Time Sifters Archaeology Society Newsletter October 2019

OCTOBER-2019 PRESERVATION EDUCATION RESEARCH INSPIRE Dear Member: This month we are delighted to have Lindsey Morrison of the Florida Humanities Council talk to us about a little known contribution of Florida to the Civil War - “The Cow Cavalry: Florida Food for the Confederacy”. Please join us on October 16 for this very interesting piece of Florida history. We are also excited about our second In-Depth Seminar on January 31st “Neanderthals & Early Humans”. This will be an all day seminar held at Ringling Life Long Learning’s new facility the old Sarasota High School. More details about registration and cost will be announced next month. Also in January, we will be having an all day “Heritage Monitoring Scouts” training season. Please see the article in the August edition of our newsletter for a description of this fantastic program to help monitor and preserve Florida’s heritage. More information next month Thank you for being a Time Sifters member. See you on the 16th. Darwin “Smitty” Smith, President [email protected] The Cow Cavalry: Florida Food for the Confederacy Lindsey Morrison, M.A. Grants Coordinator, Florida Humanities Council In the two years after the first the Mississippi River in 1863 after the under-recognized role in the Civil shot was fired at Fort Sumter in fall of Vicksburg, they also lost War, and the multiple layers of 1861, the Civil War had ravaged their supply of Texas beef. early Florida perspectives and the American landscape. Once Desperate to feed a starving army, the histories that led up to this pivotal sleepy fields of Manassas, Shiloh Confederate forces found an unlikely American conflict. and Antietam now served as the solution – hardy, Spanish cattle Lindsey E. Morrison manages the final resting ground to soldiers in from Florida, and with them, the grants program at the Florida both blue and gray. Even in the cowmen who understood their Humanities Council. A 7th- Florida pine scrub and oak swampy frontier, forming what generation Floridian, Morrison hammocks, communities who was known as the “Cow Cavalry.” holds a B.S. and M.A. in Anthropology, called this rugged land home felt In Time Sifters’ October program, Applied Archaeology, and after the echoes of war. When the Morrison examines the history of working at the D.C.-based American Confederate Army lost control of these tough cattle, their often- Battlefield Trust, returned to her native state to help share the stories of Florida.

Notes from a Time Sifter By Evelyn Mangie, Time Sifters Board Member Zheng He’s Voyages China’s 15th Century Voyages of Exploration On March 27 of 2005, 60 Chinese 12 scholars met at the Chinese trade with other cultures, and 1. Map of Zheng He’s journeys. (Seidel, News return home. These voyages Academy of Science to celebrate were expensive, but the caravels Corp Australia Network, 3/1,18). 2. Size com- the 600th anniversary of Chinese gave merchants the ability to make a profit. The Europeans, as parison (Development of Sailing Ships) Admiral Zheng He’s voyages in we all know, were so successful in reaching foreign shores that the for him. On his first voyage, the early 15th century. A noteworthy entire Western Hemisphere is Zheng He led 62 ships called now dominated by European baochuan (“treasure ships”) that occasion for two reasons, one, cultures. carried horses, grain, silk, porce- because Zheng He led seven voyages But the Chinese were far ahead lain, and gold to Java, Sumatra, of the rest of the world in building Malacca and India. Subsequent through the Indian Ocean and large, seaworthy ships. The discovery voyages went to the Persian Gulf down the coast of eastern Africa in the Yangtze riverbed of a 36- and down the east coast of Africa foot wooden steering post attached to and may have touched Australia. nearly 70 years before the first Goods were traded and offerings a 452 square foot rudder reveals were made to local deities, to European explorers ventured that 14th century Chinese ships Buddha in Indonesia, to the were nearly 600 feet long and Hindu god Vishnu in India, and onto the ocean, and, two, because 170 feet wide. They had nine to Allah in Muslim Persia. Those the Chinese had not been particular- masts and were the largest kingdoms that welcomed Zheng wooden ships ever built. In He were given gifts and their ly interested in such a remarkable comparison, Columbus’ largest ambassadors were offered a feat as overseas exploration. ship, the Niña, was a mere 85 place at Beijing’s imperial court, feet long with three masts. In creating good relationships and Zheng He was not the first explorer fact, all three of Columbus’ ships allies for China. But Zheng He’s could fit inside one of these huge fleet also included heavily armed to venture into the unknown. vessels. The Ming Emperor, combat junks that carried Yongle (1402-1424) built a fleet thousands of troops to help convince Historians suggest that the ancient of 200 of these floating marvels kingdoms to cooperate. In 1411, Sri Lanka resisted, was attacked Phoenicians might have circum- and instructed his best admiral, and a new, Chinese-friendly Zheng He (1351-1435), to make government replaced the contentious navigated Africa in 600 B.C.E. diplomatic connections with distant, old government (Seidel, News Corp (Herodotus, Histories, 4.42) and unknown kingdoms. There was Australia Network, 3/1,18). Thor Heyerdahl in 1947 proved no mention of conquest or extending Zheng He’s exploits are documented trade routes, but we know that in the detailed accounts of voyages that ancient sailors from South Yongle was ambitious. He had found in The Overall Survey of conquered Vietnam, invaded Japan, the Ocean’s Shores, a book America could have reached the extended the Great Wall, began published in 1451. It was written by building the Forbidden City in Ma Huan, an interpreter who Polynesian Islands. Ancient sailors Beijing and was looking outward spoke Arabic and served on at to gain allies to lift China out of least three of Zheng He’s voyages. In used the sun, moon, planets, isolationism. Zheng He, a master addition, Chinese ceramics have and stars to calculate their position seaman devoted to his master, been found on Hormuz Island in was the perfect person to do that the Persian Gulf and Iranian when no landmarks are available. Continued on page 3 ... This allowed travelers to find their way across the sands of African deserts or islands of the South Pacific and return home. But in all these attempts, even though they knew how to navigate across an ocean, the biggest deterrent to exploration was that ships were not large enough to carry a supply of food, so most voyages had to stop regularly to resupply. That was what the Vikings did in the 10th century as they hopscotched across the North Atlantic to Iceland and Greenland to reach Newfoundland. But though they were successful in crossing the Atlantic, their ships were not big enough to bring cattle, nor could they take goods back to Scandinavia, so there was not much incentive for anyone to explore until the 15th century when the Portuguese built the caravel, a ship large enough to carry supplies and goods to

