

This is the first pin I clicked on, which didn't turn out the way I expected from the description:

I learned about this project via The History Blog which is a great resource for history buffs.

Working on Wednesday: Tudor Christmas Cookalong from Hampton Court Palace

Thanks to The History Blog for bringing these videos to my attention.

© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.