Cleromancy - Wikipedia For the use of random selection as a way to make a fair form of selection, see Sortition. Cleromancy is a form of sortition, casting of lots, in which an outcome is determined by means that normally would be considered random, such as the rolling of dice, but are sometimes believed to reveal the will of God, or other supernatural entities. In classical civilization[edit] In Judeo-Christian tradition[edit] Casting of lots occurs relatively frequently in the Bible, and many biblical scholars think that the Urim and Thummim served this purpose. In the Hebrew Bible, there are several cases where lots were cast as a means of determining God's mind: Other places in the Hebrew Bible relevant to divination: In the Eastern Orthodox Church this method of selection is still occasionally used. In Scandinavia[edit] "To divination and casting of lots, they pay attention beyond any other people. In East Asian culture[edit] See also[edit] References[edit] External links[edit]
Cognitive Anthropology - Anthropological Theories - Department of Anthropology - The University of Alabama The guides to anthropological theories and approaches listed below have been prepared by graduate students of the University of Alabama under the direction of Dr. Michael D. Murphy. Bobbie Simova and Tara Robertson and Duke Beasley (Note: authorship is arranged stratigraphically with the most recent author listed first) Basic Premises: Cognitive anthropology addresses the ways in which people conceive of and think about events and objects in the world. In the first decades of practice, cognitive anthropologists focused on folk taxonomies, including concepts of color, plants, and diseases. The methodology, theoretical underpinnings, and subjects of cognitive anthropology have been diverse. Cognitive anthropologists regard anthropology as a formal science. It was not until the 1950s that cognitive anthropology came to be regarded as a distinct theoretical and methodological approach within anthropology. The interaction of society and the mind has long been an area of intellectual interest.
Magic and Vulnerability | Magic of the Ordinary ‘The extent to which a ritual works is the extent to which we are vulnerable to the forces it raises.’ I found the above statement in some old ritual training notes I wrote 20 years or so ago. It is as true now as it was then. When a Master enters the room, all a thief sees are pockets. We can perform deep and powerful invocations, ceremonies, evocations, prayers, initiations and wot not, and it won’t mean a thing unless we are open. And to be fair, magic hardly teaches us to be vulnerable does it? The need for vulnerability and openness is one of the reasons there are child deities in the world and one of the reasons Christ declared: Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Children are the most open and the most vulnerable among us. I’ve knelt in the ashes, in peace may I rise Empty of knowing and full of surprise Clothed all in silence a baby baptised To be vulnerable is not easy of course. Like this:
Scatalogic Rites of All Nations : A Dissertation upon the Employment of Excrementicious Remedial Agents in Religion, Therapeutics, Divination, Witch-Craft, Love-Philters, etc. in all part of the Globe. First Edition. BOURKE, John G. Scatalogic Rites of All Nations : A Dissertation upon the Employment of Excrementicious Remedial Agents in Religion, Therapeutics, Divination, Witch-Craft, Love-Philters, etc. in all part of the Globe. Washington, D.C. : W. H. Lowdermilk & Co., 1891. John Gregory Bourke (b. Preface; 1. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. With Bibliography, Index. Ex library with bookplate, pouch-leavings and a blind-stamp to title-page (but no spine markings). light wear to covers, else very good (complete with pages 401-16 which are lacking in some copies). 250.00
Pineapple mania: art history's fixation with an exotic fruit Whether you slice it, dice it, drink it, juice it, can it, or put it on a pizza (you monsters), the pineapple is a delicious symbol of all that is wondrous and exotic in life. Originating in the areas now known as Brazil and Paraguay, this iconic fruit has gone on to capture the imaginations and taste buds of all who have come into contact with it. From fifteenth-century explorers to millennial hipsters, the sweet but spiky appeal of the pineapple has proved to be timeless and global. In this day and age, we are fortunate to be able to get pineapples all year round for just a couple of pounds, but that wasn't always the case. By the seventeenth century, the cultivating of rare plants was seen as a noble pastime, equal to collecting art and antiquities. Spanish historian Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés wrote of the pineapple in 1535, declaring: 'my pen and my words cannot depict such exceptional qualities, nor appropriately celebrate this fruit.' The Pineapple
