Time Sifters Archaeology Society Newsletter December 2018

DECEMBER-2018 PRESERVATION EDUCATION RESEARCH INSPIREDear Member:Wow, can you believe it’s December already? We are taking a break this month to enjoy our family and friends. Six of yourfellow Time Sifters are going on a 13 day trip to Egypt with our tour guide Steve Derfler. Our Travel Committee is chairedby Steve and they are putting together some interesting ideas for Time Sifters trips. More to come in Februaryon these.Don’t forget to register for The In-Depth Series - “Dead Sea Scrolls”. Registration opens on December 4. Youmust register with the Ringling Life Long Learning. If you didn’t pickup a catalog at the last meeting, look forone in our email of November 27th. The registration instructions are in the catalog along with other coolclasses. The class will be held on January 25 as a day long presentation, with lunch, and will dive deep intothis subject including the discovery, the politics of ownership and the contents of the scrolls.A BIG thanks from all of us to Glenn Cooper for hosting our Holiday Party again this year. We had a fantastictime.We are always open for compliments and suggestions.Thank you for being a member of Time Sifters.Darwin “Smitty” Smith, President [email protected] from a Time Sifter By Evelyn Mangie, Time Sifters Board MemberHistory - One drunk, one Irish lunatic,one sexual offender and four forgers.Students often complain that history is liberate tortured political prisoners happened in Sweden in 1628.boring and deals with depressing there was a grand total of seven The Swedes had taken more thansubjects like war, destruction, prisoners in the Bastille, one a year to build what was to be thefamine, and people that have been drunk, one Irish lunatic, one sexual most powerful warship in the Balticdead for so long they cannot have offender and four forgers but no Sea, the Vasa. When it was finallyany relevance to today. They are political prisoners (P. McGarry, ready for launch in Stockholmwrong. What happened in the The Irish Times, 7/14/18). harbor, the 64 bronze cannonspast is entirely responsible for the were in place and the crew wereway we are today and the way it “Stuff” happens because sometimes manning their stations. Thousands ofhappened is often lots of fun to things just do not go the way people had gathered to watch thestudy. How can you not smile they are planned. That is what event. It began in the morningwhen you read Roman historian with a church service and festivitiesValerius Maximus’ Nine Books of continued until mid-afternoonMemorable Deeds and Sayings (31 when the newly fitted ship wasC.E.) claiming that Greek playwright, ready to be released from itsAeschylus (5th century B.C.E) was moorings and sail off. The bandkilled by a tortoise dropped on probably began a suitable militaryhis head by a passing eagle, or song and the crowd cheered asthat one of the first things that the ship moved away from theAmerican Indian Samoset said to harbor. But a strong gust of windthe Pilgrims was “do you have caused the ship to lean so far overany beer?” (The Paracast), or that water began to pour inwhen the French revolutionariesstormed the Bastille in 1789 to Notes continued on page 2 ...

