Tag: Archaeology

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Nobody… but Odysseus by James Penha

Greek researchers sense
Odysseus’s presence—
they bird-dog Argos

by James Penha

Researchers from the University of Ioannina in Greece have identified from archaeological evidence newly-discovered at the Agios Athanasios–School of Homer in northern Ithaca what they believe to be the sanctuary of Odysseus where for centuries the iconic hero (whether fictional or real) of Homer’s epic enjoyed cult status.

The comparison in my sciku is to Odysseus’s dog Argos, the only being, despite age and infirmity, to have recognized the disguised hero upon his return, after the twenty years chronicled by Homer, to Ithaca.

The title of the sciku recalls how the hero convinces the cyclops that his name is not Odysseus, but Nobody.

Further reading:

‘Archaeologists May Have Found Odysseus’ Sanctuary on Ithaca’, 2025, Puiu, T., ZME Science, available: https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/archaeologists-may-have-found-odysseus-sanctuary-on-ithaca/

‘Archaeologists Unveil Sanctuary of Odysseus on Ithaca: A Monumental Discovery Rooted in Myth and History’, 2025, Altuntaş, L., Arkeonews, available: https://arkeonews.net/archaeologists-unveil-sanctuary-of-odysseus-on-ithaca-a-monumental-discovery-rooted-in-myth-and-history/

Author bio:

Expat New Yorker James Penha (he/him ?) has lived for the past three decades in Indonesia. Nominated for Pushcart Prizes in fiction and poetry, his work is widely published in journals and anthologies. His newest chapbook of poems, American Daguerreotypes, is available for Kindle here.

Penha edits TheNewVerse.News, an online journal of current-events poetry. You can find out more about his poetry on his website https://jamespenha.com and catch up with him on BlueSky @jamespenha.bsky.social

Read more of James’ sciku here.

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Tobacco Road by Michael H. Brownstein

tobacco pathways
across North America
ocean to ocean

by Michael H. Brownstein

Like many others, I always thought the native people of North America smoked and/or ingested a number of different plants to expose themselves to different plains of consciousness. This botany research reveals that isn’t the case. Tobacco was the main plant for smoking–perhaps the only one in certain areas–and it is also a study of how tobacco made it across the nation to the State of Washington.

Further reading:

‘An Ancient Residue Metabolomics-Based Method to Distinguish Use of Closely Related Plant Species in Ancient Pipes’, K.J. Brownstein, S. Tushingham, W.J. Damitio, T. Nguyen and D.R. Gang, 2020, https://doi.org/10.3389%2Ffmolb.2020.00133

‘Biomolecular archaeology reveals ancient origins of indigenous tobacco smoking in North American Plateau’, S. Tushingham, C.M. Snyder, K.J. Brownstein and D.R. Gang, 2018, https://doi.org/10.10bioche73/pnas.1813796115

Author bio:

Michael H. Brownstein’s latest volumes of poetry, A Slipknot to Somewhere Else (2018) and How Do We Create Love (2019) were both published by Cholla Needles Press. In addition, he has appeared in Last Stanza, Café Review, American Letters and Commentary, Skidrow Penthouse, Xavier Review, Hotel Amerika, Meridian Anthology of Contemporary Poetry, The Pacific Review, Poetrysuperhighway.com and others. He has nine poetry chapbooks including A Period of Trees (Snark Press, 2004), Firestorm: A Rendering of Torah (Camel Saloon Press, 2012), The Possibility of Sky and Hell: From My Suicide Book (White Knuckle Press, 2013) and The Katy Trail, Mid-Missouri, 100 Degrees Outside and Other Poems (Kind of Hurricane Press, 2013). He is the editor of First Poems from Viet Nam (2011). Michael recommends Project Agent Orange.

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Native American Dugout Canoe in Central New York By Donald A. Windsor

Our dugout canoe

Dendrochronology shows

Three hundred years old

 

In central New York State a dugout canoe was found buried in mud on the bank of a pond. It was removed, washed, slowly dried, and preserved in the Chenango County Historical Society Museum. It was determined by both dendrochronological methods and carbon-14 dating to have been produced around 1720 AD from a black ash tree trunk.

I used to paddle in our local rivers with my elegant aluminum canoe. But this dugout canoe does not look seaworthy. It would easily tip over. Perhaps it was not for riders, but for use as a floating basket for harvesting wild rice or clams or other aquatic provisions.

Original research:

Moyer, David ; Windsor, Donald A. ; Noble, Daniel B. ; Griggs, Carol B. The history and dendrochronological dating of the Dave Walker dugout canoe: a progress report. The Bulletin. Journal of the New York State Archaeological Association 2015 Number 129: 49-56.

Windsor, Donald A. Dave Walker’s dugout canoe. Chenango Archaeologist 2009-2010 Winter; 2(7): 1-2. http://chenangoarchaeologists.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/dave-walkers-dugout-canoe.html

Windsor, Donald A. Wild rice in Chenango County.   Chenango Archaeologist 2009-2010 Winter; 2(7): 3.

Donald A. Windsor, a biologist with a multidisciplinary background, is a former president of the Chenango Chapter of the New York State Archaeological Association. He retired from industrial pharmaceutical research and development 23 years ago. He is currently affiliated with the Ronin Institute for Independent Scholarship. His blog is http://www.chenangoarchaeologists.blogspot.com/

Enjoyed this sciku? Check out Donald’s other sciku: Equal rights for parasites.