Write Lightning is a blog from writer Deb Thompson.
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Mon, Jul 03 2006
Remains
It always becomes interesting when modern construction uncovers historical remains, particularly when new construction threatens to obliterate what might be the only record of former lives. It's strange to think that a building one lives in right now could hold archeological interest for future generations. And it's difficult to know which buildings will survive for hundreds of years after a settlement of people moves on or dies out. In our own lifetime we might give significance to our first home, the churches we frequent, a courthouse or a movie star's mansion. But if the corner store or community jail is the only thing left in a community after a hundred years it suddenly takes on new significance for those living at that time.
As an aside, it has always fascinated me the way we humans sometimes treat human remains. We wouldn't generally think of digging up the graves of people buried fifty or a hundred years ago and passing their bones and jewelry around, or putting them on display. But archeologists thrill at the thought of excavating body parts from thousands of years ago. I wonder. Just how far back do we go before it's considered ethical to dig up our human ancestors' femur bones and prop them up for display beneath glass domes at the Museum of Natural History?
posted at: 08:04 | category: /Miscellaneous | link to this entry
It always becomes interesting when modern construction uncovers historical remains, particularly when new construction threatens to obliterate what might be the only record of former lives. It's strange to think that a building one lives in right now could hold archeological interest for future generations. And it's difficult to know which buildings will survive for hundreds of years after a settlement of people moves on or dies out. In our own lifetime we might give significance to our first home, the churches we frequent, a courthouse or a movie star's mansion. But if the corner store or community jail is the only thing left in a community after a hundred years it suddenly takes on new significance for those living at that time.
As an aside, it has always fascinated me the way we humans sometimes treat human remains. We wouldn't generally think of digging up the graves of people buried fifty or a hundred years ago and passing their bones and jewelry around, or putting them on display. But archeologists thrill at the thought of excavating body parts from thousands of years ago. I wonder. Just how far back do we go before it's considered ethical to dig up our human ancestors' femur bones and prop them up for display beneath glass domes at the Museum of Natural History?
posted at: 08:04 | category: /Miscellaneous | link to this entry
