Stonehenge Times.

[tamrock]

Went to see a special exhibit of Stonehenge at the Denver museum today as my daughter invited me
and her mother and said she'd pay. It's so interesting to think about and see these artifacts made by people thousands of years ago and wonder what the world was like back then. I had to think, would I find that a better world than today if I could go back to those times. No traffic jams, crashing computers or shortages of toilet paper to name a small fraction of all the crap I've been po'ed about at one time or the other in my life. Would I be one who could survive such a world ten thousand years ago as the age of metals was on the horizon. One thing for certain stone implement technology has a hell of a shelf life I've concluded. What was made for a particular job back then could do that very job today.

 

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[Lenrac2]

Life would have been so hard then. I can't imagine just trying to keep fed. I would not have made it. And I doubt they had any toliet paper either!

 

[tamrock]

Indeed it would've been. No TV, Netflix or theaters to watch only what the sun, moon and stars were doing each night and the longer one lived the more that person could tell the younger generation what they can expect out of seasonal changes that go on in the skies above. Then came the twists like an unexpected appearance of a comet. They'd all be wondering What's this mean and some would think it means this and others would think it means that which may have lead to divisions as one group would think they know what it means and the others would think no they're wrong because we know what it means. That hasn't seemed to change as so many think they know what the future holds and have the need to tell all others what they need to do to alter the coming calamities they're sure is to come.

 

[Red-Coat]

There’s still so much we don’t know about the lifestyles of ancient people. Toilet hygiene in itself is an interesting question. One assumes they used water (including from nearby streams) and/or moss, leaves, dry grass or straw. However, although not as far back as the stone age, there has been a tantalising suggestion published in the British Medical Journal by French anthropologist and professor in forensic medicine Philippe Charlier (et al) titled “Toilet Hygiene in the Classical Era”.

He proposed that shaped flat disc-like stones and pieces of ceramic known as “pessoi”, previously believed by archaeologists to be gaming pieces might have been used as “bottom-cleansers” in antiquity and as far back as 800 BC before the appearance of the Roman “tersorium” (a sponge on a stick, soaked in vinegar or brine). These are pessoi from Fishbourne Roman Palace in England:



It had never adequately been explained why pessoi are frequently found in association with ancient latrines In support of his theory, there is some evidence from analysis of… ahem… “residues”, and at least one ancient Greek depiction which appears to show such an item being employed for bottom-cleansing. There is also an ancient Greek proverb quoted by the character Trygaeus in Aristophanes’ “Peace” that says: “Three stones are enough to wipe one’s a**e.” Several talmudic sources also refer to an ancient Jewish use of small pebbles, often carried in a special bag, and also to the use of dry grass and the smooth edges of broken pottery jugs (!)

Intriguingly, some pessoi are inscribed with people’s names, including prominent figures and officials, raising the possibility that this served the same purpose as British chamber pots with images of Napoleon, Kaiser Wilhelm or Adolf Hitler on the inside, or modern toilet paper with the image of your least favourite president.

For toilet paper, we probably have the Chinese to thank. The first documented references come from the writings of Yan Zhitui c.589 AD in which he says “Paper on which there are quotations or commentaries from the Five Classics or the names of sages, I dare not use for toilet purposes”; and then the writings of an Arab traveller in China who noted in 851 AD that: “...they [the Chinese] do not wash themselves with water when they have done their necessities; but they only wipe themselves with paper.” By the 14th century, it was recorded that in what is now Zhejiang alone, ten million packages of 1,000 to 10,000 sheets of toilet paper were manufactured annually.

 

[tamrock]

Interesting I have to say, but not as fascinating to think about how it was all these people agreed to haul these massive stones from far away and build such a monument. It's said the stone age went on for 2.5 million years which I find rather hard to grasp. Also RC thanks to all involved over there for loaning us here in Denver these wonderful artifacts for us to enjoy and wonder about. Here's a little background on the large guitar pick looking stone object. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/ar...s67b1z/episode-transcript-episode-14-jade-axe

 

[Red-Coat]

Fascinating indeed. The Stone Age in Britain doesn't go back as far as 2.5 million years... the oldest evidence we have for occupation suggests no more than a million years ago, and Britain was only permanently occupied during interglacial periods, so time periods vary by region.

Here's a few 'Stonehenge-era' lithic tools I collected from the fields adjacent to the site. Obviously you can't collect on the site itself, but there are numerous areas around Stonehenge with evidence of encampment. Lots of scraper/blade tools together with animal bones in quantities which suggest that 'feasting' was taking place by visitors to the henge.

 

[tamrock]

There were a few displays of bone and antler tools recovered, so it seems deer and other game may have have been fairly plentiful in those times. I like searching for our native American artifact over here.