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Lucy, who is from the species known as Australopithecus afarensis, is the name of a partial skeleton found in Ethiopia in 1974 by a team of anthropologists. At the time of her discovery she was the oldest and most earliest human ancestor to be discovered. That was until 1994 when Ardi, Ardipithecus ramidus, was found in Ethiopia and she now claims the title of the oldest hominid skeleton ever found and our earliest human ancestor. Although Lucy isn’t the oldest anymore we have still learnt so much about human evolution from her.

Lucy is 3.2 million years old and got her name from a Beatles’ song called Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. Lucy looked both human and ape-like, she was shown to be bipedal and have long dangling arms. Other skulls from her species Australopithecus afarensis were found to have ape-like heads, curving cheekbones, low foreheads, and a small brain like a chimpanzee’s. They figured she was most likely female because of her small stature. She was 3 feet and 7 inches tall and she weighed about 60 pounds. Plus, the males of her species were found to be bigger than the females. Scientists knew Lucy was an adult because her teeth were humanlike and her wisdom teeth were exposed and were used before her death. Lucy being able to walk upright supported the theory that walking was one of the important factors that drove human evolution forward. As her brain was small and she walked on two feet it was raven that humans did not need to have larger brains to be able to evolve. Walking on two feet is one trait that makes humans uniquely human.

Even though she could walk on two feet, due to her long arms she also spent time hanging in the trees just like chimpanzees and orangutans do today. Having the ability to walk and climb in trees helped Australopithecus afarensis to survive in changing climates and environments. As a species Australopithecus afarensis mostly had a plant-based diet and ate fruits, seeds, roots, nuts, leaves, and some meat. Furthermore, even though Lucy was an adult female she died at 12 years of age. Lucy, and the rest of her species, grew quickly after they were born and Lucy was most likely on her own which probably contributed to her death.

With these skeletons there is substantial evidence that humans origins began in Africa and our human ancestors then spread across the world. With Lucy, Ardi, and other hominid skeletons, humans get closer and closer to filling in the gaps of human history and evolution. Lastly, here is a cool video showing Lucy compared to humans and chimpanzees and what traits she shares with both groups.

One of the most well known things in archaeology is that some things do not preserve well in certain environments. This is why most of archaeology is based on pottery and stone, because they preserve extremely well. One of the main factors that will determine the preservation of something is its’ environment. There are certain environments preferred because they preserve things very well. Such environments are dry environments, cold environments, and water-logged environments. Particularly with water-logged environments it is important that they be anaerobic, meaning they do not have any oxygen in them. These environments are commonly seen in peat bogs. Peat bogs are perfect for preserving human remains which are called bog bodies. Peat bogs are excellent for preserving human remains more so than other environments because they highly acidic, prevent bacterial growth, and preserve the skin and internal organs of the bodies. Due to the conditions of the peat bogs the bodies’ skin also gets severely tanned. The bog bodies are usually found in Northern Europe.

Some of the most famous bog bodies are Grauballe Man and Tollund man. Grauballe man is from Jutland, Denmark, is 2,300 years old, and is from the Early Iron Age. When he was discovered in 1952 archaeologists saw that his throat was cut and then his body was placed in the bog. The bodies head was also smashed in but it was because of the weight of the peat on the body. Grauballe Man was around 30 years old when he died and was fairly healthy but also had whipworm infection (whipworm eggs were found in his stomach), and badly worn teeth. His last meal before his death was a gruel of weeds seeds and some cereal. Due to the way he died and the deaths of other bogs bodies (the bog bodies frequently show signs of violent deaths and no clothing) he is believed to be a victim of human sacrifice. The lack of oxygen and the high acidity in the bog turned Grauballe Man’s hair red but it is now known that his hair was most likely dark.