News & Events Saturday, October 12 2:00 - 3:30 Sugar and Enslavement on the Manatee Speaker: Diane Wallman, USF Assistant Professor of Anthropology., Bradenton Central Library, 1301 Barcarrota Boulavard W, Bradenton Continued from page 2 ... those Chinese sailors who swam of his travels, probably to remind Zheng He’s Voyages ashore and later married locals the world of a glorious Chinese (J. Kahn, New Yorik Times, jewelry has been found in China. 7/20/2005). history because had the Chinese A painting of a giraffe brought Although the Chinese were clearly continued to explore we might all from Kenya as tribute to China’s ahead of the Europeans in ocean Imperial Court is hard evideFnigcuereo1f teFoixguperlexop2rlaotrieona,fttehreYy odnidglen’ostdceoanthti.nue be speaking Chinese. exotic animals brought from distant He had won the throne through a places. (Smithsonian). Dozens of bitter political struggle and his (Smithsonian) monuments and statues stand opponents continued to try to discredit along the rim of the Indian Ocean him. They insisted that the and many nations still honor the explorations were too costly and memory of Zheng He’s visits. The of no value so after Yongle died, Chinese Ministry of Commerce the voyagFeigsurwe e3re stopped, the claims “positive results” in a treasure ships were broken up, search of the waters near Kenya for evidence of sunken wrecks of and the records of these marvelous Zheng He’s ships that supposedly voyages were destroyed. Only floundered there. Some Kenyans recently have the Chinese decided claim to be the descendants of to honor Zheng He with celebrations Officers: Board of Directors Copyright © 2019 Darwin \"Smitty\" Smith, President Time SiftersArchaeologySociety,Inc., Sherry Svekis, Vice President Directors: Evelyn Mangie All rights reserved. Marion Almy, Secretary Dorothy Cascio Don Nelson We send newsletters to people Laura Harrison, Treasurer Steven Derfler who have attended or expressed Karen Jensen, Membership interestin our lecturesand given us their email address.

Membership Speakers & Events Calendar Lifetime: $350 Unless noted, all will be held at 6:00 PM Individual: $25 Selby Library, 1331 First St., Sarasota 34236 Family: $35 Student: $10 October 16 Supporting $40 The Cow Cavalry: Florida Food for the Confederacy. Lindsey Morrison Pay online at: November 20 WWW.TimeSifters.org Preserving a Lost WWII Battlefield off of North Carolina Or mail checks to: Dave Alberg Time Sifters, Inc. PO Box 5283 January 22, 2020 Sarasota, FL. 34277 Archaeology Year in Review: A look at what was talked about in 2019. Smitty Smith January 31 In-Depth Series … Neanderthals & Early Humans: An all day Workshop on our early Ancestors Dr. Edward Gonzalez-Tennant Time Sifters Archaeology Society P. O. Box 5283, Sarasota, FL 34277