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pluperfectpatty.bsky.social
Patty
@pluperfectpatty.bsky.social
44 followers 27 following 9 posts
Writer. Archaeologist. Cat trainer.
https://pattyhamrick.com/
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pluperfectpatty.bsky.social
Patty @pluperfectpatty.bsky.social · 2d
This Friday in Brooklyn! The history of ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon is much darker (and more interesting) than you might guess!
brooklynbrainery.com/courses/the-...
The Archaeology of Pumpkin Spice
Cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and ginger: they blend together to form a delicious flavor that evokes cooler temperatures, flannel shirts, and falling leaves. But Pumpkin Spice wasn’t invented by Star...
brooklynbrainery.com
pluperfectpatty.bsky.social
As someone who once did stand-up about elephant vaginas, I feel obliged to reblog this amazing thread.

Also: hippos are crazy, y'all.
nome.bsky.social Nome @nome.bsky.social · Mar 12
I have been doing entirely too much earnest posting about deep things recently, I need to do a proper thread about hippo testicles or something just to keep myself sane.

Oh by the way hippos have migratory testicles.
a statue of a hippopotamus with its mouth open and teeth showing .
Alt: A hippo being tossed a watermelon, which it crushes in its massive jaws.
media.tenor.com
November 20, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Reposted by Patty
csmfht.bsky.social
November 20, 2025 at 8:00 AM
pluperfectpatty.bsky.social
This Friday in Brooklyn! The history of ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon is much darker (and more interesting) than you might guess!
brooklynbrainery.com/courses/the-...
The Archaeology of Pumpkin Spice
Cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and ginger: they blend together to form a delicious flavor that evokes cooler temperatures, flannel shirts, and falling leaves. But Pumpkin Spice wasn’t invented by Star...
brooklynbrainery.com
November 20, 2025 at 3:01 PM
pluperfectpatty.bsky.social
Love a 'horrible disease' study
www.npr.org/sections/sho...
What killed Napoleon's army? Scientists find clues in DNA from fallen soldiers' teeth
In 1812, hundreds of thousands of men in Napoleon's army perished during their retreat from Russia. Researchers now believe a couple of unexpected pathogens may have helped hasten the soldiers' demise...
www.npr.org
November 5, 2025 at 8:55 PM
pluperfectpatty.bsky.social
I'm not convinced, personally, but an interesting article on the myth of the minotaur and the possible role of psychoactive rituals on Crete:
www.labrujulaverde.com/en/2025/10/t...
The Minotaur of Crete May Have Been a Ritual Hallucination in the Labyrinthine Environment of the Palace of Knossos
For millennia, the story of the Minotaur—a hybrid creature of man and bull confined in a labyrinth beneath the Palace of Knossos—has been a cornerstone of Greek mythology. Now, new research by indepen...
www.labrujulaverde.com
November 3, 2025 at 5:28 PM
pluperfectpatty.bsky.social
Not a bog body, but some other Iron Age human sacrifices!
killgrove.bsky.social Kristina Killgrove @killgrove.bsky.social · 24d
The Durotriges Project just discovered a third prone female burial -- suggesting human sacrifice may have been more common among the Celts than previously thought. 🧪🏺
2,000-year-old Celtic teenager may have been sacrificed and considered 'disposable'
Archaeologists have recovered three unusual burials of Celtic women and girls who may have been sacrificed in England.
www.livescience.com
October 30, 2025 at 7:51 PM
pluperfectpatty.bsky.social
Great article about how Ancient Egyptian beliefs about the afterlife may not be what we think they are. (And hey, the day before Halloween is an excellent time to read about the Book of the Dead!)
anetoday.org/european-egy...
The European Invention of the Ancient Egyptian Afterlife - The Ancient Near East Today
We often imagine the ancient Egyptians as obsessed with death and the afterlife. But what if the familiar story of judgment and salvation owes more to modern ideas than ancient ones?
anetoday.org
October 30, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Reposted by Patty
antiquity.ac.uk
Bog bodies are a millennia-long tradition in Northern Europe, starting ~5000 years ago in Scandinavia and continuing into early modern times. Analysis of over 1000 individuals found most met violent ends.