Tollund Man is perhaps the utmost famous bog body to ever be discovered. He was discovered two years before Grauball man and in Denmark’s Jutland Peninsula, he lived during the pre-Roman Iron Age. He was found in Bjældskovdal bog and his body was preserved so well that when he was discovered people believed he was a recent murder victim and they called the police. Tollund man was curled up and looked like he was sleeping peacefully in the bog, but then he had a rope around his neck. He wore a cap of sheepskin and wool on his head and a hide belt but the rest of his body was naked. As a rope was found around his neck it was proved he died by hanging and immediately after his death his eyes and mouth were closed and he was placed into the bog. His heart, lungs, brain, and liver were well preserved. Tollund Man was 30-40 years old at the time of his death and the last meal he ate 12-24 hours before his hanging was found to be porridge or gruel made from grains or seeds. It is suspected that he is a victim of human sacrifice.

Grauballe Man and Tollund Man are amazing examples of what humans can find out about their history when human remains are able to be preserved well. Bogs are great at preserving because they preserve everything on/in the body but the bones. One of the most interesting things about bog bodies is you can see exactly how the body looked at the time of death and can even see what their last meal was.

In honor of Women’s History Month this post will be about a group of women who have made a life for themselves despite male violence and oppression. For hundreds of years, all over the world women have lived under the oppressive heel of men. Particularly in Samburu, Kenya, all types of violence against women have been extremely common. From female genital mutilation, forced marriages at a young age. rape, domestic violence, and being killed, the women of the Samburu tribes have suffered greatly, and now they are fighting against it. So they created a village with no men.

The all female, matriarch village of Umoja Uaso, was founded by a Samburu woman named Rebecca Lolosoli who has been a fervent women’s rights activist. She was married off at the age of 18 and then began to speak up about supporting women who were raped by British soldiers. The men of her village ware angry about her speaking out, so they beat her until she was hospitalized. When women would come to men about being raped by British soldiers, they would beat them, leave them, or force them out the house for fear of catching an STD from their “defiled” wives. Samburu women women are considered property, and a man could do whatever he feels like to her, even kill her if he felt like it. As a result of this and the beating from her speaking out this was when she, along with 14 other Samburu women, created the village of Umoja in 1990.

As of 2015, they are 47 women and 200 children in Umoja. The is a safe haven for all types of women, as well as children. Men are not allowed in the live in the village but they can visit. The only men allowed to sleep in the village are the ones who have been raised in Umoja since a young age. The village is doing well and the women earn income by selling jewelry and other crafts to tourists. They even run a Campsite for tourists as well. In Umoja women are allowed to be free and live as they want without fear of male violence and discrimination. In the Samburu tribes, when matters would be discussed men would sit in a circle and the women would sit on the outside and would rarely be allowed to comment. In Umoja, when discussing village matters women sit under the “tree of speech” and all women are allowed to speak, as in Umoja, all women are equal and have the same status.  With the money they have earned they have created a school to educate all of the children. The Umoja women also go to other villages to protest women’s rights and empower other women. Lastly, the reason why there are so many children is because the women still do have relations with men outside the village because they still want and love children, because while the culture may care, the women do not care if they’re unmarried or not.

There is a great video from VICE on the village of Umoja, it is 26 minutes and even the first few minutes of watching it you are able to get an understanding of the village with no men. I really liked writing this post because it is amazing to see how far the Umoja women have come and to see how they created a community where they can feel safe and secure. They have done well for themselves and they are also trying to reach out and help other women. Women of all races and cultures experience what the Umoja women go through and hopefully like the Umoja women other women can find a space that makes them feel safe and secure.

The Gullah People were mentioned in an earlier post of mine on their folklore of the boo hag, but due to it being Black history month and this group of African Americans being mostly unknown, this is the perfect post to introduce them. The Gullah people, who are also referred to as Geechee, are African Americans who live in Georgia, Florida, and the Lowcountry region of South Carolina. What makes them and their culture unique is that they have managed retain their West African linguistic and cultural heritage through years of slavery and poverty. While other African Americans have a little connection to their African culture, the Gullah people were fortunately able to retain most of theirs. Through this they developed their own culture and creole language also known as Gullah. Their ability to retain their African culture from slavery is important, because during slavery slaves had their native cultures and languages purposefully wiped and beaten out of them and were forced to adopt their white master’s culture and heritage. Slave masters would intentionally put African slaves of different languages and cultures together so that they would not have any way to communicate with each other, join together, and/or rebel. So it is a great source of pride to themselves and other Black people, that the Gullah people were able to retain and develop their own African cultural and linguistic heritage.

