Let Us Never Forget Our Heros- #MemorialDay

Go Army Photos
http://www.flickr.com/photos/goarmyphotos/8809669343/

Memorial Day has traditionally been called the start of the summer yet for families of those soldiers who died in the line of duty the meaning of Memorial Day was established after the Civil War as a way to honor the men who had given their lives in the Bloodiest War in US military history. It was declared as Declaration Day. Declaration Day did not become a federal holiday until 1971 when it was renamed Memorial Day and became a federal three day holiday, meaning all state and federal employees have that Monday off.

Throughout the years, the meaning of Memorial Day has begun to be replaced with sales and the start of summer. It would be a great tragedy if we as Americans, forgot to honor the dead who had given their lives for our freedom. Men, woman and yes, children have sacrificed their lives from the American  Revolutionary War to the present so that we might have the freedoms we enjoy today. How can we ever forget their sacrifice?

Please take the time on Monday to honor our heroes. Visit a cemetery, go to a special service or take part in a Memorial Day celebration. Have fun with your family, cherish them, but remember to take time out to thank a fallen hero for the life you live in the United States of America. Remember their families as well. If you know a family whose soldier has died in the line of duty then thank them and offer them something. A simply gesture can go a long ways in days like these especially when the death has been so recent. Let us never forget our heroes and their families.

The #day after disaster - #Moore, Oklahoma

Oklahoma National Guard Soldiers and Airmen respond to a devastating tornado that ripped through
Moore, Okla., May 20, 2013. (Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Kendall James)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thenationalguard/8767385204/

Tragedy in Moore, Oklahoma

Destruction and chaos enveloped the seventh largest city in Oklahoma yesterday as an EF4 tornado swept through Moore, Oklahoma. This is the fourth time in five years the community has been struck by a tornado but this tornado has been the most damaging. Ninety-one people are reported to have died as I write this blog, twenty of whom were children. No doubt that the number will rise as the recovery search continues. Most of these children came from the two schools that laid directly in the two mile long tornado's path. Rescuers have been on the ground with the National Guard searching every bit of the wreckage since Monday night. There have been no more bodies recovered nor survivors rescued since Monday night as I write this at 4:20pm on Tuesday afternoon. You can read more about the rescue efforts at http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/21/live-updates-from-the-devastation-in-oklahoma/. Like the destruction in Henryville, Indiana, where an EF4 tornado destroyed the town on March 2, 2012, it could take up to a year for the residents to rebuild their town and their lives.

Moore, OK, May 10, 2003 -- This is the fourth time in five years that Moore has been struck by tornadoes.
Photo by Bob McMillan/FEMA News Photo
US PUBLIC DOMAIN

Tornadoes are classified via the Fujita Scale based on the amount of damage produced to man made structures and vegetation. The Fujita Scale was introduced in 1971 by by Tetsuya Fujita of the University of Chicago, in collaboration with Allen Pearson, head of the National Severe Storms Forecast Center and was updated in 1973.

Meteorologists and engineers use this scale to determine the strength of a tornado only after they gather and study evidence from ariel and ground surveys. Sometimes, depending on the circumstances, they will supplement their reports with ground-swirl patterns (cycloidal marks), eyewitness testimonies, radar tracking, damage imagery, media reports, as well as photogrammetry or videogrammetry. The graphic below shows the Fijuita Scale with typical wind speeds and damage associated with each type of tornado.

As you can tell by the photos and this chart those who survived the tornado are very fortunate to be alive. May we never forget the residents of Moore, Oklahoma. It is times like these that we should pull together as one nation and help the victims. If you want to help the residents of Moore, Oklahoma please contact the American Red Cross, Salvation Army or any other non-profit agency who is helping. Do not go into Moore at this time as it is too dangerous for anyone to walk through the ruined city. Rescue teams are still searching every nook and cranny in order to save as many people as they can.

New weekly Vlog

Hey everyone! I've started a new weekly vlog on my YouTube channel. I plan to post them on this blog and on my new website.

You can find my new website at http://allisonbrunin6.wix.com/allisonbruning. 

Here's my new vlog for this week. Enjoy!

Ohio's Moundbuilders: An Introduction #history #nativeamerican

Painting from the Ancient Ohio art series
depicting an Archaic base camp
along the Maumee River in northwest Ohio.
by: Susan A. Walton

Ohio's Moundbuilders pt.1

Introduction

Ohio's Archaic period was a time of transformation culturally, geographically, economically and socially for humans. As we learned in our previous posts, Native American lifestyles became more complex from 8000 BC–1000 BC. 

The Woodland Period is a period of Native American Pre-Columbian history that lasted in the Eastern United States from 1000 BC to 1000 AD. The technological advancements that had begun in the Late Archaic Period, such as potter, continued to develop with each cultural group creating their own distinct art forms. What sets this period apart from the Archaic Period is the Pre-Columbian tribes greater dependence upon agriculture. Agriculture had been discovered during the Late Archaic Period. The discovery of agricultural revolutionized mankind's lifestyle and cultures. We will talk more about agriculture in a later post. 