🔗 from 2023 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

🏺 #Archaeology
Map of some of the sites with bog bodies that were studied in relation to peatlands across Northern Europe, differentiated via site type.
October 29, 2025 at 10:35 AM
pluperfectpatty.bsky.social
This Thursday in NYC! Come learn about the actual history behind pointy hats and bogus accusations of modern witch hunts
brooklynbrainery.com/courses/haun...
Haunted History: The Age of the Witch Hunts
With Halloween just around the corner, this talk will focus on one of humanity’s oldest fears: witches. But this time, it’s the witches who have a reason to be afraid.Between 1450 and 1750...
brooklynbrainery.com
October 29, 2025 at 1:53 AM
Reposted by Patty
cultarchaeo.bsky.social
🙄🙄🙄
Screenshot of a news article headline and subline that reads Elon Musk's pledge to rewrite history books with AI; Tesla's founder can see the potential of technology when it comes to archaeology. Archaeologists would do well to share his enthusiasm.
October 29, 2025 at 1:41 AM
Reposted by Patty
antiquity.ac.uk
Happy birthday, Earth! According to Ussher's Biblical chronology, our planet was created #OnThisDay in 4004 BC.

Key #archaeological discoveries would challenge this short timeline, as discussed in Antiquity 🏺

🔗 from 2009 (£) doi.org/10.1017/S000...
First page of James Ussher's 'Annals of the World', in which he set out his timeline for the Earth.
October 23, 2025 at 7:45 AM
Reposted by Patty
antiquity.ac.uk
Tattoo from the preserved body of a Siberian ice mummy, from the Iron Age Pazyryk culture of the Altai Mountains. Depicting two tigers and a leopard attacking two deer, it shows the sophisticated methods of Pazyryk tattooers #InternationalSnowLeopardDay

🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

🏺 #Archaeology
Illustration of a tattoo depicting two deer being attacked by three big cats; two with stripes, one with spots.
October 23, 2025 at 12:25 PM
pluperfectpatty.bsky.social
Speaking of the White House destruction... great talk on Zoom this evening on NYC and historic preservation laws! (Not a talk by me, but hey: still worth going to!)
pci.jotform.com/form/2527350...
Lost Landmarks and Saved Skylines: 60 Years of NYC Preservation
Please click the link to complete this form.
pci.jotform.com
October 23, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Reposted by Patty
hcohen.bsky.social
starting to think bog bodies had the right idea all along. why am I checking emails in a tiny cubicle when I could just walk outside and let the earth envelop me in her peaty embrace
October 7, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Reposted by Patty
socratesjohnson.bsky.social
Scully: They found the mummified bodies of Kermit the Frog and Fozzie Bear in an Irish bog?

Mulder *tosses file on desk* Heard of the Peat Muppets?
October 15, 2025 at 1:43 PM
pluperfectpatty.bsky.social
I've got a class coming up tomorrow night in NYC! My first in-person class since before Covid – it'll be good to be off Zoom for once!
brooklynbrainery.com/courses/haun...
Haunted History: Bog Bodies of Iron Age Europe
“Bog bodies”: the eerily well-preserved remains of hundreds of people – men, women, and children – found in the swamps and peaty wetlands of northern Europe. Many times po...
brooklynbrainery.com
October 22, 2025 at 3:47 AM
Reposted by Patty
druidtombraider.bsky.social
Fourth-century AD bear mosaic from the co-rule of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus (AD 161–169), Bulla Regia, Africa Proconsularis, Tunisia; courtesy of Carole Raddato. #RomanArchaeology #Archaeology #MosaicMonday
October 20, 2025 at 11:13 AM