One of the main staples of Gullah cultural dishes is rice, which also connects them to their Sierra Leonean heritage. In the 1700s colonists found out that rice could grow well in their new environment but they had no idea how to cultivate it and they needed African slaves who knew how to plant and grow rice. So they took many slaves from the West African countries of Sierra Leone and Liberia which are also referred to as the “Rice Coast” and the “Windward Coast”, as these people were known to be great rice cultivators. So many slaves from Sierra Leone were imported to America during that time and worked on rice plantations that there is clear evidence that the Gullah culture and people are heavily influenced by and descend from Sierra Leone.

In recent times the Gullah people are fighting hard to keep their traditional lands and are spreading the word about their culture and heritage. In the past years plantations were bough by wealthy white people and turned into resorts, threatening to push them off of their land which they have owned since they were freed. There has been an increase in interest in them with anthropologists due to their history, culture, and the preservation of it. In 2006, the government passed the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Act which gives them $10 million over ten years for the preservation of historic Gullah culture sites that are important to American, and especially African American, history.

Tattoos have been used in many different cultures and in many different ways around the world for thousands of years. In some places tattoos carry a stigma, but in others such as the Inuit, they are held as a great tradition. These tattoos are the traditional markings of Inuit women and a big part of Inuit culture. The Inuit are the indigenous peoples of Canada and Alaska (Fun Fact: If you know the character Katara from Avatar: The Last Airbender, her and the water tribe are Inuit).  For thousands of years Inuit women have been marking their faces, chins, arms, etc. with needles made of bones or sinew soaked with suet (the hard white fat on the kidneys and loins of cattle and other animals).

These traditional markings also represent a deeper meaning in Inuit myths, the story of Sedna the sea goddess. Sedna was a beautiful woman who had many men asking for her hand in marriage, but she denied them all. One day a man came to Sedna and promised her an abundance of food, furs, and blankets if she married him. She said yes and the man took her to an island, only to reveal that he was not a man but a bird. As he was a bird he could not hunt, and only could catch fish. Sedna lived unhappily until her father came, and when he saw how she was living he killed the bird. As they got into a kayak and tried to go home the bird’s friends caught Sedna and her father and flapped their wings angrily creating a huge storm. Sedna’s father was scared of going overboard and drowning so he threw Sedna off. As Sedna held on to the kayak and wouldn’t let go he chopped off her fingers at the joint. As her fingers fell they became sea animals. She then sank to the sea floor and became a spirit who controls all sea animals. The traditional markings on Inuit women’s hands and arms represent where Sedna’s hands and arms were chopped off.

These tattoos were a source of pride for Inuit women and recognized their beauty, lives, and important accomplishments such as skinning a fox or sewing a seal-skin parka. A V on the forehead meant entering womanhood, and a Y tattoo represents a tool used to hunt seals, which is a staple in Inuit diet.

Though these tattoos were used to recognize accomplishments and were meant to be a source of pride, when colonists arrived in Canada they did not think the same thing. Like many other indigenous cultural practices, during the period of colonialism tattoos were banned (they were said to be evil and satanic), Inuit women ceased getting their traditional tattoos, and tattoos were dying out with the older generations. But today, many Inuit women are fighting to keep their traditional markings going and reclaim their cultural pride in their tattoos.

One thing I appreciate about anthropology is how vast the field is, I talked about the major subsets of anthropology but there are also minor ones as well. Anthropologists will study every nook and cranny of a culture. They will focus on the gender in a culture, the sexuality in a culture, the individual persons role in a culture, and the culture at the state level. They will study the medical practices, class, mythology, the family roles, how they buried and treated their dead, and down to what the cultures diet consisted of. After saying all of that, this brings me to the topic of this post. Recently, this semester I discovered the Anthropology of Alcohol class (also known as Booze and Culture even though it’s not the official name), or ANTH140. When I first heard of the class I was confused because I didn’t understand how the topic of alcohol could be talked about for a whole semester, much less the history of it and what it had to do with different cultures. I didn’t know that people studied alcohol production in a cultural sense but I’m not surprised.