The Myth and Lore of The Fairy Ring - Garden Collage Magazine For thousands of years, peoples of various cultures have regarded fairy rings with a strong sense of curiosity and fear, believing them to be mystical, supernatural places. Folklore tells us that cultures across Europe have traditionally believed that fairy rings are the dwelling place of fairies, elves, witches, and other magical beings– and that in some cases, they may be dangerous to enter. Even though fairy rings were thought to be little realms where fairies dance and play, lore suggested that if a human interrupted the fun, the cost could be deadly serious. Science tells us that fairy rings– or patterns of certain types of mushrooms that grow in circular formations– are naturally-occurring phenomenon that usually appear year after year on lawns, in fields, and in forests. What then could be so dangerous about a circle of mushrooms? Photo: Alessandro Zocc Not all myth surrounding the fairy ring is quite so dark, however. Photo: Erin Brierley/Flickr And I serve the fairy queen,
The rise of Archaeologists Anonymous In a quiet group chat in an obscure part of the internet, a small number of anonymous accounts are swapping references from academic publications and feverishly poring over complex graphs of DNA analysis. These are not your average trolls, but scholars, researchers and students who have come together online to discuss the latest findings in archaeology. Why would established academics not be having these conversations in a conference hall or a lecture theatre? The answer might surprise you. The equation of anonymity on the internet with deviance, mischief and hate has become a central plank in the global war on “misinformation”. Like what you’re reading? Already registered? Many, like myself, are “junior researchers” or PhD drop-outs — people with one foot in the door but who recognise how precarious academic jobs are. But in 2018, a bombshell paper proved this was fundamentally incorrect. “Indigenous Australians belong to the oldest continuous culture on earth.
Superstitions Old Wives Tales Beliefs & Misconceptions A-L Superstitions: old wives tales, folklore, bizarre beliefs, taboos, omens, lucky & unlucky things Superstitions A - L recommended: Cassell's Dictionary of Superstitions 101 American Superstitions : Understanding Language and Culture through Superstitions Sheer Superstition: Outmaneuvering Fate Unexplained Mysteries of the 20th Century Dictionary of Omens and Superstitions Curious Customs and Bizarre Beliefs Around the World Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time Sunstone (medieval) Iceland spar, possibly the Icelandic medieval sunstone used to locate the sun in the sky when obstructed from view. A stone found in Alderney amid the wreckage of a 16th-century warship in early 2013 may lend evidence of the existence of sunstones as navigational devices.[2] One medieval source in Iceland, "Rauðúlfs þáttr",[3][4] mentions the sunstone as a mineral by means of which the sun could be located in an overcast and snowy sky by holding it up and noting where it emitted, reflected or transmitted light (hvar geislaði úr honum).[5] Sunstones are also mentioned in Hrafns saga Sveinbjarnarsonar (13th century)[6] and in church and monastic inventories (14th–15th century) without discussing their attributes. The description in "Rauðúlfs þáttr" of the use of the sunstone is as follows: Two of the original medieval texts on the sunstone are allegorical. A Hungarian team proposed that a sun compass artifact might with crystals have allowed Vikings to guide their boats at night too.
Do More Than Half of Americans Read Below 6th-Grade Level? According to a meme recently shared with the Snopes newsroom, more than half of people living in the United States between the ages of 16 and 74 read below a sixth-grade level: We investigated this statistic, as well as the assertion that the U.S. ranks 125th for literacy when compared with other nations around the world. Though both statements are true to some degree, we took a closer look at the data — and how it was compiled — to gain a more thorough understanding of the limitations associated with conducting such wide-scale, generalizing studies. Do More Than Half of Americans Read Below a 6th-Grade Level? This claim is true, according to a review of the U.S. education system that was conducted in September 2020. A Gallup analysis published in March 2020 looked at data collected by the U.S. The 2020 Gallup estimates were part of an economic analysis that used literacy rates to determine missed and potential financial gains. “The U.S. As the U.S. Does the US Rank 125th for Literacy?