The Woodland Period is broken down into three time periods. Early Woodland (1000–1 BC), Middle Woodland (1–500 AD) and Late Woodland (500–1000 AD). The cultures who lived in the Eastern United States are also known as the Moundbuilders due to the many burial and ceremonial mounds that they constructed. Some of these mounds, such as Serpent Mound, are still visible today yet were more prominent when the white settlers came to the area during the 17-18th centuries. Farmers have destroyed many mounds throughout the centuries. Yet we know they did exist because explorers and surveyors mention the multitudes of mounds that scattered the landscape from Indiana to Florida. We also have archaeological records of the Moundbuilders. 

Two cultures flourished in Ohio during the Woodland Period. These being:

800 BC-100 AD: The Adena Culture.
100 BC-400 AD: The Hopewell Culture.

Below is a map showing the locations of the Adena and Hopewell Cultures in relation to the Fort Ancient Culture. We will talk more about the Fort Ancient culture in another series, as they are relevant not only to Ohio Pre-Columbian history but to Shawnee culture as well.

The Hopewell and Adena were not the only cultures in the Woodland Period but were prevalent in Ohio.  The following map shows the location of some of these cultures in relation to the Ohio Hopewell Culture.

You can learn more about the Moundbuilders by watching this video. 

Ohio's Archaic Heritage: Burial Customs #NativeAmerican #Ohio

Burial Mounds by Allison Bruning

Ohio's Archaic Heritage pt.4:

Burial Customs

Welcome back to Ohio's Archaic Heritage. We have walked alongside our ancestors as they had to adapt to the climatic and geographical changes that beset upon them after the glaciers retreated back into Canada. As we learned in the previous posts, humans adapted quite well to their glacial free environment. They not only developed the atlatl and new hunting techniques but also began to settle down into a semi-sedentary lifestyle. Their sedentary lifestyle also lead to social changes that would remain a part of the Native American culture. These cultural changes included the adaptation of animal clans, participation in religious ceremonies, sacred objects, tribal affiliations, and a semi-nomadic lifestyle based on the seasons. 

The change from a Paleoindian to Archaic lifestyle did not happen overnight but was a gradual transition that occurred from the Early Archaic period to the Late Archaic period. The first Archaic Native Americans to have dwelt on the Black River Watershed in Ohio arrived on Lake Erie's southern shore around 6,500 years ago. Known as Canesadooharie or River of Many Pearls by the Wyandot Nation, the Black River is a twelve mile long river in Northern Ohio whose mouth meets Lake Erie. It is considered part of Saint Lawrence Watershed and runs to the Atlantic Ocean via Lake Erie, Niagara River, and Lake Ontario. It was this group of Archaic Native Americans that were first to proficiently harvest roots, berries, tubers, leaves, and nuts. They were also the first group to cultivate squash. We will talk later about early cultivation. 

Another group of Archaic Native Americans that is very well known in Ohio are the Glacial or Gravel

The Zimmerman Kame Site in Hardin County, Ohio
US PUBLIC DOMAIN

Kame Native Americans. The Glacial Kame Native Americans occupied Ohio between 8000 BC to 1000 BC. Archaeological records show this was a large tribe with villages spanning throughout southern Ontario, Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. The first Glacial Kame site discovered in Ohio occurred in 1856 near the village of Ridgeway in Hardin County, Ohio. The group was named Glacial Kame because they buried their dead in glacial kames, small hills of gravel, and sand deposited by glaciers. Archaeologists discovered Archaic 380 burials, which they removed from the site. Relics alongside the bodies included heavy copper beads, sole and saucer shaped ornaments of shell, masks made from skulls of wolves and bears and images of birds carved from hard slate. Hardin County has many Archaic Archaeological sites.

One of the most significant changes from Paleoindian to Archaic lifestyles was the burial of the dead. Every Archaic culture had developed their own scared rituals of burying their dead. Where the dead were buried was based on clan, family or social status. The Archaic people chose a specific site to bury their dead and would bring their dead to that site even if it meant it was miles away from where that person had died. Large cemeteries were established throughout Ohio and were used for extended period of time.  For example, The University of Toledo archaeologists found 18 burial pits from the Williams site along the Maumee River that had been in use from 850 to 380 B.C. That's nearly 500 years! These cemeteries were often in the form of burial mounds. Burial mounds were constructed by the entire community. We will talk more about burial mounds in our next series: The Moundbuilders. 

#Dog Gone Wild: #NativeAmerican Dog Origins

A Native American Dog
By Aine D
@http://www.flickr.com/photos/dainec/4003079578/

Dog Gone Wild:

Native American Dog Origins

Welcome back! Today we are going to take a break from Ohio's Archaic Heritage to discuss one of the most important transformations in human history - the domestication of the dog.