Throughout the class we look at alcohol and how different cultures produce and use it. But Prof. French acknowledges that while he wants to look at the benefits of alcohol and its production it would be criminal to not talk about the its negative aspects. Like how alcohol negatively impacts cultures and the deaths that can come from it. Even though we haven’t gotten to the lecture yet he will also discuss alcohol culture in the U.S. and how college students usually abuse it. So far we have talked about China (where the earliest evidence of alcohol was discovered), Japan, Russia, Scotland/Ireland, Uganda, Ghana, Mexico etc. and their different types of alcohol and how alcohol affects those countries. The class is pretty easy (which is also why its popular). There is no in-person or zoom class. All we have to do is watch two lectures a week, take a 2-3 question quiz, do Packback assignments every week, and the exams.

I was pleasantly surprised when I first began the class which is taught by the Professor Kirk French. Prof. French is an anthropological archaeologist who studies the ancient Maya culture and Mesoamerica. His studies also include Booze and Culture. He’s a pretty cool professor and likes to make jokes during the lecture. There are usually two types of people who take the class (even Prof. French has said this), people who are genuinely interested in anthropology and people who just came for the alcohol. Like I said earlier its pretty popular, there are over 100 spots filled in each class. French is very proud of the work he does in anthropology of alcohol, so much that he even has a logo and merchandise for it. He recently made a movie called Land and Water Revisited. It is about how climate change drastically affects the Teotihuacan Valley in Mexico, and how they are experiencing droughts that affects their production of the alcoholic drink Pulque, which is essential to their culture.

This post was probably a little all over the place and went quick but I thought it was a pretty good class to recommend. So if you’re ever looking for a class, especially one that won’t be as stressful, then this is the perfect class to take. If you ever decide to then, in the words of Prof. French, come on inside and get you a shot of Booze and Culture!

Manananggal

The Manananggal is a vampire-like creature that comes from the Philippines. It is said to be hideous and is usually depicted as a woman but can also be male. At night, when it goes out in search of victims it will sever its upper torso from the bottom and grow big bat-like wings, leaving their entrails flying behind them. Its primary victims are said to be sleeping pregnant women, newlyweds, and new couples in love. They will use their elongated tongue and suck out the heart of the fetus or a person’s blood. It also goes after grooms as well, as they are most vulnerable when they are left at the altar. It will lure a man into a secluded place and eat him alive. When they separate their upper torso they leave the bottom half just standing there so it is vulnerable. If you sprinkle salt, crushed garlic, or ash on the bottom torso it will destroy the creature. As the creature can’t get back to its lower torso it would be destroyed come sunrise.

Tokoloshe

The Tokoloshe is from the Zulu/Xhosa people’s mythology in South Africa. The Tokoloshe is a dwarf-like water sprite that is said to be mischievous and have an evil spirit. To ever come across one though it has to be created. A jealous person will go to an evil witch doctor, or shaman, with the intent to take vengeance upon someone. The price is the soul of a loved one but the person does not get to decide who it will be, the Tokoloshe does. They will find a dead body for the Tokoloshe to posses and poke its eye with a hot iron rod so it cannot think for itself and only obey its master. After they sprinkle powder on the body and shrink it, they let it loose. It can become invisible when it drinks water or swallows a pebble. It will take a person’s life while they’re sleeping. This creature does have origins that come from reality. In the past when people would sleep in rondavels, or huts, on the floor they would build a fire. The big fire would deplete oxygen levels, turning into carbon monoxide killing people and whole families. When they realized people survived when they had their beds raised (because carbon monoxide sinks to the floor), it became common to put bricks beneath beds to make them higher than the evil dwarf. They would also called in priest to ward the Tokoloshe off. Doing this would protect people from the Tokoloshe, and unknowingly, death from carbon monoxide.