Cultural extinction in evolutionary perspective | Evolutionary Human Sciences Social media summary: Cultural extinction assessed empirically, in phylogenetic histories and in frequency-dependent fitness landscapes. 1. Introduction Languages, like organic beings, can be classed in groups under groups; and they can be classed either naturally according to descent, or artificially by other characters. Human societies exhibit extraordinary cultural diversity. The unprecedented scale of cultural extinctions, greatly exceeding the rate of creation of new cultures, is widely appreciated in evolutionary human sciences; yet few studies have examined the phenomena with empirical data. Figure 1. 2. Like biological species, cultural groups are subject to hereditary transmission and variation by mutation and selection – the prerequisites of evolutionary changes. Identifying cultural extinctions in prehistory Here we discuss how cases of ethnolinguistic extinction in prehistory can be identified with limited empirical evidence. Cultures, like species, are always dying out. 3.
The Ancient Origins of the Easter Bunny | History| Smithsonian Magazine The Easter bunny is a much-celebrated character in American Easter celebrations. On Easter Sunday, children look for hidden special treats, often chocolate Easter eggs, that the Easter bunny might have left behind. As a folklorist, I’m aware of the origins of the long and interesting journey this mythical figure has taken from European prehistory to today. Religious role of the hare Easter is a celebration of spring and new life. In European traditions, the Easter bunny is known as the Easter hare. Hares were given ritual burials alongside humans during the Neolithic age in Europe. Over a thousand years later, during the Iron Age, ritual burials for hares were common, and in 51 B.C.E., Julius Caesar mentioned that in Britain, hares were not eaten due to their religious significance. Caesar would likely have known that in the classical Greek tradition, hares were sacred to Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Hare meat and witches’ mischief Pagan origins
Sophie Archambault de Beaune - De la beauté du geste technique en préhistoire (2013) RemerciementsJe remercie Pierre Lemonnier et Thierry Bonnot pour leur lecture attentive et leurs suggestions, qui m’ont permis d’améliorer une première version de ce texte. « L’homme a toujours eu l’amour du beau. Même aux temps primitifs, où les besoins de la vie matérielle absorbaient tous ses moments, il cherchait à rendre ses armes et ses outils symétriques et à leur donner une forme élégante. » Édouard Piette (1889 : 159) « Dès qu’apparaît la plastique, on voit surgir des notions d’équilibre, donc des notions de rythme ; et dès qu’apparaît la rythmique, l’art apparaît. Socialement et individuellement, l’homme est un animal rythmique. » Marcel Mauss (1967 [1947] : 85) 1 Je me permets de renvoyer ici à Beaune 1999 (1995) et 2013 (2007). 2 Sahlins 1972. 3 Le Paléolithique supérieur s’étend d’environ 40 000 à 12 000 ans avant le présent. 1L’image de l’homme de la préhistoire est ambivalente. Archéologue responsable d’opération : Philippe Feray. © Dominique Bossut, Inrap. 18 Pelegrin 2009.
Lavorare? Una questione di entropia - Antropia Dimmi cosa fai nella vita e ti dirò chi sei. Ci viene naturale cercare nella professione della persona che abbiamo davanti dettagli che ci aiutino a definire meglio chi è quell’individuo. In fondo, il lavoro a cui una persona si dedica può nascondere interessanti indizi sui valori, le storie personali o semplicemente gli interessi che quel tizio coltiva. È però nel ‘500, con l’affermarsi della dottrina calvinista, che la società occidentale sembra trovare una legittimazione incontestabile al proprio culto del lavoro. Non a caso nella dottrina calvinista è presenta un’etica del lavoro molto profonda, basata sul concetto di Beruf, che in tedesco assume il significato di vocazione in senso religioso, ma che nella dottrina viene inteso soprattutto come vocazione professionale. Secondo il sociologo Max Weber, il calvinismo introduce quindi l’idea della necessità di provare la propria fede nell’attività mondana. Ma invece l’idea poggia su solide argomentazioni. Il cerchio sembra chiudersi.