Titling anything a "series" indicates a future plan of mine to share my moments of random learning. I have many of them. I'm a Philomath. A lover of learning. I'm also easily distract-able. Perhaps this explains why academics never held sway over me. There was always too much learning all at once about one thing.
The way I get interested in any one thing is too convoluted to explain. I read a sentence which triggers a thought which triggers a search which leads to something partly related and suddenly I'm fascinated. I do this often. It is a secret of mine that I'm constantly researching something random.
Take the Ancient Cerén Village in the fertile Zapotitán valley in South America. When the government of El Salvador was doing some bulldozing for an agricultural project in 1978, they stumbled upon an entire ancient village dated around AD 585. A volcanic eruption had sent villagers fleeing for their lives. The ash which dusted the town was of a lower temperature so as to preserve, instead of destroy, their way of life, from the half-eaten food on their dinner plates to the crops they just planted. No evidence of loss of life was found.
(1) "The numerous seasonally sensitive plants preserved at the site indicate the eruption probably occurred in August." I find this incredibly interesting: the fine moist ash packed tightly around the plants and left a cast after the plant decomposed, a faithful representation of the plant which was there. Vegetation preservation in archaeological digs (especially of this age) are very rare.
(2) Apparently, while corn, beans, and squash have long been known to be staples of ancient Mayans, this site revealed large and extensive Manioc fields (a carbohydrate-rich tuber). Since corn, beans, and squash are sensitive to drought and require fertile soils, they are "high anxiety" crops and so receive a lot of attention. But manioc grows well in poor soils and is highly drought resistant. It didn't get much attention in the records left behind by those ancient civilizations. This village displays the first and only evidence of intensive manioc cultivation system at that time. Interesting since the valley was very fertile.
What is also very interesting is the community set-up of the village of almost 600 persons. Besides agriculture, it was largely a craft production economy. Archaeologists found an astounding total of over seventy ceramic vessels per household. "Each household overproduced at least one craft or commodity and used that for exchange within the community and to obtain long-distance traded items that generally were produced by specialists."
So often, we assume that ancient ways of life were less civilized than our own. I personally think that is rather arrogant. It doesn't mean their way of life was better but it doesn't mean ours is best and should be lived without examination. I digress, the Cerén village had everything from a communal feasting structure to a community sauna!
You can actually visit the ruins (I think that would be awesome!). It is one of five archaeological parks in El Salavor. What a fun way to spice up your travel itinerary: visiting archaeological parks! Information Here.
Oh, and it's also a UNESCO World Heritage site. Which would be a cool thing to check off of anyone's life list.
Sources:
(1) Book: Before the Volcano Erupted: The Ancient Cerén Village in Central America, edited by Payson Sheets
(2) Website: Colorado University - Boulder research News