Kuchisake-onna

Kuchisake-onna or “slit-mouthed woman”, is an urban legend from Japan. She is a malicious spirit or onryō, with a slit mouth going from ear to ear. There are a few explanations behind her. She was a woman who was mutilated at some point in her life. She was an adulterous wife or concubine of a samurai who’s punishment was mutilation. A woman who was jealous of her beauty mutilated her. Or she was mutilated during a dental procedure. Nonetheless, she is back for revenge and when she approaches her victim (lone travelers) with the bottom of her face covered she will ask “am I beautiful?”. If the person says yes, she will take her mask off, showing her grizzly slit mouth and ask if they still think she is beautiful. If the person says no or screams in terror she will lash out and slit their mouths like hers. If they say yes, she is still beautiful, she will walk away only to follow and brutally kill them later that night. To survive her, you can say she is average, or throw hard candy or money at her which will give you enough time to escape and lose her in the darkness.

Throughout every culture there is some scary story, urban legend, and superstition to be told. The purpose of these stories were to prevent children from behaving, teach a lesson, or just create general fear. Some people even say that you can see what certain cultures fear based off of their urban legends or superstitions. So for Halloween I wanted to tell some urban legends/folklore from different cultures. Some you know others you probably don’t.

Boo Hag

The Boo Hag is a mythical creature from Gullah culture folklore. The Gullah people are Creole-speaking African Americans who live in the Lowcountry regions of Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida. What differentiates them from other African Americans is that they were able to retain more of their African linguistic and cultural heritage. The Boo Hag is similar to a vampire except instead of sucking blood they get energy by taking their victims breath while riding them. The Boo Hag has no skin so they are red. When they choose a victim they will get into the house through a crevice, or small crack or hole. It sits on the victim and sucks out their breath. By sucking out the persons breath it makes them go into a dream filled sleep. Then they take the person’s skin and will wear it as clothing for as long as the skin lasts. Boo Hags usually leave a person alive so they can come back and use their energy again. But if a person struggles, the Boo Hag may take their skin and leave them to suffer. After taking the person’s energy the hag flies off, as they have to be in their own skin by dawn or they will be destroyed. When the victim awakes they will usually feel a little tired or have shortness of breath. If the air around you becomes hot and damp and smells like something is rotting, then the Boo Hag is close by.

Three-Legged Lady

In Mississippi there is the folklore of the Three-Legged Lady who haunts Nash Road. She is also known for terrorizing and chasing down cars. If someone is driving and they want to see her they should stop somewhere on Nash Road, turn off their headlights, and honk three times. After this she will knock on the roof of the car and then race the car down the road all while slamming into it with her body. She has two regular legs, and then a third rotting leg sticking out on the side. Possible explanations is that the third leg is her daughters who was dismembered. The leg was the only thing she ever found of her daughter. Another is that the third leg is that of her lover’s that was removed and attached to her. Lastly, she could be the result of satanic rituals and sacrifices that have been done in a church.

Teke Teke

Teke Teke is a Japanese Urban Legend about a schoolgirl or young woman who fell on a railway line and then was cut in half by a train. She is said to be an Onryō, or vengeful spirit. As she only has half her body you can see her dragging her upper torso around using her arms or elbows. When she does this she makes a “teke teke” like sound. If a person ever runs into her at night she will chase them and slice them in half, mimicking what was done to her. Despite no legs she can apparently run seriously fast, even catching up to people in cars.

My next post will be about more urban legends, as my favorite genre is horror and I like researching these things. Which ones do you think are the scariest and/or you have the best chance of escaping?

As my last post talked about the unique beauty standards of the Wodaabe tribe, I wanted to introduce another culture that also has unique beauty standards and ways of showing them. These people are the Kayan tribes that live on the border between Thailand and Myanmar, which was formerly called Burma. The women of are from the Kayan Lahwi tribe, which is also called Paduang. The women of this tribe are known for their brass neck coils, or neck rings, that they wear. Similar to the Wodaabe tribe people from around the world come to visit the Kayan tribes to see these long-necked women who are nicknamed “giraffe women”.

In the Kayan Lahwi tribe starting at the age of five brass rings are placed on the girls neck and throughout their lives more coils are added to give the appearance of an elongated neck. Women are not forced to wear these rings and can take them off at any moment. Once the coils are on they rarely take them off. Doing so can be a lengthy process so most times when coils are taken off it is to add a new or longer coil. They can remove the rings safely and take them off when getting examined by doctors. The brass rings are not too heavy on the women, and although it may seem as if their necks have been stretched it is in fact their clavicles, or collarbones, that have been pushed down. When the clavicles are pushed it can also compress their ribcages and weaken their neck muscles. As a result, most women prefer to wear the brass rings once their clavicle is pushed down because their necks and collarbones have become bruised and discolored. Once the women get used to the rings they say that the rings feel like a natural part of their body.