The dog was the first animal humans domesticated. Mitochondrial DNA places the genetic split of the wolf and domesticated dog around 100,000 years but the oldest fossil record we have of this divergence is approximately 33,000-36,000 years ago. The domestication of dogs began in Eastern Asia and did not occur in North American. You can learn more about the domestication of the dog from this article. http://www.usfca.edu/fac-staff/dever/dog_evo.pdf

The Paleoindian had brought their domesticated dogs to North American when they cross over the Bering Strait. Just like today, the Paleoindians may have viewed their canine companion as a member of their family. The cohabitation of canine and humans offered many benefits to the Paleoindian such as protection, hunting companion, and a pack animal to pull their sled or travious. During the Pleistocene Epoch there were two wild wolf breeds that cohabited in North America. These being the Grey and Dire Wolves. You can learn more about these two breeds at http://hal_macgregor.tripod.com/kennel/wolves.html 

Izzy Posing (A North American Eskimo Dog)
by: Christmas K
@http://www.flickr.com/photos/christmaswithak/4759658802/

Mitochondrial DNA studies show Paleoindian dogs and Euresia dogs share a common ancestry with the Eurasian Grey Wolf. There has been no evidence of a separate domestication of the North American Grey Wolf which proves that the domestication of the dog never occurred in North America but had already been achieved in Asia. Thus the domesticated dog came to North America with the Paleoindian.

Native Americans continued to inbreed their dogs instead of cross-contaminating the gene pool with
wolf DNA. This practice continued until they were introduced to European dog breeds in the late 17th to early 19th centuries. The Native American Dog slowly became extinct as it's DNA was mixed with the European DNA. The closest breed to resemble its Paleoindian ancestor in North America is the Eskimo Dog. Although its fur and vocalization is reminiscent of its wolf ancestor even the Eskimo Dog's DNA links it to the Australian Dingo, the New Guinea Singing dog, and the Shiba Inu.

The Native American Dog changed drastically after it came into contact with European dogs yet one thing remained the same, Native Americans still loved and appreciated their canine companions. You can read more about the Native American Dogs at: http://www.native-languages.org/dogs.htm and http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/s/schwartz-dog.html

Ohio's Archaic Heritage: Archaic Settlements

An Archaic Village
http://ancientlights.org/stoneworks.html

Ohio's Archaic Heritage pt3:

Archaic Settlements

Welcome back to Ohio's Prehistoric Heritage. What a journey we had endured so far. We began our walk through Prehistoric Ohio with the arrival of the Paleoindians. We learned that the Native Americans first dwelt in Southern Ohio because they could not go further north. Most of Ohio had been covered in glaciers. Once the glaciers retreated back into Canada, the prehistoric Native Americans began to explore the newly transformed Ohio. Mankind had to adapt when the mammoths and other large mammals went extinct. They developed new hunting techniques and weapons that granted them more freedom. These changes began at the start of the Archaic Period. Eventually the Paleoindians disappeared and the Archaic Culture thrived. The lifestyle changes did not happen overnight but had taken several decades for the new to replace the old.

Archaic Ohio
Although the Archaic Native Americans were highly mobile they did establish settlements. Each of the settlements are completely diverse based on the local resources. Ohio, during the Archaic Period, had four different geographic areas that each presented the prehistoric man with a wide range of diverse resources. These areas are seen in this graphic.

With the transition from mobile to a more sedentary lifestyle, Archaic Native Americans developed their own unique cultures based on the area in which they had settled. Eventually, distinctive regional differences emerged. You can learn more about Archaic Geography of Ohio and Archaic Man at this link http://www.academia.edu/632282/The_Ohio_Archaic_A_Review

Villages and Camps

The Archaic people had two different types of camps that they used, larger villages and smaller hunting camps. Villages were established where there was a large food source. Depending on the region where these camps were established, the food source could be fish or nuts. According to archaeologists, Ohio was home to at least ten different distinct cultures through the Archaic Period. These cultures are identified in the graph below taken from The Ohio Archaic: A Review. The time period of their occupation is given on the left side of the graph while they are arranged underneath the region of Ohio in which they were located.

Villages generally contained around 150 - 100 people at any given time. It was here that the Archaic people stayed the longest. Life was still nomadic in that family units moved with the seasons. During the winter, families would leave the village in smaller groups to dwell in rock shelters. These rock shelters were used year after year. The best rock shelters were those that were dry and faced the east. Early and Late smaller camps and rock shelters have been found throughout the state. Not everyone left the village during the winter. The elderly and others who could not travel during the winter often stayed behind in the village and ate from the preserved stock of food that had been gathered for them.

During the Spring, the family units would gather once again in the village. It was here they would supplement their diets with fish, berries, plants and nuts. Fishing required a team effort as the Archaic people used nets, spears, hooks on a line, and perhaps even poison to catch a large number of fish. Spring was the perfect season for the Archaic people to fish in because many types of fish swam up river in order to spawn.

Annual Spring gatherings were a joyous time in the village. Many social and ceremonial gatherings took place in the village.