Traces Left

Just reflecting on humanity's collective past. A learner.

[Traces Left @TracesLft]

A Palestinian farmer has discovered an ornate Byzantine floor mosaic while trying to plant an olive tree on his land last year in the Gaza Strip.
dates Byzantine era.

Experts have called it one of the greatest archaeological treasures ever found in Gaza.

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A 3,600-4,000-year-old palm-fitting clay tablet aided scribes in learning the Sumerian and Akkadian script. A teacher would write the word on the obverse, and the student would then repeat the exercise on the reverse.
[The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York]

-Obverse, Reverse

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1. Xerxes I's soldiers 486–465 BC, on his tomb. diverse ethnicities... He famously depicted in the movie "300" led the Persian forces against Greece

2. Ruins of the Old Temple of Athena, obliterated by Xerxes I's forces during Athens' destruction in 480BC.

The world was theirs!

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Scribe's exercise tablet with hieratic text. Dynasty XVIII, reign of Amenhotep I, c.1514-1493 BC
An excerpt from The Instructions of Amenemhat (Dynasty XII), and reads: "Be on your guard against all who are subordinate to you... Trust no brother,know no friend, make no intimates"

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Red ink Spelling corrections made by a teacher on a student's writing board from Egypt's, 1981-1802 B.C.

Remarkably, even after 3,800 years, some aspects of life remain strikingly familiar.

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A bronze sculpture of a ruler from the #Akkadian Empire, which was unearthed in #Nineveh in 1931, is believed to portray either Sargon of #Akkad, Reign c. 2334–2279 BC. He is sometimes identified as the first person in recorded history to rule over an empire.

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Babylonian astronomy:
A tablet recording Halley's comet at its 1st and last visibility. This observation written in cuneiform, can be dated to about 22 to 28 September 164 BCE. From #Babylon, #Mesopotamia, #Iraq

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A private letter, 1632 BCE
A man of significance, reports to his superior regarding the execution of an order issued by a king, possibly Ammisaduqa. This was decades before Babylon's collapse, hints to the unrest foreshadowed and potentially played a part in its eventual downfall

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"Bridegroom, dear to my heart; goodly is your beauty, honeysweet; lion, dear to my heart"
These are the passionate words of a lover to a king, from more than 4,000 years ago. The oldest known love poem ever found. Called Istanbul #2461 by archaeologists.
[Istanbul Museum]

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A page of al-Kindi's manuscript "On Deciphering Cryptographic Messages", the oldest known description of cryptanalysis by frequency analysis. Al-Kindi (c. 801–873 AD) was born in Iraq. He became a prominent figure in the House of Wisdom in Baghdad durin the Islamic Golden Age.

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A short trip inside Luxor Temple…

It was built during the reign of Amenhotep III and Ramses II 3,400 years ago to celebrate the wedding of Amun Ra. The celebration procession moves once a year from Karnak Temple to Luxor Temple, a distance of approximately 3 kilometers.

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A Jew and a Muslim or Moor playing chess in 13th century al-Andalus. El Libro de los Juegos, commissioned by Alphonse X of Castile, 13th century. Madrid

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Exploring the Tomb of Ramesses VI

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Egyptian mummy seller in 1875

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@unusual_whales Insider trading

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University of Cambridge professor Bill Sutherland made ancient Mesopotamian food from 3,770 years ago.
https://t.co/qAUryg620X

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Mesopotamian food from 3,770 years ago:
Includes 25 recipes for stews, 21 are meat stews and 4 are vegetable stews. The recipes list the ingredients and the order in which they should be added, but does not give measures or cooking time – clearly meant only for experienced chefs.

[Traces Left @TracesLft]

"Bridegroom, dear to my heart; goodly is your beauty, honeysweet; lion, dear to my heart"
These are the passionate words of a lover to a king, from more than 4,000 years ago. The oldest known love poem ever found. Called Istanbul #2461 by archaeologists.
[Istanbul Museum]

[Traces Left @TracesLft]

Interesting

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Educated guess of experts:
- ≈ 107 billion people have lived on Earth.
- Life expectancy at birth averaged 10 yrs for most of human history.
- 8000 BC: ≈ 5M.
- By 1 AD, it grew to 200M, with varying estimates.
- 1800: 1 billion, taking 9800 years to reach the first billion