The reason why women began to wear these brass rings around their necks is due to many theories thought about by anthropologists. The Kayan began to wear the rings to protect their necks from tiger bites. The rings protected the women from becoming slaves, as they thought it made them unattractive to other tribes. The wearing of brass rings can be an example of sexual dimorphism, long necks became attractive because women have longer, slenderer necks than men. Lastly, the rings make the women resemble dragons. The last possible reason stems from the origins of the Kayan peoples’ belief that their tribe was created from the union between a female dragon and a male human/angel hybrid. Even though there are many theories behind why the women wear neck rings to lengthen their necks today it is mainly because of fashion and beauty. In this tribe the longer your neck the more beautiful you are.

As the rings increase western tourism, which brings the tribe money, many women still wear them. Despite the old tradition, some women and girls have decided to take their rings off, either to try and continue their education or protest the exploitation of their culture by western tourists. Recently, the Myanmar government has tried to discourage the use of brass neck coils as it makes the Kayan people seem “primitive” and they want the Kayan tribe to seem more modern. Women ignore them though, as they say the brass necks rings are not only apart of their beauty but apart of their cultural identity.

Once again, if you are interested in learning more or just seeing a video of the women wearing the rings in my second highlighted word “Paduang” there is a link to a National Geographic video.

In both beauty pageants and our culture in general it is normal for girls and women to try and look their best-and then be judged by a group of people. They spend tons of money and time picking the right clothes, the right makeup, and the right hair style. Yet, in the nomadic Wodaabe tribe, this is the opposite. The Wodaabe tribe are cattle-herders and are a part of the Fulani ethnic group of West Africa. This nomadic tribe is largely Islamic and over the years has migrated through Cameroon, Niger, Chad, and Nigeria. One of the most notable things about the Wodaabe is that they place a high emphasis on beauty and the way they form relationships with each other. It is the man’s job to form a relationship with and impress the woman. So the men are the ones that spend large amounts time into making themselves beautiful. The beauty standards for men (and sometimes women as well) emphasizes tallness, an elongated forehead, white eyes, and white teeth. One of the most important ceremonies in the Wodaabe tribe is the Gerewol, where men’s beauty and skills are judged by marriageable young women.

In the week long Gerewol, the men paint their lips black and paint their faces red and yellow with white dots in floral formations. The men where vibrant clothes and hats with tons of accessories such beads, feathers, buttons, etc. They are also said to be very focused on their looks as they carry small mirrors with them. The women will wear darker clothes to contrast the men’s bright ones. After the men spend time doing their makeup and getting ready they link their arms, line up, and begin to sing and dance the Yaake. As they are dancing and swaying to the rhythm, to get the women’s attention they will roll their eyes and flaunt their teeth to show off how white they are. They dance all day but when it gets too hot they will take breaks. Otherwise, they will dance all day and night, drinking a fermented brew that gives them energy. It is said that this brew has a hallucinogenic effect.

The ceremony is for men to find a first, second, or third wife, but it is also for women to find another husband if they would like too. The ceremony can lead people to have a long marriage or just a one-night stand. It also common for an infertile man to ask another man to sleep with his wife so that they can have children. A man can also ask an attractive man to sleep with his wife to produce good looking children, as beauty is greatly treasured in their culture. The Wodaabe value children and they are seen as a sign of wealth, and labor, as well as a way to prevent a high infant mortality rate. Lastly, as Wodaabe are cattle-herders for a living they are also vegetarian and don’t eat their animals but use them to provide milk and millet, and they trade the animals for money.

Out of all the cultural traditions I have heard of this is one of my favorites because it was interesting to see a society where the men are expected to beautify themselves for women and not the other way around. Plus, the Gerewol is not only a good time for the men but the women also. Just like my last post, in the second link I put there is a video from National Geographic interviewing the Wodaabe about the Gerewol.