Lucy, the First Human, Is on Tour

by Jamie Rhein on

Lucy, the first known human, is on tour. Her bones made a debut on Friday at the Houston Museum of Natural Science in an exhibit called “Lucy’s Legacy: The Treasures of Ethiopia.” The exhibit, slated to appear in 9 other venues in the United States over the next few years, is not just about Lucy, but about the wealth of human existence that has come from Ethiopia. It reminds me a bit of the Africa exhibit at the Smithsonian National Musuem of Natural History that I saw this summer, on a quick road trip, except focused on one area of Africa.

For inanimate objects, these Lucy’s bones have been making a stir ever since they were discovered back in 1974. Think science vs religion–not all religions, just those who struggle with the idea of when human beings first came into existence and how it happened in the first place. Some scientists are also not pleased as punch about this exhibit. Richard Leaky, for one, is pitching a fit. He doesn’t think that bones as important as these should ever be out in the general public. Heaven knows what will happen. Besides, that, in his opinion, this exhibit is exploiting Lucy. She was once a walking on the earth human being for Pete’s sake and worth more dignity than being on display in a glass case. (my wording)

Then there are those who believe that the exhibit will step up the interest in scientific discovery, the true origins of humans and encourage school age kids and the not scientist adult population to learn factual information about science and human history. With the Creation Museum opening this year in Northern Kentucky, maybe Lucy will help balance out what the public has access to.

The Ethiopian government is quite keen on promoting interest in Ethiopia with this exhibit and was willing to let the bones travel out of the country. The exhibit caught my attention. If Lucy comes anywhere near my neighborhood, I’m in. The 3-D history, art and science lesson from actual artifacts and explanatory text always interests me, and I’ll look at Lucy’s bones with the utmost respect and awe.

For more details about Lucy’s significance and the fuss that her tour has created, check out this Chicago Tribune article by William Mullen. There are more details about the conflicts over the exhibit that call into play the various perceptions and needs people have as we struggle to be open and share.

Before Rough Guides and Lonely Planet

by Brett Atkinson on

Thanks to everyone who commented on my recent post about how to deal with old guidebooks. I’ve decided to keep only the most recent edition of any particular country. It may sound like a big deal but I’ve actually ending ditching a grand total of two books. Hey, it’s a start.

In moving my office back home I’ve just rediscovered one book which I definitely won’t be ditching. Before Lonely Planet and before Rough Guides, the Commercial Press of Jerusalem was publishing the “Path-Finder Guide to Palestine, Transjordan and Syria”.

The slim volume was produced in 1941 for Australian and New Zealand troops based in Egypt before they moved on to battle in North Africa in World War 2. I picked up my copy at a garage sale in Auckland.

The focus is firmly on the sights, and while there are no reveiws of hotels or restaurants an ad for the “Piccadilly!!! Cafe” offers “Good Food!! Good Drinks!! Dancing!! Orchestra!! Prompt Service!!” – (almost…) everything an ANZAC soldier could want on his R & R.

Apparently there was no shortage of exclamation marks back then.

For such a modest little book, it’s a poignant read as it covers places like the Bekaa Valley and Baalbek, Beirut, Nablus and Damascus – all map references with very different historical resonance almost seventy years after it was first published. in 1941.

Facial Tattoos in Taiwan: A Columbus Connection

by Jamie Rhein on

I just met Nick Wolnak who is a friend of a friend of mine. He’s one of those totally cool guys who happens to be a world traveler that life has brought to Columbus, Ohio. It’s not rocket science to figure out why I might find him interesting. Nick just got back from Sierra Leone on a trip that was focused on visiting his friend who was finishing up a gig with Doctors without Borders. Nick’s official role was observer but, as he rediscovered, merely observing doesn’t exist in some parts of the world. There he was, the owner of two hip Columbus establishments, High Five Bar & Grill and Evolved–a tattoo and body piercing parlor, helping to deliver a baby during a difficult birth, and after that, spending a lot of his time feeding malnourished kids.

After he recounted his Sierra Leone experience, we wandered off into other travel talk and Taiwan came up. Nick’s been there three times. Even though I lived in Taiwan for two years and traveled extensively around the island and I knew about the indigenous groups, I didn’t know specifics about the Atayal who have a cultural heritage of facial tattooing. If I did know at one time, I’ve forgotten. Nick filled in the blanks. He is an expert about the Atayals. From what he said, that not many folks in Taiwan knew about this group either–even the tattoo artists in Taipei. Here’s why. When the Japanese occupied Taiwan, they outlawed tattoos. Eventually, those with tattoos dwindled in number and were thought to be barbaric. And since they mostly lived in the remote regions of the country like in the mountains near Hualien, after awhile most people didn’t even know these folks existed.

Nick found out these details through his research trails and travels that started with his own interest in tattoo art. Eventually, through a lot of information digging, Nick was able to locate and interview two people with these tattoos. One of them, a woman had only one tattoo in the middle of her forehead. This is the first tattoo the Atayals were given when they were four or five. She was five when the Japanese first occupied the country so that’s why she doesn’t have the tattoos that were given at a later age. Today she is considered a National Treasure.

Here’s an article about the Atayal that appeared in the Taipei Journal after Nick’s visit. And here is a web site about Taiwan’s ten indigenous groups. The photo posted by tangent on Flickr is from a photo exhibit on the indigenous people of Taiwan that was at the Scott Laurent Galleries in Winter Park, Florida last year. He also wrote this article about the exhibit. If you click here, you’ll see a larger version of the Atayal woman who is in the picture in the top row on the right.

When Bad Stuff Happens, Is It Better To Be At Home?

by Brett Atkinson on

Most people can remember where they were when events of major importance happened like 9/11 or the Columbia space shuttle tragedy. When such events occur, the best place to be is usually at home surrounded by friends and family.

August 31 is the tenth anniversary of the death of Princess Diana. In August 1997 I was travelling alone in Eastern Turkey and got to a cheap hotel in Erzurum after a long bus trip from the Black Sea coast.

The lobby of the Ornek Hotel was filled with locals watching TV, but the grainy images and Turkish commentary didn’t really make clear what had happened. I managed to work out from the guy at reception that “Prince Charles’ girlfriend” had died, but given Charles and Di’s marriage was already over this still didn’t tell me anything definitive.

Gradually snippets on TV, (remember this was before the days of widespread Internet), told the full story, and a few days later I was in another cheap hotel in Sanliurfa near the Syrian border watching Elton John sing his reworked “English Rose” at Diana’s funeral.

Now I’m not a big fan of Elton, and definitely not a royalist, but I was sitting in my spartan accommodation with tears streaming down my face. The combination of being away from home, and having no-one to share the event in my own language I guess.

For American readers, what was it like if you were out of the States on September 11, 2001?

Thanks to bush to push on Flickr for the pic of Erzurum.

Happy Birthday to Samarkand…Again

by Brett Atkinson on

Just two decades after celebrating its 2500 year anniversary, the city of Samarkand in Uzbekistan has just celebrated its 2750th birthday. Since the celebrations marking two and a half millenia, archaeologists have now discovered texts which show that the trading city on the Silk Route is actually older than previously thought.

The most recent birthday of the ancient capital of the empire of Tamerlane was celebrated in the imposing but beautiful square called the Registan. Local boy made good, Uzbek President Islam Karimov claimed “This is a city which you see once and dream to see again.”

Maybe that’s the case, but as security police lined the Registan, the good people of Samarkand were largely removed from the events celebrating their historic home.

News and pic via the BBC.