History ... Notes continued from page 1 ... Sally Reeder War is not Illinois State Military usuallythrough the gun ports and the comical but Museum in Springfieldmagnificent Vasa began to sink. sometimesWithin minutes it was at the bottom of the circum- Illinois and Santa Anna had tothe harbor, the crew grasping the stances are flee on his horse so quickly thattops of the masts and others fun. For he left his false legs behind tofrantically swimming toward example, a be captured by the Americans.shore. The Vasa remained in its dispute that The cork prosthetic leg is now onwatery grave until 1959 when almost display in an Illinois museumarchaeologists and other technicians turned into (Illinois State Military Museum inraised her. She is now on display a war was Springfield). The American soldiersin the Vasa Museum in Stockholm Vasa Muesum begun when, reportedly used the wooden peg(K. Eschner, Smithsonian.com) in 1859 on leg for a baseball bat. It is nowAnother “mistake” comes from the the border between Canada and displayed at the former GovernorVikings, that brutal group that the U.S., a British pig wandered onto Oglesby (1846-70) Mansion insacked cities from Norway to Italy an American farm and ate some Decatur (Chicago Tribune,during the 8th to the 11th centuries. In potatoes. The American farmer 11/11/16).the 9th century, a Viking chieftain shot the British pig, complainingnamed Hastein decided to conquer the that the pig “was eating my potatoes”. Another historiccapital city of the Christian world, The British owner responded, trophy isRome. Hastein knew that Rome “Rubbish, it’s up to you to keep Napoleonwas heavily fortified and surrounded your potatoes out of my pig!” The Bonaparte’sby strong walls, but the long voyage conflict deepened and military from penis. It wasthrough the Straits of Gibraltar both sides were positioned (three cut off duringgave him time to devise a plan. warships, 84 guns and over 2,600 his autopsyWhen the ship reached the Italian men!). No shots were fired but and given tocoast, several Viking warriors the dispute did not officially end his priest-went to the city gates and told the until 1872 when an international confessor. Itlocals that Hastein had converted commission led by German Kaiser was later soldto Christianity and had died. They Wilhelm declared that the British to an Americanbegged to bring their leader into pig did indeed invade American collector who displayed it on athe city for a Christian burial territory (B. Johnson, Historic velvet cushion at New York Muse-because none of the Vikings knew U.K.). No people were killed in the um of French Art. Viewers re-how to do that. The local citizens Pig War. marked that Napoleon was small(as gullible as the residents of in many ways (E. Alexander, TheTroy who dragged the Trojan horse One country actually increased Independent U.K. News 4/13/14).into their city) agreed to allow the their population by going to war. Without a doubt, history can beVikings to bring the corpse inside That happened to the tiny kingdom of fun.the walls. The locals were surprised Liechtenstein during the Austro-when they discovered that the Prussian War in 1866. Princebody was not only not dead but Johan II sent 80 Liechtensteinarmed, and the city fell quickly to soldiers to help defend the Austrianthe invaders. Hastein was jubilant border from attacks by Italianuntil he learned that his conquered troops. The Liechtenstein armycity wasn’t Rome. It was the city suffered no casualties during theof Luna, 250 miles from Rome seven-week war, but 81 men(Dudo of St. Quentin, Norman returned including a new ItalianHistory). Oh well, another chance “friend” who had reconsidered histo rape all the captured women alliance (militaryhumor.net).and leave Viking DNA in millionsof descendants, likely including Wars are no laughing matter, butmany of today’s students. Mexico’s General Santa Anna’s legs have an amusing war story. Santa Anna’s left leg was amputated because of battle wounds suffered in 1838 during the French blockade of Veracruz. After that he wore a cork prosthesis or, alternately, a wooden peg leg. During the Mexican-American War (1846-8), Santa Anna’s camp was surprised by the 4th Military Infantry of

News & Events Saturday, December 8: 1:00 - 3:00 Heritage in an Age of Rising Sea Levels: Archaeological Perspectives on the Anthropocene with Dr. Uzi Baram of New College of Sarasota.Registration opens December 4Officers: Board of Directors Copyright © 2018Darwin \"Smitty\" Smith, President Time SiftersArchaeologySociety,Inc.,Sherry Svekis, Vice President Directors: Steven Derfler All rights reserved.vacant, Secretary Robert Bopp Evelyn Mangie We send newsletters to peopleLaura Harrison, Treasurer Dorothy Cascio Sharon McConnell who have attended or expressedKaren Jensen, Membership Glenn Cooper interestin our lecturesand given us their email address.

Membership Speakers & Events CalendarLifetime: $350 All to be held at 6:00 PMIndividual: $25 Selby Library, 1331 First St., Sarasota 34236Family: $35Student: $10 January 16 The Archaeology Year in ReviewPay online at: Darwin “Smitty“ SmithWWW.TimeSifters.orgOr mail checks to: January 25Time Sifters, Inc. In-Depth Series: The Dead Sea ScrollsPO Box 5283 Dr. Steven Derfler ** Class at Ringling Life Long LearningSarasota, FL. 34277 February 20 Research Updates on the Chaco Canyon Phenomenon Dr. John Kantner March 20 The Page-Ladson Site—15,000 Year old Florida Dr. Jesse HalliganTime Sifters Archaeology SocietyP. O. Box 5283, Sarasota, FL 34277